Press Releases
Ermar Alexander, Poetry in MotionWith his unique style, rhythmic grace, utmost speed and painfully powerful strikes, 2x World Champion Ermar Alexander, more commonly known as "Alex", has reached the level which only a few eskrimadors in this world has ever been on. Alex, a Filipino born in Cebu, started learning martial arts in 1991 at the age of 14, training in various forms such as Tang Soo Do, Traditional Kung Fu (Praying Mantis), Kung Fu Kickboxing, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and JKD. He never heard of Filipino Martial Arts until his best friend, Phil Ireland, introduced him to Lee Banda who taught Eskrima at a local club. Alex then attended a few sessions until he was introduced to Grand Master Danny Guba, a fellow Cebuano, who was Lee Banda's teacher and the highest ranking Doce Pares grandmaster in Europe. 5x World Champion GM Danny took him on as a student in 1999 and has been instructing him ever since. After 2 years of intensive training with GM Danny, Alex received his first black belt on 21 November 2001. Within a year of training with GM Danny, Alex began competing at the British Eskrima Federation (BEF), where everyone was stunned and impressed with his ferocious fighting style, despite being a first-timer. Eventually he competed in the more popular World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) tournaments where he has excelled in single stick, double stick, and sayaw (forms) categories, proving that he is one of the best few well-rounded eskrimadors. Apart from the fully protected style of competition, Alex is also undefeated champion since 2004 at the British Low Armour where the only protection used are headgear and gloves. Alex has won 27 gold medals so far. 1993 British Tang Soo Do British National Championship 1994 British Tang Soo Do British National Championship 2000 BEF (British Eskrima Federation) Open Championship 2001 BEF Open Championship (September) 2002 WEKAF Open Championship (March) 2002 WEKAF British Championship (November) 2004 WEKAF Open Championship (March) 2004 WEKAF World Championship (July) 2004 WEKAF British Championship (November) 2004 British Low Armour (November) 2005 WEKAF Open Championship (March) 2005 Doce Pares World Championship (August) 2005 WEKAF British Championship (November) 2005 British Low Armour (November) 2006 WEKAF British Championship (November) 2006 British Low Armour Championship (November) 2006 British Open Championship Knife Fighting (November) 2007 WEKAF British Open Championship (March) 2007 WEKAF European Championship (July) 2007 AKEA Open International Championship (July) 2007 WEKAF British Championship (November) Instructing was never Alex's cup of tea. He was a fighter and enjoyed it. He enjoyed the pain of training and the glory of winning. But in 2006, he realized that there aren't enough Filipinos in the British Team, and he thought to bring the art back to the British Filipino community which has never heard of eskrima or WEKAF events held in the UK and Europe. Alex opened his first class in March 2007 in Chatham, Kent. More classes then opened, spreading like a wildfire, all over London - Shepherd's Bush in April, Covent Garden in June, Mile End in July and Euston in October. Alex is now planning to open another class in Leyton in March 2008. Within 3-4 months of training with Alex, his students have competed in their first WEKAF tournament last September bagging top titles in various categories. The group did even better at the British WEKAF Championships last November 2007 where they've produced four British Champions and other top titles. From then on, Alex has realized that his instruction, despite of his initial protest against GM Danny, is well worth it. He is extremely proud of his students and has decided to keep on teaching until he is able to. Alex is now preparing and training for the WEKAF World Championships to be held in July 2008 in Cebu, Philippines where he is to defend his World title. For more info, please see www.dgdocepares.co.uk 16 January 2008 Downloadable images
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