Jose D. Caballero was the founder of a Filipino Martial Art called De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orihinal

De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orihinal

De Campo Uno-Dos-Tres Orihinal is a form of Filipino martial arts. The majority of its techniques are based on fighting with a single stick as opposed to the double stick method used in most Filipino martial arts....

, also commonly known as De Campo 1-2-3, and is considered the Juego Todo champion of his era.

Early life

Jose D. Caballero was born in the barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

 (neighborhood) of Ibo, Toledo City

Toledo City

Toledo City, formerly known as Pueblo Hinulawan, is a 2nd class city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. Population as of 2007 census: 152,960....

, Cebu Province, in the Philippine archipelago. As a youth, he would travel from barangay to barangay in order to watch eskrima

Eskrima

Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...

 matches during fiesta celebrations.

His art

From his observations of these Eskrima exhibitions, he modified moves with an emphasis on three striking

Strike (attack)

A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...

 levels: the eyes, lower arms (specifically elbows and hands), and knees. He was a fan of Western movies and often compared his style to the gunslinger

Gunslinger

Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...

 "quick draw".

Eskrima matches

One of his more notable fights took place in 1936 against an eskrimador named Anoy, from the nearby town of Tangub. Jose Caballero utilized his system of 1-2-3 strikes in order to disarm and wound the stunned Anoy, who promptly surrendered. The combination of strikes was delivered so quickly, that the crowd had not fully understood what had just taken place. This resulted in the perception that the match was fixed, and they began shouting "TAYOPE!" (fixed).

In his prime, Caballero was the Juego Todo (All Out, no holds barred) champion and beat several famous Eskrimadors, such as: Simeon Saavedra of Talisay, Balbino Mancao, Vicente Labor, Juan Carolla of Ilocos, Alfredo Macalolan of Negros, Tanciong Lopez from Cebu City, Salomon Canonio and many lesser known challengers.

Notable students

Some of his more notable students were Edgar G. Sulite, founder of Lameco Eskrima

Lameco Eskrima

Lameco Eskrima is the system of Filipino martial arts founded by the late Edgar Sulite based on his training and experience with various Philippine Martial Arts masters, with heavy influence from Jose Caballero and Antonio Ilustrisimo....

, his brother Helacrio Sulite, Jr., Ireneo L. Olavides, and Vicente Tifburon Palacios.

Sources

• "Filipino Martial Arts" magazine - Special 2006 issue, "Legends of The Filipino Martial Arts" http://www.fmadigest.com/Issues/special-issues/2006/Special-Issue_LegendsII.pdf
• http://www.eskrimadecampo.com/
• http://www.decampo.8m.com/about.html