Sensei Artemio Mancol- AKA Sensei Daidai Life Story

I was born February 7,1979 in Calbayog City, Samar, Philippines. I have 5 siblings and I was the 3rd oldest among the siblings, Cesario, Rolando ,Me, Dante, Ely and Christina.

Our parents are Ely, my father and Janita, my mother.

When we were still young, our parents decided to travel to Manila to find work. They left me and my oldest brother under the care of our aunt in Brgy.Buntay, Calbayog City, Samar. When I reached 6 years old, our aunt decided to bring me and my brother in Manila to be together with our parents. We lived in a very small room, no comfort room and no kitchen in Sampaloc Manila. Our life in Manila is very hard, our mother working as a laundrywoman and my father working as a part time carpenter, our income is not enough to sustain our family’s expenses of living. I started to help my parents by selling sampaguita and newspapers while studying at the same time. I also have to work as a parking boy in 7-11 Nagtahan cor. Malacañang that time to earn some money for my school expenses. I have to work not like any typical 7-year-old kid because I knew I have to help my parents and I really want to study. One time, I saw my older brother kuya Sari he started training karate. The name of the club was Pure Energy Karate Club. At that time I also wanted to join the club but my brother told me not to because we cannot afford the fees for both of us to join. The fee back then is 10 pesos per session. Because of that, I will only watch from outside of the dojo and trying to copy the punches and kicks that are being taught inside the dojo.My Kuya has always been my inspiration,he is very good and strong fighter, he is my Idol in Karate. At the age of 11, Year 1991. I tried to approach one of the instructors, Sensei Ed Tejada. I told him that I really want to learn karate but I don’t have the money to pay the fees. Sensei Ed Tejada, whole-hearted accepted me as his Uchideshi. Being an uchideshi means I need to clean the dojo and do the other chores and obey the Sensei’s instructions. That was the time I started officially as a student of the Pure Energy Karate Club.

One day, my instructor introduced me to the Chief Instructor and President of the Karate Organization, Sensei Victor Canon. Everyday I go to the dojo to clean and to finish the chores I need to finish and the obey Sensei’s instructions. After I train the basics and other techniques, I will have to go home to prepare to sell peanuts, balut and other snacks that can be carried to be sold in different places in Manila. Like restaurants, bars and streets. I study in the morning and when I go out of the school, I will go to the dojo to do my chores and responsibilities. I sell in the afternoon till midnight until I sold all my products and when I get home, I will give my mother all the money that I earned. I don’t have a karate uniform since I cannot afford to buy one. Our Sensei asked an old karate uniform from my fellow student and he gave it to me. That’s the first time, I did wear a Karate uniform, this is also the first time I started to attend the regular karate class. I did training everyday and I was focused on training for kumite for preparation for the competitions. Almost every month, I join the tournament and I was known as a strong fighter and win the competitions. Everyone in the Karate Club and the organization calls me as SPEEDY DAIDAI

Every time I would join a tournament, I always bring home a trophy. One time, my parents talked to me and asked me why do I keep on joining the tournament of karate. They also said that I will not gain anything from it, I only get body pain and bruises. My father also suggested me to learn boxing instead of karate. He added that Boxing has prize money and I will get something if I get famous. In Karate, I will only get bruise and pain and it will not be enough to support my family in the future. But even my parents didn’t support me, I continued to train karate because that’s what I want, I believe this is what I am good at and my dream is to become a black belter. One day, I will get the opportunity to teach students.

At the age of 15, Year 1995. I became a Black belt under Pure Energy Karate Club. Our life is very hard and we had many challenges to face so I had to stop both studying and training karate, to work as a helper full time.

In year 1996-1997, Sensei Victor Canon started teaching in San Juan and he was looking for a black belt to help him and propagate the new style and new organization he belonged which is the Kyokushin Full Contact Karate.

In year 1998, I got married to the love of my life Name Riza and had our first child that same year. I worked in Ortigas as a messenger. Every time I go home through a bus, it always passes by through the Pinaglabanan Covered Court in San Juan City. I saw there are people training karate there so I was curious and had the time to check. I saw a familiar face teaching the students. It was Sensei Victor Canon, after their training, I gathered my courage and tried to approach him and asked him if I can start in teaching and training karate again. He told me that I need to learn from the basics again because this full contact karate has a very huge difference from Traditional Karate that I used to learn when I was still in Pure Energy Karate Club. He told me if I want, I can come to San Juan Elementary School and he will introduce me to the branch chief of Kyokushin Kaikan and I should bring my karate uniform. I didn’t have the second thought; I went immediately on the schedule and the place he told me. Before the training ended, a man in karate uniform arrived and that was Sensei Steven Foo. He asked me to stand in the middle and called a senior student to spar with me. He told me to try to spar and for him to know my knowledge and skills. I told him that I know Shotokan karate and if I will spar in a Full-contact, I have no idea. He encouraged me to try. After many tries, He told me, this is the ultimate truth kyokushin karate, come and join us and go back to training again. I was thinking I need to this because I really want to go back to training and I need extra income for my family also.

