The Butuan Adventure

Butuan Adventure was one of the insanely cool road trips that I had. We were going to an mma event in Butuan. The funny thing about it is that I dont have any fighters who are going to compete. We just went there to support mma fighters from Davao. there were five of them and I only knew one and he is a veteran competitor. It was indeed a long trip, travelling to a long and winding road. At one time we approached two backhoes along the road.OMG.... A few meters of road was fixed and on both sides are these huge machines...Well after what happened in Maguindanao these huge heavy equipments have a negative effect on us...Naaahhh..Too much of that thing gives you nightmares and paranoia.. Nontheless, we pushed thru with the trip. Kay ngano man dili? :)

We arrived early and the first thing that we looked for was....FOOD. Indeed everyone was darn starving. I could even hear each others stomach growl, I guess louder than the words that we utter. Afterwhich we proceeded to the VEnue. From the outside it looks small however, inside it is fairly a nice size of a place to handle such event.
The dug out was way more different, it looks like a "bodega" a storage room..filled with fighters. The way I see it, others are so eager to fight that they want it to get over and done with, and others are there sitting on one corner, I guess they are having the first time jitters, meditating or just plainly being silent.


Well, we saw our local team fighters and the first thing we did was to help them wrap their hands...Unfortunately we ran out of tape. The organizers were not prepared for that. Hence, it is really prudent for fighters to bring their own stuff and not rely soley on the event people.



We watched the competition from the begining till the end. We were there to corner for the fighters and assist in coaching them. HOwever, this poses a big dilemma for the fighters and the one coaching..the fighters does not have the communication link between the corner people. WHY?...because they were not really our fighters, they were not the fighters that we trained. Basta, ang goal was to help them out and assist them to win the game. Walang coach-fighter relationship ala Roach-Paqcuiao tandem. Therefore, there was a big coaching problem. And this predicament manifested on the debut fighters..."SIT-UP" we shouted..and he answered "ANO?" he might be even thinking that we are telling him to set it up. "Ground and Pound" we yelled and the player responded "lagi" (alright), "head and body shots" and the fighter did a hammer fist on the body and the head (hhmmm, what an awkward manuever or maybe I am not just used to that kind of move). For the two veteran fighters we did not struggle. They won convincingly and impressively. The result turned out well, 4 fighters won and only one lost via TKO. Not bad.



Postfight was the best portion of the event. They had a good band who played non stop for almost 2 or 3 hours. They were able to jam the songs that we like. The best part is all teams from different places partied and had a blast. Others think that this might be odd, (they just fought awhile ago and afterwards they are partying)but this is the spirit of the sport. Its all about sportsmanship, fighters dont take it personaly (because after the fight I dont see whats next to settle the score, play chess? ahahaha). After the fight, the opponents become buddies, FB friends, txt mates...

Went home around 2 or 3am I really cannot remember, and they woke us up around 7 in the morning, Who are we referring to? they? the Organizers... for an early breakfast...WHAT???? BREAKFAST??? yup ...7AM....yeah....Eyes are still red...my head was very light......and we did not have time to take a bath..Crrrrrrrazzzzzzy.


Whats crazier, mental, berserk than this....is this guy brushing his teeth in front of the hotel..ahahah. Sobrang madali.

But we had to..off we go to the local carenderia and had our breakfast. We had a hot fish soup (it was more of 99% soup and 1% fish, I had to dive deep on the recesses of the bowl before I can scoop out a piece of fish), a ton of scrambled egg coupled with a bottle of COKE for breakfast. One thing I noticed with the owner of this establishment, he was also a fighter who particpated in the event and won. But that was not the real score, I noticed him drinking Tanduay rum early in the morning. uhhhh i dont think i can do that but yes he was drinking some, as if he was drinking gatorade after a heavy work out.



