Tuhon Apolo Ladra

Tuhon Apolo LadraEmail: TuhonApolo@ArtofBlade.com

Tuhon Apolo Ladra has trained the martial arts for over 40 years. Having reached the rank of 7th Degree in several Tae Kwon Do Associations and teaching thousands of students while managing 57 martial arts schools for a leading organization, he is most noted for his pioneering efforts of promoting the Filipino Martial Art of Kali.

Achieving the Rank of Master under the direct Heir of Pekti Tirsia Kali, Grand Tuhon Leo T. Gaje Jr., Tuhon Apolo has been honored with the Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame as “Weapons Instructor of the Year” for his technical knowledge and spread of the Combat Arts…

Tuhon Apolo Ladra is the Founder of the iKALI and the World Kali Association. The WKA was created to standardize curriculum and requirements for students, instructors, and school owners while spreading the indigenous art of the Philippines, the Art of Blade, worldwide. The WKA serves to provide real-time resources for school owners and instructors and deliver distance learning courses for students who want personalized instruction.

Tuhon Apolo also founded the Filpino Kali Academy network and its Interactive Virtual University counterpart. The FKA now has locations around the globe as an official training location with certified instructors in the iKALI Curriculum.

His concept of “Learn to Teach, Teach to Learn” has produced countless young leaders from adolescence to adulthood. Impressively, his programs are designed to complement any martial arts style, utilizing endless fun, challenging, and exciting drills to invigorate and retain students. They are being utilized by school owners in countries including Brazil, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, and throughout the United States. Currently, over 30,000 kids have and/or are currently training under his iKali4Kids program.

Master Apolo began his career in the Philippines as a student of Korean Karate, a discipline in which he became the top-ranked Eastern Regional Champion during the 1980s. He then entered the national and international sports karate circuits, winning more than 100 first-place trophies and grand championship titles, and quickly became a world-class champion. For four consecutive years (1985-1988), Master Apolo was recognized as Instructor of the Year and Master of Tae Kwon Do by the premier US martial arts organization Jae Kim Institute of Tae Kwon Do at the Hall of Fame held in Pocono, PA. In 1991, he was asked to join a select delegation of American Martial Artists in the first Russian World Championship Martial Arts Tournament, where he earned both an individual gold and a team silver medal. That same year, Master Apolo was named a member of the National Tae Kwon Do Team sent to represent the Philippines in the 1992 Olympics.

Master Apolo’s tenacity and love for Tae Kwon Do led him to run 57 schools for Master Jae Kim’s Organization while in his early twenties, where he certified over 5,000 Black Belts. He would later train with and earn additional Tae Kwon Do Mastership under Grandmaster Ernie Reyes as a member of the world-famous Ernie Reyes World Demonstration Team. Later, he became the Director of Combat for Karate America and Lead Instructor for Warrior Kali under Grandmaster William Clark. His combat weapons teaching has produced numerous combat sparring champions in the American Tae Kwon Do Association. He is much sought after for his seminars, guidance, leadership, and mentorship.

Master Apolo
trained 18 national champions, seven Olympians, and 57 state champions during his first three years of operation at his first Tae Kwon Do school. His success has earned him featured coverage in newspapers, radio, and TV. In 1997 and 1999, he was inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Additionally, Master Apolo was inducted into the Action Magazine Hall of Honors in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2013.

From 2002 to 2005, Master Apolo formed an elite team of Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) Stick Fighters training directly under Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje specifically to tour the United States and participate in numerous FMA sanctioned full-contact stick bouts. The group toured the United States, and Master Apolo completed all bouts with an undefeated record.

His influence in the Filipino Martial Arts community continues to grow. During the Martial Arts Supershow by Century in 2013, he was honored by presenting the first-ever program that would bring Filipino martial arts to the forefront of the martial arts industry. More recently, in 2018, he was honored again by being inducted into Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame as “Weapons Instructor of the Year.”