I have always been my dream to become an instructor. I became a part-time instructor and we had to teach in different barangays of San Juan until we did a branch out to Mandaluyong City. I was really happy and very grateful to both Sensei Victor Canon and Sensei Steven Foo because they gave me the chance to continue to reach my dream and to have extra income as well. In the same year, Sensei Steven offered me to become a full-time instructor. I accepted the offer. My family realized that this is really what I want and finally I was able to prove that I can reach my dream and earn from it at the same time. It was really an unbelievable feeling. Even I was not able to finish my studies, I was able to reach my dream, to become a Karate Practioner and finally to become an Instructor.

In year 1998, I joined to San Juan Mayor’s Cup Tournament and won as Champion. Next year 1999 I joined the 8th Asia National Selection and got the Champion as well. I was also one of the eight fighters to represent the country, under the Kyokushin Philippine Team, That time, all of the filipino fighters prepared very hard for this tournament. Sensei Nelly Mae Tapel and I, were always the partners in training and sparring. We went through a lot of hardships but all of the hard work paid off, Sensei Nelly Mae won as Champion for the Womens Category and I was Top 6 in my category in Men’s Open Division the 8th Asia Full Contact Karate Tournament, where it was held in the Philippines. I was able to see my idol kyokushin fighters like Kancho Matsui Kancho Royama and Kancho Peter Chong. October 2001, I joined my first International Tournament in Indonesia representing Philippines together with Sensei Bien Abendanio, a fellow Filipino fighter representing the country of Brunei because he is currently teaching and working there. This is a very memorable event for us, I fought the 6-footer toughest fighter from Indonesia and the 2nd placer of the said tournament and Sensei Bien fought and won the first elimination by knockout via turning back kick and in the 2nd elimination, he faced the another fighter and won via Ippon using gedan and lasted until 3rd elimination. The supreme judge saw all my 7 ushiro-geri that was executed and Heru as he mentioned that if the 8th ushiro-geri was executed smoothly he may surrender the fight. Since then, because of our performances in the said tournament. All Kyokushin Filipinos fighters were known as small but terrible. We are the David in the David and Goliath story. As Kancho Peter Chong said “Today, in this tournament, we are not talking about the tall men, we are talking about the small fighters who excelled in the tournament and fought the tall fighters but did not have the chance to fight in the finals.”

We are very proud to carry the flag of the Philippines. After this tournament and after that year, I was always selected to represent the Kyokushin Philippines in different tournaments. It feels so unreal that at first my dream is just to become an instructor and fighter but now I am an international fighter carrying the flag of my beloved country.

Today, in this tournament, we are not talking about the tall men, we are talking about the small fighters who excelled in the tournament and fought the tall fighters but did not have the chance to fight in the finals.

I was able to join the following international tournaments, Feb 2002, 2nd Liberation International Kuwait karate tournament. Same year, April 2002, 9th Asia international Open Karate Tournament Japan. Year 2003 April 3rd Liberation International Kuwait Karate Tournament. I won 4th place and I got the BUSHIDO Award, this special award is given to fighters who most commonly stressing some combination of sincerity, frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, Year 2003, 4th National Kyokushin Open I Won as Champion, Year 2004, Nov 10th Asia International Bali Indonesia.Year 2005, Sep 1st World Championship in Moscow Russia. Same year 2005, November 3rd,All Japan Open Karate Tournament. June 2006, National Kyokushin Open I Won as Champion and my last fight for International Year 2010 April 2nd World Weight Satojuko Japan Karate Tournament Tokyo

And other local fight challenge in Kickboxing, MMA, Yawyan, Muay Thai. All of these,I was able to compete because of my dream that I wanted to reach and now I was able to achieve many things in the art of Karate. I was able to organize a lot of local tournaments and I was able to attend a lot of Karate Seminars in different parts of the world. The things that I learned from my instructors and all the experiences that I achieve have put me in this position.

Year 2018, our new organization, the International Karate Alliance, Kyokushin Ryu was founded under the founding member Kancho Peter Chong and the Global Partnership Director, Shihan Steven Foo with it’s 70 countries as part of its alliance.

Year 2019, The 1st Euro-Asia Full Contact Karate Tournament was held here in the Philippines .

It was really a long journey for us, seems to be impossible to reach but now I am here, now appointed as the Philippine Country Director of the said organization.

I have reached my dream, honestly I received more that what I want. But I still have many challenges to face especially in real life. I have 5 children and I want to guide them to finish their studies, I still have dojos to maintain and students to guide and teach until they reach their dreams in life just like when I first started. KARATE is a WAY of LIFE.