Edgar Sulite
Lameco Eskrima

A number of masters want me to succeed them,
but it is hard for me to accept that
since I studied from the other masters
and will be teaching their systems too.
-E. G. SULITE

Introduction

Few masters have had an impact on the Filipino martial arts community the way that Master Edgar G. Sulite has. Born on September 25, 1957, in Tacloban City, Philippines, Sulite has succeeded in respecting his masters and bringing a sense of pride to his cultural heritage through his perpetuation of Filipino martial culture. He served as an apprentice under many renown eskrimadors, only later to synthesize their respective lessons into the formation of a system he calls lameco eskrima. Not losing sight of his masters' life-long devotion to the arts, and not wanting to leave them behind, Sulite has taken to naming the individual techniques of lameco eskrima after the masters who taught them to him. In addition, he has written three books in their honor, The Secrets of Arnis, Advanced Balisong , and Masters of Arnis, Kali and Eskrima , respectively. On June 30, 1989, Sulite relocated to the United States and has since taken the country by storm. In fact, he has become the personal eskrima instructor of Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell. From his numerous appearances in the popular martial arts magazines-including three cover stories—to his exhaustive annual seminar schedule, and his multi-volume instructional video series, Edgar Sulite stands above the crowd.

Uninterested Beginnings

Sulite's first exposure to the martial arts came when he was still a small boy of six years old. He recalls a time when his father had taken him and his siblings to his grandfather Timoteo's house where, during the evening, he was surprised to hear the clacking of sticks in a distant room. "I saw my father and grandfather practicing sticks. I was very scared because I was thinking that my father and grandfather were fighting. But, actually, they were only training." It was Sulite's father who first introduced him to Filipino martial arts.

Sulite recalls his father coming home from work in the evenings. He would eat dinner, relax a bit, then call Edgar and his brother, Helacrio, Jr., into the room and ask the boys—one at a time—to strike at him with a rattan stick. "Before I could strike him he already hit me on the chin or on the head," remembers Sulite. "So, I don't like doing kali because it hurt, but my father always trained us like that." The style Helacrio Sulite was passing on to his sons was initially called rapillon arnis because practice was usually conducted by tying a stick in the middle and hanging it in the ceiling where it would spin in a multitude of ever-changing directions when struck. Helacrio later termed it the Sulite style as he learned it from his father, Timoteo. Actually, the Sulite style is a composite of the techniques taught to Helacrio from his uncle, Luis Sulite, and Melicio Ilustrisimo, uncle of the revered Grandmaster Antonio Ilustrisimo.

"I'll tell you honestly," recalls Sulite, "that my interest in the martial arts is not really too good in the beginning. My father would not let up. I really don't like to see the sun go down because I know in the night time my father will come home and beat me up again. So, maybe he wants to train me, or teach me, or to just experiment. I don't know. There was no method of teaching-before I could finish a strike there was already his counter. There is a hard physical contact. Even though he said it was control, it was with a hard stick. Being a boy, I didn't really like it."

"When I was in elementary school, grade four," remembers Sulite," I was able to see Masutatsu Oyama's Vital Karate. I really appreciated how he made the book. In its presentation, I think it is one of the best books I own and that is why I treasure it." From it, Sulite found an interest in Asian martial arts that he had not previously possessed. Sulite was able to observe a karate class across the street from his school where, by the time he reached the sixth grade, he was actively involved in the karate program, along with his continued studies of eskrima under the supervision of his father.

The Earnest Apprentice

Edgar Sulite's first formal training came under the supervision of Grand-master Jose D. Caballero in the system known as de campo uno-dos-tres orihinal eskrima. Prior to his meeting with Caballero, however, Sulite had met several masters (but hadn't studied under them) as they would visit the Sulite residence to instruct his brother. Helacrio, Jr. was identified as a martial artist and protégé of the Sulite system because of his animation during practices. He was known to be a bit of a show-off to the people of the town because of his outdoor practice, where, for effect, he yelled loudly at the completion of every move. "You know," states Sulite, "the Filipino martial artists tried to test my brother to see if he is really good. Some of the master's of kali come to our house because they wanted to challenge him. But, my brother is a really good spokesman, he can make people from mad into calm. I, too, was informally involved with these masters. The main one was Grandmaster Marcelino Bayson and his brothers."

