Iloilo Tinagan School of Martial Arts
Girlie and Armold Tinagan with son
Gerald (standing).
Turning the youth into fine and disciplined young individuals
It started with a dream, then it turned into passion. Now, it has become a reality and the first ever to be in the Philippines. The Iloilo Tinagan School of Martial Arts teaches a variety of martial arts disciplines to its students. It is the first in the country to offer several disciplines as opposed to the usual martial arts center that only caters to one type of discipline. And it is inspiring to know that this school has made out-of-school youth into fine and disciplined young individuals who brought glory to our country by besting several other martial artists around the globe.
The school was founded by Arnold Tinagan in 1982 and it is celebrating its 27th year on May 17. In 1996, his wife, Girlie Delotavo-Tinagan, became the manager when the school was still in YMCA. She worked to legalize the papers to make their business into a corporation with 15 board members. In 1982, the name was Iloilo Tinagan Martial Arts Club Inc. with 15 board members. They later changed the name to Iloilo Tinagan School of Martial Arts, Inc. (ITSMAI), which is now located at Robinson’s Place Iloilo.
The Tinagan School of Martial Arts, Inc
family.
Other than being the founder of the martial arts school, Mr. Tinagan is also the coordinator and organizer of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines in the Visayas and Mindanao, as well as the coordinator of Muay Thai in Western Visayas. The school offers karate, boxing, arnis, wushu taolu, taichi and many more. His wife is the commissioner of International Modern Arnis Federation in Iloilo City and Province. She also trains junior women and seniors while her husband supervises in the over-all aspect of maintaining the gym. As they say, the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, and as expected, their son, Gerald Tinagan, joined in the family business of handling the Martial Arts School. He is currently the owner of the Iloilo Tinagan School of Martial Arts found in Robinsons Iloilo.
The school has produced countless of talented young individuals who have won global recognition while raising the banner of the Philippines. Tournaments in different countries, the SEA Games, and even in the Olympics - the school has been proud of the achievements of its students for winning in such momentous events and bringing honor to the country. As such, the school is mostly sponsored by Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr.
Kids learn the art of Muay Thai.
The school also caters to foreign students. Most of them are Australians who seek for trainers so that when they go back to their country they can impart to their students what they have learned in martial arts. The school has a branch in Saudi, and their students, now teach the different disciplines in other countries such as in Canada, Libya and in Africa. The school offers lifetime memberships and part of it is to gather students who are getting a degree until they achieve a black belt or until they reach a world record or even just a national record in sports tournaments. The school does not accept instructors who are not their members or students before to maintain their legacy.
Children starting at the age of five years-old can already begin training under the Iloilo Tinagan School of Martial Arts. Parents choose to enroll their children into school in order for them to learn good communication with others, self-respect and respect for others. As an extra curricular activity, learning martial arts can be beneficial for learning self-defense as well as learning to discipline one’s self.