Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated with the martial arts. I used to watch movies of Jackie Chan; my favorite was the “Drunken Master” and “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” (I always thought it was Snake “and” the Eagle Shadow). I also liked Bruce Lee and his “Enter the Dragon” and even thought that Jackie Chan must have killed Bruce Lee when the latter died 🙂

There was a time when Jackie went to the Philippines for a soccer game and I was feeling desperate to meet him to try to convince him to make me his disciple. I should have known better… I was a kid back then 🙂

My enthusiasm led me to train with my first teacher, Sir Edgar Portento, who was then a black belt in a Korean martial art called Hwarangdo. It was a backyard type of training except we train inside an abandoned house. I used to come to his house and train in a very tight space. It was also during that time that I was introduced to Filipino Martial Arts (FMA to me was also not popularly called that way before) specifically Lameco created by the late Grandmaster Edgar Sulite who taught and trained Sir Jun (Honesto) Nuñez (Sir Edgar’s teacher), a senior and first generation Hwarangdo blackbelt who is also a good friend of the late Master Topher Ricketts and Master Tony Diego of Kalis Ilustrisimo (back then they were more popularly known with their group Sagasa Bakbakan Matira ang Matibay).

The first book I got was “Secrets of Arnis” by Master Edgar Sulite which my mother bought for me in National Bookstore in Cubao (the memory was still very fresh).

During the training I had with Sir Edgar, the fee was not exactly minimal, but 100% free. I was in high school and I have no money to pay for the training. The least I can do was train hard and make my teacher proud, which I did.

I got my black belt in Hwarangdo 4 years after college with little money to pay for my training. I was supposed to pay monthly but most of the time I am unable to. If I remember correctly, I haven’t even paid for my black belt uniform, belt, and certificate!.. because I really cannot afford financially. You could say I’m probably “kapal ng mukha” (shameless), and I did feel that way and really regret it but I can’t just do anything about it that time.

Today, I am the teacher. I teach for free. This is the point of this story, there is no money in the martial arts… for me and to the few or many like me who went through a similar experience.

[disclaimer: I teach free on my own time and on free places. I teach with a fee if you request my expertise.]