Floro Villabrille was probably the guy who coined the old phrase "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

After all, who knew more about breaking bones with stick sand having his own bones broken by them than Villabrille, founder of the Villabrille system of Kali?

The venerable stick-fighting master fought hundreds of full-contact weapons matches during his lifetime, many of which did not end until one fighter was left incapacitated or dead. Villabrille reportedly never lost one of these so-called "death matches," although the beatings took a terrible toll on his body. As it turned out, there was only one opponent Villabrille could not defeat his own advancing age.   The legendary Filipino stylist died March 8, 1992, of complications caused by a minor stroke. He was 79. Like the determined fighter he was, Villabrille had earlier fought off several heart attacks and a 1975 stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side.

It is the Kali great's many victories and his many astonishing accomplishments that his followers will remember most. He was said to have superhuman strength and could not only punch nails through two-by-fours with his bare fists, but could then pull the nail out with his hands. "One time he took a rusty nail it had no point and he smashed it right into solid wood," recalls Frank Mamalias, one of Villabrille's former training partners. "He told the audience; 'I have $100 for anyone who can pull that nail out.' Noone succeeded, so he held the board, took his hand, and pulled the nail out with no hesitation. It sounded like a .38 going off!"

Another time, Villabrille challenged a man to peel a coconut with his bare hands. The man tried desperately to make inroads in the leather-like covering surrounding the actual coconut shell, but to no avail.  Villabrille took the coconut and in no time had pried the outer portion apart with his bare hands.

Villabrille began his training in the Filipino arts at age 14. His favorite instructor was said to be a blind princess named Josephina, who lived in a small village on the island of Samar.  Although she could not see, she was somehow able to block his stick and blade blows during training, Villabrille claimed.

Villabrille fought one of his memorable bouts at age 18, taking on a Moro stick fighter. There were no rules, nor body armor, and the two traded vicious blows for five rounds before Villabrille finally persevered and subdued his determined opponent. For weeks afterward, Villabrille was unable to lift his arms over his head due to the blows he had absorbed while at-tempting to block the Moro's stick strikes.   If they had been fighting with bladed weapons, Villabrille admitted he would have been killed.

In his book The Filipino Martial Arts, noted Filipino fighting arts expert Dan Inosanto includes a quote from Villabrille about how he trained for these full-contact matches: "Before a fight, I go to mountains alone. I pretend my enemy is there. I imagine being attacked, and in my imagination I fight for real. I keep this up until my mind is ready for the kill. I can't lose. When I enter the ring, nobody can beat me; I already know that man is beaten."

Inosanto is just one of many great martial artists who was influenced by Villabrille. Others include Mamalias, Eduardo Pedoy, Snookie Sanchez, Raymond Tabosa, Ciriaco Canete, and Ben Largusa, Villabrille's top student, who brought Kali to the U.S. mainland 19 years ago.

In honor of this great man, and great martial artist, Black Belt posthumously names Floro Villabrille its 1992 Weapons Instructor of the Year.

-- Black Belt Magazine 1992

In all of the Filipino martial arts, one names keeps surfacing with great reverence and awe.  That name is Floro Villabrille. He is the undefeated champion in countless Escrima and Kali matches in the Philippines and in Hawaii.  Escrima stick fighting matches were full-contact bouts without the aid of armor, which resulted in death or permanent injury to the participants.   They usually used the stick in the right hand and punched with the left hand.  The use of the elbow, knee and head were common at close range combat.  Combat grappling like techniques (standing or on the ground) were applied.  These included throws, trips, sweeps, take down, chokes, strangulation, dislocations and locks on the fingers, wrists, elbows shoulders, ankles and knees.  The feet were used for kicking at the low level.  It was a brutal art and only the swiftest, the strongest and the most courageous survived or remained in practice.  The rounds were two minutes with one minute rests in between.

One instructor said, "I am very good, but Floro Villabrille is way out of my class; but then again, he is way out of everyone's class.  Floro can beat you with his brain and guts."

In December of 1977 my Publisher visited Mr. Villabrille at his home on Kauai, Hawaii where he spoke of his special training.  "Before a fight I go to mountains alone.  I pretend my enemy is there.  I imagine being attacked and in my imagination I fight for real.  I keep this up until my mind is ready for the kill.  I can't lose.  When I enter the ring nobody can beat me already.  I already know that man is beaten.  In 1948 my wife was at the fight.  I tell her 'no worry, I can't lose."  Anything you do, even go to school or find a job... in the morning you make a prayer.   I want to do this, I got to do it.  Walk around and work on your mind.  And you will do it." Some people feel his life is charmed and that he has the power of Anting-Anting - a magical charm that gives a person super natural strength.

