Barcelona-based Martial Art teacher Guro Jhonee works hard to make Kali popular among his kababayans.
“Guro Jhonee, let´s check the place.”
Guro Jhonee Llandelar looked at the WhatsApp message questioningly. What did his Catalan student mean by “place”? After a brief exchange of messages, Guro Jhonee would later learn that his longtime dream of having his own gym would become a reality.
It all began exactly a year ago after he had a casual conversation with his student and now business partner, Arnaud Bertrand. “He asked me why I hadn´t put up my own gym. If I only had money I would, I told him. Little did I know that he would take it upon himself to look for a place to put up a martial arts school and make me his industrial partner,” reminisces Guro Jhonee inside his Las Cuerdas del Carmelo gym, where he now works full time as a teacher and the gym administrator.
With the new gym, which used to be a private parking area in the quiet neighborhood of Horta-guinardó district, this is the first time that he won´t be renting or sharing a space. “In our two previous gyms, we shared with other users and sometimes, we were not happy with the administrator. Our hands were tied we couldn´t do much. But this gym, this is really ours.” The new venture came at an opportune time when Guro Jhonee was struggling to keep his Kali classes afloat. “COVID-19 really took a toll on my classes. After the pandemic, only a few students stayed.”
Surprisingly, the residents in the neighborhood took interest in the new gym and through word of mouth, new students signed up. “We had to hire another teacher and aside from Kali, we also teach Muy Thai and boxing.” The gym has now around 80 students, both adults and children.
No stranger to Martial Arts
Guro Jhonee, 41, has always been a sporty person and is no stranger to martial arts. In fact, he had taken on karate lessons and was already a budding badminton player competing in regional matches in the Philippines before moving to Spain to join his parents at the age of 17. In his first years in Barcelona, he met Maestro Abel Tamano, a Pinoy martial arts teacher who taught him Aikido and Kali. But it was Kali that Guro Jhonee paid more attention to, impressed by its discipline and techniques, and by the fact that it is a Filipino martial art.
To gain more knowledge of Kali, he trained under Lakan Ronnie Royce Base, founder of Laraw Kali Pamuok in the Philippines. Kali which is also known as Eskrima or Arnis, is a Filipino martial art that employs the use of dirty boxing techniques (hand-to-hand combat) and weapons such as bamboo sticks, knives, karambits, dulo-dulos or any improvised arms.
Kali is a complete Martial Art
Laraw Kali Pamuok is divided into four main systems: the Panuntukan (boxing), dumog (ground fighting), Sikaran (stand-up fighting), and Kali (stick). During the pre-colonial times, Filipinos were said to be using a 26-inch double-edged sword with wavy blade called “Kalis” to defend themselves against their enemies.
“Kali is a complete martial art. We can use our empty hands, we can lock fingers, wrestle or use a weapon. It focuses on the transition from fighting with weapons to empty hands. Our hand movements are the same with or without a weapon,” describes Guro Jhonee.
He became a certified teacher in 2015 and started with three students in a rented gym. In 2016, he was among the 300 best martial artists named by the World INternational Self Defense Association and the Unified World Associaiton of Martial Arts. He has also appeared in a TV commercial and his group has been invited to perform at the Red Cross Martial Arts Festivals and at the Philippine Independence Day celebrations. In 2019, he was awarded the Guro Award at the 5th Philippine Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Dedicating more time as a teacher
“I quit my job at the restaurant to dedicate my time as a teacher. As a teacher, I am patient and empathetic to my students. I never compare my students. Each one has different IQ and motor skills. I want them to have good foundation to build their skills and character development.”
Guro Jhonee waxes eloquent on his students who have gone out to apply what they have learned from him. One is now a stunt double in the movies and the other, a Kali teacher like him. “Guro Jhonee is a very good teacher. I am now teaching Kali because of him,” shares Clark Mendoza Catena who was one of his very first students. As their mentor, Guro Jhonee is “proud to have been part of their journey.”
Kali´s popularity has been growing throughout the world as non-Filipinos have discovered the beauty of this Pinoy martial art. Guro Jhonee wants the world to learn more about this beautiful Filipino martial arts. However, he also laments that not a lot of our kababayans are familiar with Kali nor are interested in learning it. “I wish that in the future, Filipinos would learn more about Kali because this is ours. This is our culture.”
Kali not only made Guro Jhonee defend himself once, against two men who were trying to rob him, but it also helped him deal with his personal problems. “When I was fighting for custody for my two children from my first marriage, I was battling depression and Kali made me focused on winning the legal battle. Kali gives me a positive outlook in life wiht the support of my parents Nympha and George, my wife Cleng and my three kids, Allyson, Charlize and JJ. I think I am doing the right thing,” beams Guro Jhonne.
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