Martial Arts Honors Run In Waipio Family
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Del.icio.usTyrone Takahashi has great plans to bring his grandfather’s Pedoy’s School of Escrima to new heights, and he’s already accomplished many of his goals for the Filipino martial art.
At the same time, however, he said there are many more goals to achieve.
He is especially honored that he and his uncle Eduardo Pedoy were inducted last year into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame at their Waipio training center.
“It’s been a long haul, all the work that has been put into place for the organization and for my grandfather,” said Takahashi, who has earned the rank of grand master.
The International Martial Arts Hall of Fame, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, found out about Takahashi because of all the seminars he has conducted across the nation. His accomplishments include serving as commissioner of the International Federation of Martial Arts as well as ambassador of the Pacific Rim for the International Karate and Kickboxing Hall of Fame. That’s in addition to his work as Hawaii state director of the North American Federation of Martial Arts and the regional sports director of the U.S. Filipino Martial Arts Federation. Takahashi also is trained in Shotokan karate, kempo karate and boxing.
“They (the International Hall of Fame) were tracking me,” he joked.“And a lot of my colleagues who were inducted in the past had something to do with it.”
Takahashi began learning escrima from his grandfather, Braulio Pedoy, when he was 5. In fact, Pedoy also was inducted to the International Hall of Fame in 1991, before passing away. According to the school’s website, Braulio Pedoy was born in 1900 in Ormac City, Leyte. Grandfather Pedoy studied Derobio escrima under a leader in the army, Gen. Faustino Ablen. After more than 11 years of training, Ablen gave Pedoy a two-hour test - a battle that resulted in a cut to Pedoy’s chin and near his eye. Takahashi’s grandfather was then charged with the responsibility of continuing his training in escrima across the globe.
In 1961, Pedoy’s School of Escrima opened in Honolulu. Takahashi’s Uncle Eduardo served as chief instructor, and when he took over the school, he established branches in California and New Mexico.
Takahashi said there are three types of students who have entered the school’s doors:“One is the type that comes and goes for a short period of time. The second type is somewhat committed and trains regularly, but attendance is up and down. The third type is the really committed type, such as a student who has been with the school for over 30 years, Master Carlton Kramer, who had the good fortune to train with my grandfather.”
While Takahashi continues to teach many of the lessons he’s learned from his grandfather, an important life lesson he continues to share with others is perseverance.
“If you don’t have perseverance, it’s hard to grow in martial arts,” explained Takahashi, who is a co-owner of Ho’omana Electric Co. “It’s about perseverance. It brings you over the top. Second is discipline and respect. Character development and perseverance go hand-in-hand. I continue to teach students to be humble and respectful. If you don’t have respect for your own, like your family, then how are you going to have respect for others?”
One of his goals for 2008 is to have a free one-day workshop for the children and adults in the community to share the values of how important it is to be disciplined and to show respect and persevere.
“My goal is to make a difference and to take the school where my grandfather wanted it to go,” he confided.
Takahashi will host the Pacific Island Showdown Ultimate III Warrior event Sept. 20 at the FilCom Center, where entrants in several divisions of fighting styles can win a championship title. For information on the showdown, call 216-3211 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Classes are held at Pedoy’s Escrima Training Center, located at 94-529 Ukee St. #103 in Waipio.
For complete class schedules or for more information, call 678-2438 or log onto www.pedoysescrima.com
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