Going home was fun, in a way, as we would tell jokes and pick on each other. And in the middle of the travel again...the fighters were looking for food. After a couple of hours ride..I guess everyone should be hungry. The group almost ate up all the food that the eatery had and I think the carenderia ran out of rice.
Having this kind of activity is fun and exciting especially if everyone has the same mind set and share a common interest. For this, it was the love for the MMA sport. I hope for the winners, their head wont swell and be filled with ego. I hope they stay humble and be humble. For the defeated warrior, this will be a learning experience and a chance for him to strive hard more and standup after the fall. Sa mga gusto mag compete just train for the next event, for now ibog lang sa. And for us who did not fight...Support lang kami and we enjoyed what we are doing. This sport is a test of character and a test of attitude. Well, good things never last.

As what a famous warrior said:

"The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited."-
Ueshiba Morihei, The Art Of Peace

I guess thats it for now, nothing much to say anymore. Till next time!!

General Santos City Part 1

A southern part of the Country in the province of South Cotabato. It has a rich soil, good rainfall and typhoon-free climate, the area is the largest producer of corn, coconuts, copra, pineapples, asparagus and rice. The area also produces other high value crops such as exotic fruits, potatoes, vegetables, cut flowers and okra.

It accounts for the largest total daily fish landings in the country and is the leading producer of sashimi grade tuna. Residents boast that fish and seafood do not come fresher than in their city.

Most of all its the place where disciples with great, dynamic,stupendous,passionate hearts, settle. Its the place where we were going.

Several months ago a group of brothers with the leadership of the Davao minister planned to go and visit General Santos City. I was fortunate enough to be included in the planning with the brothers. The main concern during that time, was the goal of the travel. Was it for "la-ag, la-ag", was it just a visit, an outreach, etc...What was the purpose? There were several occasions where we often times discuss about it. We may have several things in mind but at least we should be united in our goals and objectives ...What came out? ....It was, indeed, doing it for Gods' Glory and to encourage the local church in Gen San.
Off we go...with the heart and mind to reach out and encourage our fellow disciples in Gensan.

3 fired-up families went with 6 kids plus myself included. Fitting 14 (7 adults, 1 teen, 6 kids)individuals itslef was an industrious accomplishment..Gi kamada gyud ug tarong para masakto..Whooaa.Fully packed, inside a toyota van, indeed it was an impressive feat (shout out to the driver/minister/leader/kamada king).
The Travel took 3 hours from Davao City to Gen Santos City with one or two stops in between (lunch and just going to the Rest room). Traveling to a long and winding road, seeing some stunning sceneries, having great organic food ( I guess, kasi native chicken eh) ..... only shows how a great and wonderful creator our God is.

Upon arriving at the area of destination we were met by the minister of Gensan. We were set in a nice, cozy and comfy place. Night time was the beginning of the fellowship ... I have witnessed a servants heart and loving heart of the church as they prepare the food for us the visitors.
A feast of local delicacies was just for starters. It was followed by short but meaningful talk by a brother. It was about building a house, a spiritual house, a house with a blue print of were Christ is the foundation; walled by love, commitment, forgiveness and communication; and a roof of Gods grace. We heard the sharing of 3 disciples and their response on how the short message affected their hearts. We ended the activity and head back to the inn, with hearts burned with God's word, filled and encouraged.

However, the night did not end with that, we just had the kids go to sleep and off we went...visit some sights and places and have some food. Actually, its not the sights and places but rather it was the food. Why? kasi yong food na hinahanap namin wala sa mga lugar na pinuntahan namin. Thats why we went to 2 or 3 differente places para maka kain lang ng "PANCIT" hehe..as if walang pancit sa Davao. Nonetheless, it was a fun bonding time...
Part 2...tatapusin...

