NJ martial arts master is ambassador for Hollywood's favorite fighting style – Mary Chao
Growing up in Bergenfield, Ace Ramirez recalls being picked on due to his small stature and his Filipino roots.
As a latchkey kid — his immigrant parents worked multiple jobs — Ramirez would watch martial arts movies at home. He wanted desperately to learn the skills to defend himself.
When his mother made her famous Filipino pancit noodles, Ramirez had an idea. The 10-year-old took the dish to S.J. Kim's taekwondo studio in town and bowed, offering the bowl to Master Kim. Please teach me, he pleaded.
That was 40 years ago and started Ramirez down a path of passion for martial arts. Now, as director of his own studio, the Filipino Kali Academy of Bergenfield and Norwood, Ramirez shares his knowledge with others who want to learn about the unique Filipino way of self-defense.
The fighting style to which he dedicated his life has won new attention in recent years, from Hollywood movies and national sporting organizations.
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"We need to be teachers in every aspect, not just the fighting aspect," said Ramirez, 50, who still lives in Bergenfield.
When he was a child, Ramirez's first challenge at the dojo was finding a way to pay Master Kim. His mother just did not have the extra money, so Ramirez struck a deal, offering to clean the mats and do chores in exchange for lessons.
Martial arts was "all I wanted to do when I was 10," Ramirez recalled recently. It was "a first step in my youth to find myself."
A dedicated student, Ramirez would go on to learn Chinese kung fu, Japanese karate and muay thai. But as a Filipino American, he was drawn to the fighting discipline of his own homeland, which was not well-known in America some 30 years ago.
Filipino martial arts are known as kali, escrima and arnis, three interchangeable terms to describe the indigenous combat style. The form teaches the use of sticks as blades, before moving on to empty-hand techniques. It is street fighting, Ramirez explained. Most Filipino hand-to-hand techniques come from the historical stick-and-sword movements.
Hollywood loves the rapid-fire, close-quarters style of kali. Watch the intense fights in the "Bourne" movies or "Mission: Impossible III" or Bruce Lee's stick-wielding warrior in "Enter the Dragon," and you're watching Filipino martial arts.
"Filipino martial arts has been an influence, a part of choreography, in movies you see," Ramirez said.
The Philippines consist of more than 7,000 islands in the Pacific that declared independence from Spanish rule over 120 years ago. Native Filipinos used their own martial arts techniques to fight the Spaniards, Ramirez said. The art form dates back to the 1500s.
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The Filipino flag was flown for the first time on June 12,1898, which is now celebrated as Independence Day.
In addition to his country's independence, Ramirez has a lot to celebrate this June. It's the 25th anniversary of the academy that he launched in Bergenfield, before opening a second location in Norwood. The original studio shut down during the pandemic but recently reopened at 321 S. Washington St.
Ramirez is also thrilled that the Filipino martial arts form has been officially accepted by the Amateur Athletic Union, included with other sports such as tennis, swimming and weightlifting. Ramirez was in San Jose, California, in May for the induction.
Filipino martial arts are concerned with practical fighting skills and how to fend off attackers. The style covers all distances in which combat could happen: long-range kicking, middle-range boxing and elbowing, and short-range grabbing and poking. It's a pragmatic art form that doesn't focus on complicated moves.
At a Monday night class in Bergenfield this month, students learned self-defense using sticks. They could mimic those moves with a flashlight to thwart an attack, Ramirez told the class. Students stayed grounded on their feet while pivoting.
Ridgewood resident Grace Balajadia, 37, joined the Kali Academy to learn self-defense as well as her cultural roots. She takes classes with her 10-year-old daughter, Isabel, and 8-year-old son, Manny. The children are Filipino and Korean American.
"I wanted my children to be proud of who they are," she said.
There are 137,000 Filipino Americans in New Jersey, according to a 2019 report by the advocacy group Jersey Promise. Bergenfield is one of the centers of the community, known as Bergen County’s Little Manila for the Filipino businesses and eateries along Washington Avenue.
People travel from around the country to Bergen County to learn about kali, Ramirez said. There are few instructors of the Filipino art, he added, noting that half his business involves teaching others to be professional trainers. (His Norwood studio is at 55 Walnut St.)
He and one of his teachers, Tuhon Apolo Ladra, who is the founder of the World Kali Association, spread the art form to other teachers who will pass on those skills to a new generation. It was Ladra who developed a curriculum for Filipino martial arts students.
"My intention is to be an ambassador to bring awareness of Filipino martial arts," Ramirez said.
Mary Chao 趙 慶 華 covers the Asian community and real estate for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news out of North Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: mchao@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ace Ramirez: NJ martial arts master wins for Filipino fighting style