With a new perspective on the martial arts and an idealistic interest in his native ancestral arts, Sulite approached Grandmasters Jose D. Caballero and Pablicito Cabahug for lessons after moving to Ozamis City, in 1975. Since Grandmaster Caballero was popular in his province, Sulite recalls it as being very difficult to be accepted as his student. In fact, he had to earn the trust of Caballero for more than a year before gaining his confidence. "At first Caballero was hesitant to teach me because of my association with other masters. He believed that if you are from other systems and wish to learn from him, it is because you want to steal his techniques," recalls Sulite. "I was able to convince him of my sincere intention to learn. In time I became one of his favorite students. He had three levels of favorite students, the old level (age fifty and up), the middle level (age thirty through forty-nine), and the young level (up to twenty-nine years old). When it came to the young level, I was his favorite."

Sulite's meeting of Master Cabahug was accidental as Sulite's house was near the main road. Every afternoon he earnestly practiced eskrima techniques by striking rubber tires. Not knowing that Cabahug was a master, Sulite was a bit perplexed as to why this old man always stopped by the roadside to observe his practice. After he had watched enough he would acknowledge Sulite with an innocent "hello," and continue on his way. One day Sulite was surprised to find out that the old man who was observing him was none other than the master, Pablicito Cabahug, sparring partner of Grandmaster Jesus Abella. "One afternoon I invited him to come into the house," recalls Sulite. "I directly asked him to teach me eskrima. He replied, 'You are already good so why should I teach you?' I said I have lots of things to learn. That was the beginning of my training with Master Cabahug." It was Cabahug who was responsible of introducing Sulite to Grandmaster Jesus Abella, the founder of the moderno largos system. At this time Sulite was also studying under Leo T. Gaje, Jr., the grandmaster of the pekiti tirsia kali system. "He showed me some things," remembers Sulite. "I studied with Gaje, Caballero, Cabahug, and Abella. So, the systems I was exposed to and am most familiar with are the Sulite style, Ilustrisimo style, de campo uno-dos-tres orihinal, and moderno largos.

After graduating from college in 1981, Sulite relocated to Manila. "I never thought I would teach eskrima because when I practiced it was for my own self-defense, nothing more. In the province the training is different from here in America. It is about survival and developing the ability to protect yourself and your family." Since he was new in Manila and had no connections, the prospect of a job looked meek. In turn, he decided to engage his time in teaching a few close friends the art of eskrima. One day Sulite had a stroke of good fortune as he befriended and became the personal instructor of Roland Dantes, the five-time Mr. Philippines and national movie star. "I was with him and working in his body building gym as an eskrima instructor, when one guy approached me and said 'Edgar are you a professional?' I asked, 'What do you mean by a professional?' He replied, 'Do you fight in the ring without any armor?'"

Sulite replied that he did and asked how much money would be involved. "My father said that his skill was as good as some of the other masters but he never made eskrima his profession. He suggested that I better get another occupation. This man who approached me asked me if I want to fight in the ring for a prize. I don't have any money so I agreed," recalled Sulite. That fight was supposed to be between Sulite and one of Grandmaster Ilustrisimo's students, Epefanio "Yuli" Romo. When Sulite arrived at Rizal Coliseum, however, the promoter approached him with a solemn expression and said that because there were not enough people in attendance, there would be no prize money. "Grandmaster Ilustrisimo was there," recalls Sulite, "and asked the promoter to ask me if I would do a demonstration instead of a fight. I did a demonstration with one of my sparring partners, Lowell Pueblos, the nephew of Leo T. Gaje. After my demonstration my former opponent was surprised because I was moving differently than they had expected. They thought I was from modern arnis because they saw me with Roland Dantes. They thought I studied with him, when actually he was with me. Since Roland had the big name people automatically assumed I was his student." After witnessing Sulite's demonstration, Yuli approached him in friendship and asked from which province Sulite was from. This first introduction to Antonio Ilustrisimo led to a strong student-teacher relationship. Grandmaster Ilustrisimo and Master Yuli then invited Sulite to come to Ilustrisimo's humble home in Tondo where he began his formal instruction in the revered art of kali Ilustrisimo.