Floro Villabrille started his training at the age of 14.  He traveled the length and width of the Philippines researching the art of Kali and studied under many different instructors.  His favorite instructor was a female; a blind princess named Josephina.  To reach this blind princess, he had to travel many inaccessible trails, finally reaching a village called Gundari on the island of Samar.  He stayed in this village for a long time not learning any Kali but just doing menial tasks as cleaning up.  Finally he was allowed to practice the art.  He states that he doesn't know how the princess saw the blows, but he contends that she was one of his best instructors.  After training there for some time, he comes down from the village and competes.  While competing in a match and winning, he is approached by a man who asks him where he learned that style.  Villabrille tells him that he learned it in the village Gundari on the Island of Samar.  The man tells him that is impossible for the village is inaccessible to travel and that he couldn't possibly have reached the village because he was from there.   When Villabrille tells him about the blind princess, he realizes that he is telling the truth and starts to cry and embrace him.

At the age 18, Villabrille was working on a ship when his training partner, Dison, telegrammed him to fight a young Moro stick fighter.  Dison was a great stick fighter in his own right, but had previously lost to the Moro stick fighter.  When Villabrille arrived in the Philippines he was met by his friends.  They told him that the Moro fighter was just too fast and too good and that he should cancel out.  Villabrille stubbornly refused to back out of the match. According to Villabrille, the Moro was much faster than he was and probably the fastest man he ever met.  On sheer guts and determination, Villabrille trades blow for blow and finally wins the match in the fifth round.  For several weeks after the match, Villabrille couldn't raise his arms above his head because of the blows he had received while trying to block.  Villabrille now feels that if the combat had been with swords, the Moro fighter would have probably won.  He competed in 1933, 34, 35, 36 and then the matches were stopped, until 1948, when his last match took place.

Villabrille pooled all the knowledge from all the sources he came across and developed his own system of combat.  That is the Villabrille System of Kali, which is a composite of all the styles of the Islands.

Villabrille has an award, a certificate and diploma signed by General Frank Murphy, then Governor of the Philippines.  The certificate states that he had won the Grand Championship of the Philippines, thus making him the Grandmaster of that country.  In the Cebu Municipal Museum they have a giant picture of Lapu-Lapu, the man who killed Magellan.  Next in size is the certificate and picture of Grandmaster Floro Villabrille.

-- Dan Inosanto, The Filipino Martial Arts (1980)

The Legend of Floro Villabrille
Kali’s Master of the Death Match

They came, several hundred strong, from Oahu, the mainland, the Philippines and the host island of Kauai to pay homage to him.  They brought food.  They brought gifts.  They brought music.  They brought their martial arts.

But most of all, they brought their love for the man whose kali style they practiced and whose legendary skill they revered.

It was a celebration to honor Floro Villabrille, the acknowledged grandmaster of the Villabrille-Largusa System of Kali, which is a composite of all Filipino fighting methods.  The undefeated death match fighter, recently turned 78, is not the powerful force he once was.  A stroke in 1975 left his left side paralyzed and hampered his ability to walk. He has had two heart attacks and continues to have heart problems.  His biggest opponent now is his own vulnerability.

But he seemed pleased that so many would come so far to see him, shake his hand and demonstrate to him their skills in the Filipino arts.

The event was organized by Wilmington, California-based Greg Lontayao, one of the system’s senior instructors, who brought representatives from four of his six schools to the celebration.  Seven other groups attended the event and demonstrated for the grandmaster:  John Taeza’s kali school; Benny Albios’ Oahu kali school; Honolulu-based Snookie Sanchez and his talented group; escrima instructor Joey Delmar of Honolulu, the successor to the late Raymond Tabosa, and her students; Rudy Orland and his Oahu group; Eduardo Pedoy and his students from Honolulu; Frank Mamalias and his Oahu based students; and 71-year old Ciriaco Canete , who came all the way from Cebu City, Philippines and concluded the program with a demonstration of his doce pares system and escrido, a combination of escrima and aikido.

“This is the first time was have gathered all the different styles together to demonstrate and show respect to the grandmaster,” Lontayao said.  “We understand and respects each other.  There are no problems.”

Ben Largusa, Villabrille’s top student and the man who brought kali to the U.S. mainland nearly 17 years ago, was unable to attend the celebration due to a death in the family.  But Largusa sent his daughter Lois to Kauai with a message for Villabrille.  “Like a tornado, kali started its movement in Kauai and gathered momentum,” she told the gathering, alluding at time to Villabrille’s unmarked, unscarred face despite the many full-contact matches he fought during his lifetime.  “We salute you, and we love you.”

