GM MONTOYO AWARDED HIS 8TH DAN By: James U. Sy Jr.

Grandmaster Elmer V. Montoyo of Bacolod City was recently awarded his 8th Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do by Eric Breuer Soke of the USA , 10th Degree Black Belt, Founder of Chun Kuk Moo Sul.

The promotion was made under the sanction of the Universal Fighting Arts Fellowship International (UFAFI), the official governing body for Chun Kuk Moo Sul “Universal Martial Arts (Hangul).”

The promotion was given in recognition of GM Montoyo’s lifetime dedication to the Martial Arts, especially to Tang Soo Do.

To date GM Montoyo have 52 years combined experience in the Martial Arts, having started with Western Boxing under the late Coach Col. Porferio “Peryong” Arcobillas in 1957 at the Bacolod City Diamond Gloves gym.

Montoyo started learning Shotokan Karate “Shoto’s School of the Empty Hand (Nihonggo)” in 1960 at the White Kimono Karate Club (KKC) under 3rd Class Brown Belt Levi Sembrano, then 2nd Class Brown Belt Jerry Gonzales, followed by George A. Gargalicano Sensei, then 2nd Dan Black Belt, and finally Master Casimiro “Chingi” A. Grandeza, Founder/Chief Instructor of WKKC, in 1963.

Montoyo was promoted to Honorary Black Belt and 1st Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate in 1964 and 1966 respectively, by Master Grandeza, the latter being under the sanction of the Visayas Budokyokai and the certification signed by All Japan Karate Federation (AJKF) Chief Instructor Koichi Kondo Sensei, AJKF President Kainosuke Watanabe Sensei, and WKKC Founder/Chief Instructor Master Casimiro “Chingi” A. Grandeza.

Montoyo earned his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Degree Black Belts in Tang Soo Do from Grandmaster Casimiro “Chingi” A. Grandeza, today recognized as “The Father of Karate in Negros” and “The first Filipino grandmaster of Korean Tang Soo Do,” in 1969, 1972, and 1994 respectively under the sanction of the Philippine Moo Duk Kwan Inc.-Korea Tang Soo Do Association (PMDKI-KTSDA)

GM Grandeza was awarded his 6th Degree Black Belt by Moo Duk Kwan “ School of Martial Virtue (Hangul)” Founder/Grandmaster Hwang Kee after passing the Masters’ Training Course in Seoul , Korea in the 1960s. GM Grandeza produced some of the best fighters during the early days of Karate in Bacolod and Negros Occidental, among them Asian Karate heavyweight champion Jaime “Jimmy” Magbanua.

Master Montoyo went on to found his own system, Filipino Tang Soo Do, and his own school, the Philippine Integrated Martial Arts Academy-Filipino Tangh Soo Do Association (PIMAA-FTSDA), Inc. He was promoted to 6th Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do by Master Eric Breuer, then 7th Degree Black Belt, in 2000.

Grandmaster Eric Breuer had trained under some of the best teachers in the Martial Arts, among them Grandmaster Chuck Norris (Chun Kuk Do, 1984 to 1993), Grandmaster Donald Duncan (Free Style Jujitsu, 1970 to 1993), Master Robert Beaudoin (Tang Soo Do, 1973 to 1978), Master Hwang Hun-Chul (Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, 1978 to 1983), and Grandmaster Joe Rossi (Rossi Kun Tao, 1990 to 1998). GM Breuer is the Current Grandmaster of Rossi Kuntao and the Founder of Chun Kuk Moo Sul and Universal Fighting Arts Fellowship International (UFAFI).

Master Montoyo had learned Kung Fu Karate Chinese Atado under Grandmaster Yao Hing Poi of Hong Kong and Tai Chi Chuan under international Master Li Jun-Feng (Lee Fong-Jong), former National Wushu Coach of the People’s Republic of China .

Master Montoyo had also studied Original Filipino Tapado (OFT) under the late Founder/Grandmaster Romeo “Nono” C. Mamar and his nephew, then Chief Instructor Benefredo “Bebing” M. Lobrido. He was promoted to Senior Instructor in OFT by GM Mamar and to Master and then to Grandmaster on June 28, 2008 by Grandmaster Lobrido, who became the 1st Generation Inheritor of the art after the Founder’s death in 2005.

GM Montoyo had served as the Negros Occidental Coordinator for the Philippine Pencak Silat Association (Philsilat) as well as an official of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines (WFP)-Neg. Occ., Muay Association of the Philippines (MAP)-Neg. Occ., and arnis Philippines-Bacolod/Negros. He is the Philippine representative for Rossi Kuntao International of Breuer Soke.

GM Montoyo is recognized as a grandmaster by the Intercontinental Federation of Filipino Martial Arts Schools (IFFMAS) and is a Consultant to the Original Filipino Tapado Long stick Fighting Association (OFTLSFA), Inc., Conceptual Martial Arts Society (CMAS), Inc., and the Universal Defensive Tactics Academy (UDTA).