Spotlight on: Master Godofredo Fajardo, The Paladin of Modern Arnis
By Jay de Leon

Originally Published by WorldBlackBelt, 2004

     He knocked on my door at the appointed hour. He was no taller than I, but solidly built. He came armed with a boyish smile, and a stick bag. This was our first meeting and thus began my Philippine odyssey into Modern Arnis with my guide, Master Godofredo Fajardo.
     This was in the early 80’s, and I was in the Philippines for my annual vacation, and as usual, I was multi-tasking. I was conducting business, visiting as many friends and relatives as I could, hitting the swank nightspots, elegant restaurants, exclusive casinos and beach resorts, and of course, getting some authentic arnis training. I had asked a martial arts friend of mine to find me a good arnis instructor. He happened to know Raymond Velayo, then a ranking Modern Arnis official and now President of Arnis Phil., the governing body for arnis in the Philippines and member of the Philippine Olympic Committee. Master Velayo then relayed the request to Master Godofredo “Godo” Fajardo, the Paladin of Modern Arnis.

     For those of you who might not be old enough, in the 70’s, there was a very popular western TV series named “Have Gun, Will Travel.” The main character was a gunslinger for hire named Paladin, played by Richard Boone. The title of the show is what his calling card advertised. In Godo’s case, it would have been, “Have Sticks, Will Travel. Where else but the Philippines can you call for a stickslinger for hire?

     Godo and I had our first lesson at my friend’s spacious residence in Mandaluyong, Rizal, Philippines. We had the whole basketball court and backyard all to ourselves. Godo was a relentless, professional instructor and drove me hard everyday over a couple of weeks. Even though I was a fairly advanced arnis player to start with, I had blisters on my hands at the end of the sessions.
     I liked Godo right from the start. He was very skilled, and had a very pleasant, easy-going personality. He was also an arnis tournament champion, referee and official. In addition, he was a former student and friend of Prof. Remy Presas, who was now promoting Modern Arnis in the United States and gaining some recognition. I told Godo I had been to a couple of Remy’s seminar, and he was happy to hear of Remy’s successes in the United States.
     We continued this arrangement over several years, into the 90’s. In one of our annual training sessions, I invited him for a whole week of training at the family compound in Binmaley, Pangasinan. In addition to the training, I was able to attend a couple of tournaments where Godo was tournament official and referee.

This was the 1992 Annual “Arnis Philippines” Tournament held in Quezon City, Philippines. The author was a guest of Master Fajardo, who served as official and referee forthis tournament.

Muses of the competing schools at the tournament… And you thought the spectators came for the stickfighting?

Logo of “Filipino Fighting Arts Int’l” used by Master Fajardo in the Phil. and Master de Leon in the US. The organization uses a modified but similar logo in the Middle East.

     It has been quite a journey with Godo. Since I was his student, and for me to keep my Modern Arnis standing, I had to join Godo’s sanctioning Modern Arnis organizations while I trained with him. I remember having I.D. cards from Naraphil, Arnis Phil., and MAACOP. Eventually and inevitably, he went on his own and we formed “Filipino Fighting Arts, Int’l” (FFAI) over San Miguel beer and some “pulutan” (finger foods) in Binmaley beach in Pangasinan. Down the road, Godo established many FFAI chapters in the Philippines, Brunei and Dubai, and I opened a few in California

Master Fajardo (right) demonstrates a single stick technique in his dojo in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

     Well, history has come full circle again. Both Godo and I have ended up again with Prof. Remy Presas’s Modern Arnis, as we are both Commissioners of “The International Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines” (IMAFP). Godo is currently the Commissioner for the Middle East based in the city of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
     His accomplishments in Saudi Arabia since arriving in 2001 have been remarkable. To date, he has established almost a dozen chapters all over the country, and has promoted seventeen “Lakans” (black belts) already, made up of different nationalities, including seven Saudi Arabians, two Jordanians, one Syrian, one Yemeni and six Filipinos. In addition, he travels to Brunei, Dubai, as well as back to the Philippines to conduct training camps with other fellow Modern Arnis masters like Samuel “Sammy” Dulay, Rene Tongson, and Roberto “Berting” Presas, brother of Remy.

Master Fajardo (standing, in Modern Arnis uniform), with students in his dojo in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The banners that represent Master Fajardo’s twin organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, International Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines (IMAFP) and Filipino Fighting Arts Int’l (FFAI).

He is still “guro” (teacher) to me in two ways, as my grandmaster in Filipino Fighting Arts Int’l, as well as Modern Anis Technical Advisor to my North America chapter in IMAFP. He also serves as a member of the Council of Masters of IMAFP, with a rank of Lakan Pito (Black Belt 7th Degree).
     But to me, he will always be my mentor and Paladin of Modern Arnis. I am looking forward to the day when he will come knocking on my door again, with that boyish smile and stick bag, and off we go to another Modern Arnis training session.