An Anne Arundel County man is teaching people about Filipino culture every day through martial arts. Filipino American History Month celebrations commemorate the first documented arrival of Filipinos to the United States on Oct. 18, 1587. The murals and fixtures on the wall and the bamboo lining the floors at the Filipino Kali Academy in Glen Burnie all tell a story about Filipino culture.”Those bamboo represent a lot of our footwork. It is not just there for decoration,” said Apolo Ladra, the martial arts academy’s owner. “Basically, this whole school is more like a cultural art in addition to the martial arts.”While Ladra has high-ranking black belts in Tae Kwon Do, he wanted to use martial arts to pay homage to his culture.”All throughout my martial arts career, I am promoting other people’s culture. Meanwhile, we have this rich Filipino culture that I would like to share with everyone,” Ladra said. So, Ladra opened the Filipino Kali Academy, and he shares pieces of Filipino culture wherever he can. Students learn how to show respect in Filipino culture, they learn techniques using sticks and they wear handkerchiefs instead of belts to show their ranking.”When they wear the handkerchief, we call it Bayanihan, which means a person can come up to your house and I’m ready to serve. I’m ready to give value to other people,” Ladra said. Ladra also teaches his students how to be teachers through his Learn to Teach, Teach to Learn program, which more than 160 martial arts instructors have implemented in their schools.”They develop their confidence. They learn how to speak in front of people and teach. Like, I can have an 8-year-old lead a whole entire class,” Ladra said.Ladra uses Zoom to teach students all over the world about Filipino martial arts and culture as well as his teaching program. He also teaches a women’s self-defense class at his academy.
An Anne Arundel County man is teaching people about Filipino culture every day through martial arts.
Filipino American History Month celebrations commemorate the first documented arrival of Filipinos to the United States on Oct. 18, 1587. The murals and fixtures on the wall and the bamboo lining the floors at the Filipino Kali Academy in Glen Burnie all tell a story about Filipino culture.
“Those bamboo represent a lot of our footwork. It is not just there for decoration,” said Apolo Ladra, the martial arts academy’s owner. “Basically, this whole school is more like a cultural art in addition to the martial arts.”
While Ladra has high-ranking black belts in Tae Kwon Do, he wanted to use martial arts to pay homage to his culture.
“All throughout my martial arts career, I am promoting other people’s culture. Meanwhile, we have this rich Filipino culture that I would like to share with everyone,” Ladra said.
So, Ladra opened the Filipino Kali Academy, and he shares pieces of Filipino culture wherever he can. Students learn how to show respect in Filipino culture, they learn techniques using sticks and they wear handkerchiefs instead of belts to show their ranking.
“When they wear the handkerchief, we call it Bayanihan, which means a person can come up to your house and I’m ready to serve. I’m ready to give value to other people,” Ladra said.
Ladra also teaches his students how to be teachers through his Learn to Teach, Teach to Learn program, which more than 160 martial arts instructors have implemented in their schools.
“They develop their confidence. They learn how to speak in front of people and teach. Like, I can have an 8-year-old lead a whole entire class,” Ladra said.
Ladra uses Zoom to teach students all over the world about Filipino martial arts and culture as well as his teaching program. He also teaches a women’s self-defense class at his academy.
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