About the Kamatuuran School of Kali

The school is under the direction of Tuhan (Master) Joseph T. Olivia Arriola. Tuhan carries over 30 years of martial arts experience. Always extending his mastery at everything he does, Tuhan also teaches classes in Tai Chi and Feng Shui.

One of the main stories that has been passed down through the lineage of this school, is the story of the Blind Princess Josephine. The Blind Princess was the teacher of Floro Villabrille who in turn became the teacher to Grandmaster Ben Largusa, my teacher's teacher. She was from a village called Gundara on the island of Samar. Today little about her and her art are known in the village, except that there had been some kind of stick fighting art practiced there several generations ago. But her life and legacy continues through this story.

To hear the story, or better to watch it, click on the Movies link below (soon to be activated).

The word "Kamatuuran" (pronounced Kah-mah-too-oo-rahn) is a Visayan word meaning "truth."

Though each of us seeks our own truths, we come together in this school to help each other uncover these truths we are looking for.

How Gura Michelle describes Tuhan:

Early on, watching him once spar, I thought, "I want to do that, I want to be as good him if not better." And now 7 years later, I'm still working on it. I suspect I'll be working on it for a very long while to come. It has been quite an honor to watch him constantly improve. Just as you think, he cannot get any better, do something more phenomenal, he does! On you! And when he moves a centimeter and you get blown half way across the floor, you're still thinking, "how did he do that?" And just when you think, you've got him, you don't. But that's it really, the more adept his students become, the more he pushes himself to higher and higher limits of skill.

Tuhan doesn't look like the classic American martial arts master. He's not tall, he's not buff, and he's not that trim either. Yet when he moves with his speed and grace, it's truly poetic. You are in awe of his deadliness, at the same time you are in awe of his beauty.

He is Tuhan because no one can do what he does.