Apart from the instruction he received from his primary instructors, Sulite also studied briefly with Masters Ireneo Olavides of de campo uno-dos-tres orihinal eskrima, Billy Baaclo of abaniko de sunkite, Marcelino Bayson of the Bayson style, Manasseh Arranguez of de pluma arnis, Timoteo Maranga of Balintawak super cuentada, Dionisio Cañete and Ciriaco Cañete of Doce Pares Association. Sulite also studied under Grandmaster Felimon Caburnay of the lapunti arnis de abaniko system, but asserts that because he studied with them for a short while he gives them credit as being a minor-system influences in his lameco eskrima system. "When I go to Cebu and other places," remarks Sulite, "the masters are so proud to say that I am their student because of my accomplishments—I wrote three books. As soon as somebody is making good the masters claim that they are students of theirs. So, I learned something from them but I do not really consider myself their students."

The Concept of Lameco Eskrima

"Since I am so in love with the Filipino martial arts," states Sulite, "each of the masters who I studied under really wants me to be their successor. Like Grandmaster Abella, while interviewing him for my book, Masters of Arnis, Kali and Eskrima, he asked me to be his successor. But since I studied with the other masters I cannot. Suppose I want to be moderno largos-only carrying their name-honestly, I will be teaching also de campo uno-dos-tres orehenal and the other systems. On the same token, It is hard for me to use that name because when I teach it other arts automatically come out. So, a number of masters want me to succeed them, but it is hard for me to accept that since I studied from the other masters and will be teaching their systems too." To settle this in such a way as to not offend anyone, Sulite set out to combine their teachings and categorize their techniques into a new art. The system, he is quick to note, is unique in name only, the movements hold their origin in the styles of his masters.

In deciding how to categorize the techniques and lessons, Sulite thought it a good idea to begin by classifying the styles he studied into their respective ranges, from long to medium to close. Sulite found that although the system of Jose Caballero is complete in all three fighting ranges emphasis is placed on the long range movements. The styles of Abella and Gaje are known to be good in close range. "I am not saying pekiti tirsia is only close range," defends Sulite, "they also have medium and long. But, when I studied with Grandmaster Gaje and also his uncle, Grandmaster Jerson Tortai, their art focused more on close-quarters. When I studied with grand-master Ilustrisimo it was medium range to close range. He has also long range but not like Caballero. So, I put Ilustrisimo system into medium to close range. My father's system specialized in close range. That is how I got the name lameco. Any system that falls into long range belongs to "la", for larga mano. All systems that use medium range techniques are classified into the "me," for medio. Any system that specializes in close range knife-fighting or disarming are put into "co," for corto."

When laying out the grading curriculum for lameco eskrima, Sulite approached Grandmaster Caballero. Caballero was a good teacher whose system maintained the distinct levels of elementary school, high school, and college, thus lending itself to being more teachable than many of the other Filipino martial arts. "He gave me an idea of how to arrange the method. Before we graduated [from his school] he will ask you to make a curriculum on how you will present his system in your own way. This was confusing as he asked me to do that but before he died he sent me a letter to not teach his system to the world. That was the last letter I received before he died three months later. So, I break that promise because I love my teacher and want that his system be preserved. I do teach de campo, but not as he taught it to me. I teach it in my own way within lameco eskrima. If he was still alive and could see the product of my students he would say that the art is still there. It is only that the procedure or approach that I changed, but the techniques are the same. It was he who gave me the ideas on arranging my system."