"don't make me upset. You wouldn't like me when I'm upset"

did some circuit training on this gym. for almost seven months never have i heared any complaint. I did help train some people here, we grapple, we box, lift weights or even kick pads. Before we even use the ring we asked for permission from the instructors if we can hit some mitts or not, and most of the time its a yes, never did I ever experienced any problem. This time, for the very first time my attention was called indirectly by the manager/owner or watchama call him. He indirectly informed me not to use the boxing ring or boxing area since it is the schedule for boxing. This guy did not even looked at the area and see if there are clients boxing or hitting some mitts. Schedule for boxing? Indeed it was but, There was only one client in the ring and he was not even hitting the mitts. The other thing is I did not even climb up the ring and used it. Nonetheless, from what I heared somebody complained. HMMM..the client complained? Maybe the boxing instructor? NOOOOOOOOO...I did ask them, they were even kind enough to allow us to kick some pads inside the ring. Whats messed up about this, is that the manager/owner whoever that is, only talked to one of my trainees and asked him to inform me. If this person has a beef with me, then he could have approached me. As a manager/owner he should have the decency to talk to me. The fact is most of the people who trained with me are paying clients of the gym and I am also a client. The gym did not pay me to train those clients but rather I paid the gym for the usage of the facilities. This people approached me to train with them. Most of all, I did not ask for any payment. Dili ni pamugas..intawon...(doctor tawon ko....I dont want even to go to that level).It was done out of love for the sport. So, whats wrong with this picture? An effort was even done to set an appointment with this guy but he refused because he is busy. Hmmm customer or client should always be heared..but not to this part of the earth..kaya siguro hindi tayo umaasenso. Who complained? Why did they not talk to me directly? I really cannot understand how this happened and why this happened. Two sides of the coin does not apply in this side of the planet.
Clearly this an unproffessional way of handling clients/customers.
I am just really upset and I want to vent this out to get the steam out of my system. the ironic things is that I train for mma..and I cannot even use it at this moment. Hit the bags at the gym...NOOOO its boxing time even if there is nobody using it. Discipline and self control, even in the midst of being disrespected.... deep breathing and count 1 to ........
Mahirap dito sa Pinas dapat magpakita ka ng power and influence para respetohin ...
Well its a challenge always to be a disciple, its a test for self control and a test how, as a christian, should we approach this situations in life. For now sulat lang sa..before going to sleep will pray for it..when I wake up in the morning I will have to do something in a christian way to tell the truth and do what is right in a christly manner.

Muay Thai

It was fun to hold muay thai pads to a new friend of mine, Erich Krauss (pronounced as Arish). Met him when one of my friends whom I trained in MMA told me that an mma author was at the gym kicking the hell out of the bags. I went to look at the guy and to my astonishment it was the author of the mma books which I have. I had my book brought to the gym and have Erich signed it..it was such a great experience. Never in my dreams that this would happen but indeed it did. He signed the book entitled BJ Penn the Book of Knowledge..yeah. He is a nice guy, he hanged out with the guys once during the Vera Couture fight and would probably go to Butuan to observe the very first MMA competition there. That would be fun.

an amazing experience

As I was looking at the post at my FB a friend of mine recently uploaded a picture of me holding muay thai pads for an american author of MMA books. In such a distant place such as Davao City, I really find it amazing how we come to meet this people.

In fact, I got a copy of his work, "BJ PENN's Book of Knowledge" and Antonio Nogueira's "THE GUARD." I have them already signed. Check out his website at www.victorybelt.com

MMA has taken my interest, it became the center of my physical activities. Before, I would rather play basketball or table tennis. However, after I met this brother of mine from Chicago Church, it totally changed my interest, from making hoops and doing those spin drives to learning to set-up a simple armbar, to studying transitions of different submission moves.
Its funny how my toughts run from FB pic to the history of MMA interest. Nonetheless, off I go the gym now and start doing those teep, tae etc....full guard, half guard, peruvian necktie or whatever....till next time
before I forget...Butuan on November 29, another mma competetion..will be there...

Preparing for Gen San

This Saturday to Sunday November 21 to 22, MDCC will have its outreach. A group of disciple volunteers will be going to General Santos City to meet up with the local church and encourage one another. My role would be sharing communion message. I do have something in mind to share however I got a text message from our minister. He texted me to share my previous communion message which I gave here in Davao, the title of which was the unleavened bread. Anyways, at least I already got the powerpoint presentation already prepared for that. Gen San here we come, to God be the glory!!