It’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu for fighting family

MANILA, Philippines - Noel Rulloda and his sons Franco and J. R. are known in the Philippine mixed martial arts (MMA) community to be the fighting family whose mission is to spread the gospel of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) as the most effective way of self-defense. They’re not only teachers of the “gentle art,” often referred to as human chess, but also active competitors.

Noel, 56, pioneered in the practice of personal training after earning an electrical engineering degree at Mapua and worked his way to becoming the Alaska strength and conditioning coach in the PBA for three seasons up to 1991. He tried out life in the US in 1992 then returned home a year later to establish a profession as a personal trainer for high-profile clients like Bea Zobel Jr., Tessie Coson-Sy, Gov. Jose Alvarez and the Concepcion brothers, working out of the plush facilities of the Manila Polo Club and Manila Golf Club

While training others in the gym, Noel made a name for himself as the country’s powerlifting champion for 13 straight years in the 67.5 and 75 kilogram divisions. Now a certified BJJ instructor and wrestling coach, Noel is a three-stripe BJJ white belter and still competes in tournaments.

“I’ve always enjoyed sports and my fondest memories as a boy was when I would do pushups, sit-ups, running and climbing,” said Noel. “I used to manage Fitness International at Corinthian Plaza where Alaska’s head office is and I got to know Mr. Fred Uytengsu and his wife Kerry. That was how I got involved with the Alaska team, first with coach Bogs Adornado and finally with coach Tim Cone. I was lucky to be with the team that won the 1991 third conference championship. Twice, I left home to go to the US in 1992 and 1998. But I decided to return home and make a career out of teaching people how to be fit and healthy through exercise.”

Today, Noel attends to five to eight clients a day for about an hour each. He specializes in one-on-one training and his classroom moves from exclusive clubs to private homes. Noel, like his sons, is affiliated with Detfac (Defense and Tactics Center) which has over 20 gyms all over the country. Deftac founder Alvin Aguilar, a BJJ black belter, is the sole authority who promotes BJJ belters from white to blue to purple to brown to black with four stripes as the qualifying standard to get to the next level. Aguilar is also the founder of URCC (Universal Reality Combat Championship), the country’s most popular MMA cage organizer, and president of the Wrestling Association of the Philippines, a POC-recognized NSA.

Franco, 31, and J.R., 26, influenced their father to shift to BJJ. They’re both BJJ blue belters. “When I was seven, my father taught me how to box and in family gatherings, we would play-box with gloves,” he said. “In high school, I did volleyball, basketball, soccer and swimming. I was turned on to the martial arts by Bruce Lee and I tried taekwondo, karate and kickboxing. In college, I was in the La Salle training team for basketball but eventually, I met up with Alvin, Marcus Valda, Richard Lasprilla and Pichon Garcia who are all mixed martial arts experts. I did underground fighting at La Salle and with Alvin’s guidance, I worked hard to upgrade my skills. I graduated with a business degree in 2006 and began competing in tournaments like the Ultimate KO Challenge at the Elorde’s. Whenever my brother and I train, other fighters train with us and we became trainers, too.”

Franco said during the day, he works at HSBC. “I can’t make a living out of fighting,” he said. “I don’t fight for money, I fight for fun. I fight to push and test myself against others. I train every day and I average about 11 tournaments a year. I’m an instructor at Deftac Sucat and Functional Fitness in Makati. I also do knife-fighting lessons at Forge Gym in BF. Jerry Coviejo and Alfred Gealogo run Forge Gym which is oriented towards the combative arts like fighting with knives, sticks and bladed weapons.”

Franco said his goal is to create awareness for BJJ. “It’s a complex martial art which engages the mind,” he said. “BJJ is the art of learning the concept of leverage, the control points of the human body. There’s a lot of technique involved and that’s why cross-training is encouraged with judo, wrestling and boxing. Count Mitsuyo Maeda brought jiu-jitsu to Brazil in 1914 and the Brazilians created their own version of the art with the Gracie family. BJJ is about grappling, ground-fighting and submission. You need to take down your opponent before you can force a submission and that means knowing the basics of wrestling.”

Franco said the nicest people he knows are fighters. “That’s because we have no pent-up aggression,” he said. “We’re the first to walk out of a fight because you know what you’re capable of doing and it’s no satisfaction beating up someone not at your skill level. We never start fights.”

Noel said self-defense is also about being fit. “If you’re in the gym working out to be fit, you might as well acquire a new skill while you’re at it,” he said. “Fights never start fair so that’s why you’ve got to be prepared. You avoid situations that you can’t control. My wife (Mitch) takes care of business in our family while my sons and I fight.” Franco said his mother supports them nervously.

J. R., a St. Benilde graduate, trains an average of 12 students at least thrice a week at the Deftac La Salle gym and teaches BJJ at the Fight Factory in Global City every Monday. He has a 7-2 amateur MMA record and represented the Philippines at the 2015 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships. His other job is working for Alveo as a property investment consultant.

Franco and J. R. are slated to see action at the Pan Asia BJJ Championships in the MOA Arena on May 20-22. Franco will compete in the 76 kilogram class while J. R. will battle in the 57.

“Our dream is to set up our own dojo, affiliated with Deftac,” said Franco. “It will be our MMA academy specializing in BJJ. We want to expand our horizons. Last year, we organized Arte Suave Manila for beginners and intermediate BJJ fighters at the Commercenter Alabang. We had about 100 sign up for the two-day tournament and the foot traffic was incredible for the mall. We’ll do it again this year. What sets BJJ apart from other martial arts is its exciting Brazilian flair. It’s the attraction of URCC which was created by fighters for fighters. URCC has now been around for over 10 years with 27 events and its fan base is phenomenal. The MMA community is closed-knit and we all support each other.”