In his book, The Filipino Martial Arts, kali expert Dan Inosanto quoted Villabrille on how he trained for his fights:  “Before  a fight, I go to mountains alone.  I pretend my enemy is there.  I imagine being attacked, and in my imagination I fight for real.  I keep this up until my mind is ready for the kill.  I can’t lose.  When I enter the ring, nobody can beat me; I already know that man Is beaten.”

Villbrille began training in the Filipino arts at 14 and studied under a number of instructors in the Philippines.  His favorite teacher was said to be a blind princess named Josephina, who lived ina village called Gandari on the island of Samar.  To this day , Villabrille does not know how the princess was able to see his blows during training.

When he was 18, Villabrille fought one of his most memorable bouts against a Moro stick fighter.  Although the Moro was the faster of the two, Villabrille traded blow for blow and eventually won the full-contact match after five rounds.  For several weeks afterward, Villabrille was unable to lift his arms over his head due to the blows the had received while attempting to block the Moro’s stick attacks.  If the match had been fought with swords instead of sticks, Villabrille admits he probably would have been killed.

Many who competed in these brutal bouts did die, or suffered permanent injury.  No body armor was permitted, and elbow, knee and head strikes were common at close range.  In fact, just about any technique was allowed.  Yet, Villabrille never lost a fight, competing in his final match in 1948.  A television crew from Hawaii Tonight News, hearing of Villabrille’s prowess, attended the celebration in Kauai and asked him questions about his so-called death matches.  “I didn’t feel nothing,” Villabrille told the interviewer.

Years ago, in his prime, Villabrille might have joined the other masters on stage and demonstrated his kali as well.  But his weakened condition wouldn’t allow it.  Still, stories of his exploits circulated throughout the assembly hall as the various groups performed.

Some people believe Villabrille has the power of anting-anting, a magical charm that gives one superhuman strength.  Perhaps that explains how he punched nails through two-by-fours, and how he was able to pull the nails back out again.

“One time he took a rusty nail – it had no point; nothing -  and he smashed it right into solid wood,” recalls Frank Mamalias, one of Villabrille’s former training partners.  “He told the audience:  ‘I have $100 for anyone who can pull that nail out.’  None succeeded, so he held it, took his hand, and pulled it out with no hesitation.  It sounded like a .38 going off!”

The there’s the story about how Villabrille challenged a man to peel a coconut with his bare hands.  The man couldn’t make any inroads in the leather-like covering that surrounds the actual coconut, so Villabrille took it and pried the outer portion apart with his two hands.  “The sides of him, there are many,” Mamalias says.

Villabrille tributes abounded at the celebration in Kauai.  Phil Tacbian, who trained with Villabrille for a year and was running for Hawaii state senator at the time of this printing, called his former training partner “a true master.  No instructor came anywhere near the grandmaster.  He was a true perfectionist.”

Although somewhat guarded about discussing Villabrille’s full-contact matches, Tacbian admitted that, in his younger days, Villabrille “killed a guy.  He learned how deadly the art was for real.  The losers…some of them got killed.”

While far from animated, Villabrille seemed to enjoy the festivities, which included music from a six-piece band of kali practitioners  (headed by talented flutist Simpy Albios) and a banquet of tasty Philippine food.

Perhaps the most exciting routine was that of Snookie Sanchez, 53 who arrived late after attending a tournament on Oahu earlier in the day, performed a demo with his daughter in which she defended against his double-blade attack with a pair of long sticks.  It was one of the few full-speed routines that featured “live” blades, and certainly caught everybody’s attention.  When Sanchez went down under a particularly effective double-stick attack by his daughter, Villabrille snickered “He’s dead.”

Sanchez’ most impressive work was saved for last, however, when he blindfolded himself and proceeded to demonstrate the art of latigo (bullwhip).  “I used to kill all of the plants in the yard,” Sanchez remarked as he cracked the whip in preparation of his demo.  “And I tell you, I was good.  I used to get a licking (from my mother).”

Candles were placed in a circle around Sanchez and while blindfolded, he used the whip to snuff out the flames of all but one.

Next to Lapu Lapu, the legendary Filipino warriors credited with slaying the invading Spaniard Ferdinand Magellan in the 16th century, Villabrille is probably the most famous martial artist ever to come out of the Philippines.  When he left the celebration, assisted by his wife and nurse Trini, it was a sad sight to see the once-powerful grandmaster so feeble.  Still, he made his exit with pride and dignity, and with the respect of several hundred of his followers, who watched and wondered if they would see him again.

-- Jim Coleman, Black Belt Magazine (1990)