Combat sports are becoming the country’s wellspring of golden pride in international sporting scenes.
In the recent Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, combat sports like boxing, taekwondo, kickboxing, judo, jiujitsu, wushu, and even the lesser known vovinam and Kuhn kmer, have contributed heavily to the Philippines medal haul.
In the 70s, martial arts were just for the movies.
Action stars like Reye Malonzo, Trobador Ramos, Ramon Zamora, and Roberto Gonzales, to name a few, were either black belt holders in karate or, at least, have trained in the popular Japanese martial arts.
Karate was synonymous with martial arts during that time and boxing was for the hardcore fighters wishing to ply their trade in the professional stage of prized fighting.
That was the time when you either become an actor as a karate artist or a professional boxer.
Then in the next decade, came out Monsour Del Rosario who became the face of taekwondo and a popular actor after winning championships in international tournaments.
In the late 80s, taekwondo surpassed the popularity of karate in the Philippines. In fact, these days, taekwondo is arguably the most participated in martial arts tournament among young enthusiasts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championships in the United States has unleashed a new breed of sports discipline—Mixed Martial Arts.
Now you will hear sports like sambo, jiu-jitsu, and even no-gi grappling.
The active growth of martial arts has given Philippine sports a big boost as more athletes join combat sports to represent the country in the international arena.
At the professional level, Philippine MMA history would not be complete without mentioning the name Edward Folayang, who was among the earliest big names in MMA.
The former MMA champion in the One Championship has opened the door for more opportunities for young aspirants.
While he’s still active, Folayang has opened a new gym in Benguet, along with his colleagues from Team Lakay, naming it the Lions Nations.
He aims to pass the torch and continue the fire burning for Philippine martial arts.
Philippine martial arts have never been more robust and the opportunities a gogo. By the way, Benguet is the only province in the country where the schools offer athletic scholarships for students practicing non-Olympic combat sports like wushu aside from karate and taekwondo.
No wonder, Benguet is acknowledged as the martial arts capital of the Philippines.