In contrast to Caballero's approach, Sulite recalls there being a number of masters who had good systems but no clear method of presentation. Grandmaster Ilustrisimo, for example, is a good fighter but does not teach in such a way that the students can learn. "While Grandmaster Ilustrisimo used no method of instruction," recalls Sulite, "his top student, Tony Diego, arranged the Ilustrisimo system. Diego also studied other systems which gave him ideas on how to do it. The Ilustrisimo system is a good system, but Grandmaster Ilustrisimo is not a good teacher; he is a good Moro fighter. When you face him and strike from whatever side he will counter and keep countering until you stop. He will never go back to another position or technique. He never repeats himself; it is all reflexive. He is one of the best fighters I have seen. You know the teachers are divided into three groups: good fighter, good teacher, or both. Ilustrisimo is a good fighter only. You must be with him for a long time to capture his essence. The method of learning kali Ilustrisimo—someone must attack him so that we can analyze his movements. That is how we learned it." Although difficult, Sulite posits that he understood what his masters were conveying but swore that if ever he was to teach, it would be in a way that the average student could comprehend. "I knew that if I was going to present lameco eskrima to the world I must do it clearly with detailed explanations."

The Foundation of an Art

The most important element of lameco eskrima is its twelve basic strikes. Whatever range the lameco student find himself the twelve strikes are applicable, even if they don't necessarily follow their prearranged sequence. "The combination of basics becomes the advanced," states Sulite. "The person who cannot execute the strikes well hasn't mastered the basic foundation. In the foundation we do twelve footworks which come from the different masters." Without footwork it is impossible to become a good fighter. It is not enough for the lameco eskrima practitioner to be good at striking, he must also have mastered the footwork. It follows that if you miss a block in medium range (the hitting distance), you use the footwork to maneuver into the long range (the safe distance). In addition, the variations of footwork can aid the lameco eskrima exponent in his countless transitions from long to medium, from medium to close, and from close to long ranges during a sparring session or a self-defense situation.

First and foremost, lameco eskrima is known as a system of drills. It is the progressive nature of these drills that develops honed reflexes. It should be noted that these drills, called laban-laro, are not only memorized and performed in rote. On the contrary, the student must study them to gain a deeper understanding of their various applications. So, not only does the lameco student come to know how to execute a block, but is able to coordinate his body with the block to effect a follow-up counter striking sequence, while maintaining a defensive posture. This is possibly as close as one can get into freestyle fighting while remaining in a drill. In fact, Sunday training at Sulite's home in southern California is known as "Sunday school"-all out full-contact sparring sessions with limited restrictions. There is some padding, however, but it is used as a protection for the bones, not a shield for blocking.

So, what is it that makes lameco eskrima different from other Filipino stick-fighting arts? According to Edgar Sulite it is its focus on intention. "That is a must in lameco eskrima," asserts Sulite. "You must have the intention when practicing by yourself by visualizing the different strikes and your targeting to hit the body parts. It is the focus and intention which makes lameco eskrima different from the rest. Others practice kali but they fail to emphasize the intention of a strike with full power and focus on the target."

For one to develop the ability to strike with full power and intention and actually hit the target takes a command over the strengths and weaknesses of the three combat ranges. Sulite defines the ranges in this way: "When standing facing an opponent with sticks extended and the tips touching the wrists, this is long range; when standing with arms extended and one's hand touching his opponent's elbow, this is medium range; when standing with arms extended and one's hand is able to touch his opponent's shoulder, this is close range. In other systems they fail to analyze that," claims Sulite. "Even though they are already in medium range they fail to realize that they are in medium range. When their opponent goes into long range they fail to analyze that and try to block the stick. But, in long range you cannot block the stick, you must hit the hand or anything he exposes close to your body. In long range they still go stick to stick but if you analyze this you will find that your blocking is not effective anymore. You must use the blocks in medium and close range. When you are in medium to close range and have no more chance to use footwork to move into long range, then you can sometimes block or parry or use the check hand. That is why I emphasize telling the students to analyze and be able to gauge or know what ranges they are in. There are techniques that are only workable in long range or close range or medium range. If the ranges are not really explained to a student it will be very hard for him to understand."

Having the ability to expose an art to the people and have them underhand its strengths and weaknesses is the strongest quality of Edgar G. Sulite. As a result, his students have successfully grasped the concepts and techniques of Filipino martial arts through the system known to the World as lameco eskrima.