Cebuano coaches speak out: Combat sports only for self defense, not for bullying

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebuano combat sports coaches condemned the viral videos of an alleged taekwondo practitioner from a prominent university in Manila who was seen hurting his fellow students.

The videos, which showed clips of the same student picking on different victims around the campus, started circulating around social media on Thursday.

For the coaches, this act is highly unacceptable in their respective sports.

“As a trainor, we teach them the value of discipline. We teach them not to use this skill outside unless if it’s for self defense,” said Association for the Upliftment of Karatedo (AUK) chief instructor Antoinette Reynes Saavedra.

“It’s not easy teaching martial arts to kids because it’s either they will be the ones to bully others or they will be the ones who will be bullied. That’s why aside from perfection of forms, techniques and skills, we center also our teaching on perfection of character,” Saavedra added.

ALA Boxing Gym trainer and matchmaker Edito Villamor, the trainer of some of ALA Boxing Gym’s brightest ring warriors, echoed Saavedra’s sentiments.

“Boxing, just like other combat sports, is used for self defense and not inflicting harm to others,” he said, adding that the family of the kid should partly be blamed for his actions.

“The family of this boy should be taught about values while he is still young. They should be the one guiding their son and for me that is a very important rule within the family. The teacher, who serves as the second parent of the child should also teach values.”

Villamor also hopes the school takes action on the matter.

“Teaching values to children is very critical in this generation, which is exposed to the negative side of social media and the internet. Martial arts should be used to defend the weak.”