The following post was written by Imelda Chiquita, a professional writer and editor, as well as an Eskrima De Campo JDC-IO practitioner. It was originally published on the Facebook page of Eskrima De Campo JDC-IO Cavite Chapter.
Versión en español aquÃ.
Manong Eric Olavides is the only student of Manong Jose Diaz Caballero, founder of Eskrima de Campo 123 Orihinal, who was given the rank of Assistant Professor. That's important because the Professor is Manong Jose himself. Manong Jose trained him with the intention of enabling Manong Eric to represent his system in juego todo fights which was popular at the time.
Manong Eric is a direct student of Manong Jose; and at 79 years old this year 2023, Manong Eric is still actively teaching eskrima. As an arnis teacher who champions traditional culture and practices in Filipino Martial Arts, Manong Eric shuns titles like Grandmaster or Master. He prefers to be addressed simply as Manong.
Manong Eric has been safeguarding the lessons he learned from Manong Jose, as he managed to evolve his art to incorporate the many martial arts principles he studied through the years. The result is his own arnis system, Eskrima de Campo JDC-IO.