About Grandmaster Joseph Rossi

Grand Master Joseph Rossi was born in Waterbury, CT in 1919. At age 15 he joined the local Boy's Club and took up boxing. Fighting under the name Joe Dundee, he became the "Middle Weight Champion" of Waterbury. In 1938, Mr. Rossi joined the US Army and quickly achieved the rank of Sergeant. In 1940 Mr. Rossi moved his military career to the US Navy.

During his military career Mr. Rossi continued boxing and became a "Fleet Champion" in the Navy. While on patrol August 9, 1942, the USS Vincennes, the cruiser Mr. Rossi was stationed on, was sunk along with three other ships. Mr. Rossi was reassigned to the USS Hornet Carrier. Mr. Rossi then signed up for special forces training in Hawaii. This is where he met his Philippine Master. Out of the 295 men who signed up, only 69 graduated. Mr. Rossi was one of those men.

The intense training included jungle survival and hand-to-hand combat; in particular Kun Tao. He was the recipient of the WWII Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Area Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, and the Purple Heart. Mr. Rossi continued his training throughout his military career and after, and was promoted to the rank of Grand Master in April of 1983 by the Philippine Kun Tao Karate Association. Before his passing, Mr. Rossi had instructed thousands of students and had approximately 20 affiliated studios which he instructed at regularly. One of his most famous sayings. "Zook 'um cuz".

Words cannot express our gratitude for all you have done for us and taught us over the many years you have instructed us all. We, as your students, would like to thank you for your dedication and commitment to the art of American-Filipino Kun Tao/The Filipino Kun Tao System, and to the Martial Arts community as a whole. You were not only our instructor, but many times our friend as well. Please watch over us and give us the strength, courage, and wisdom to teach others what you have taught us.

You will always be in our hearts,

The American-Filipino Kun Tao Federation

History of Kun Tao
In recent years, Philippine martial arts have gained prominence and notoriety through growing interest in the art of armies. As the western world becomes intrigued with the art of stick fighting, it clamors for more information about Philippine martial arts. As a result of this exposure, researchers discovered little-known systems and styles of physical and mental combat. They discovered Sikran, Buno, DeSikad, Gumol and Pangenlis to name a few. Of all the obscure styles of combat innate to the Philippines, Kun Tao is fast becoming a well-known system of self-defense art.

Kun Tao originated in southern Mindanao, around the year 1365. The system was developed to defend against invaders from the neighboring islands in that region. It was not until 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines, that outsiders first became aware of Kun Tao and the other martial arts that are native to the Philippine Islands.

In March of 1521, Ferdinand Magellan with his sea-weary crew huddled together on Magellan's flagship, the Victoria, after his other two ships (the Conception and Trinidad) had sighted the southeastern extremity of Zamal (Samar) an island in the Eastern Visayian Islands. This was a significant moment in Philippine history, for it was the first time that the outside world, especially the western world, knew about the Philippines. Unfortunately, this discovery led to over three hundred years of Spanish domination.

Not knowing how the natives would receive them, and taking into account the weary and ailing condition of his crew, Magellan decided to move on to other islands that may be less inhabited and less dangerous. The following day, Magellan spotted such an island, known as Humongous. It was an island located eleven miles from his first sighting. The island was uninhabited and safe for the landing of small boats on the beach.

Once his crew had a chance to recover from their journey, Magellan set out to explore other nearby islands. On one such junket, Magellan came upon an island where he became friendly with Rajah (Chief) Kolambu. With the help of Rajah, Magellan and his men sailed further northeast and landed on an island known as Cebu. On Cebu they met Rajah Humabon, then the ruler of Cebu. The relationship between Magellan and Rajah Koambu flourished, and in April of 1521, Magellan succeeded in having Rajah Humabon and his wife along with five hundred of his followers baptized into Christianity.

This religious conversion of Rajah Humabon, together with Magellan's military might, gave him power over the rulers of the other islands. Magellan proceeded to call all of the Rajahs on the surrounding islands to come together for a conference whereby Magellan could obtain more information concerning the other respective islands, and to rule them accordingly.

Most of the Rajahs were cooperative. However, one man resisted Magellan's words and stood against him. He was Rajah Lapu-Lapu, the ruler of the island of Mactan, a small island east of Cebu. Magellan believed that the native spears (Kampilan), broadswords (Kalis), and daggers (Daga) that Rajah Lapu-Lapu and his men used to arm themselves would be no match against his men with steel armor and muskets. Under this false confidence, Magellan led an expedition to the island of Mactan, expecting to conquer Rajah Lapu-Lapu and his men. However, Magellan learned that Lapu-Lapu was more formidable a foe than he expected. Lapu-Lapu and his men had great confidence in their anting­anting (amulets); they were also skilled in the art of Kali (the use of bladed weapons) and the Kun Tao way (the art of hand and foot fighting).

For the first time in history of Philippine fighting arts, was a native martial art used to defend it's own country. In the final outcome of the conflict, Ferdinand Magellan died on the shores of Mactan at the hands of Rajah Lapu-Lapu in a fierce hand-to-hand fight. The members of Magellan's army also suffered defeat at the bands of Lapu-Lapu's men.

As time progressed the Philippines came under the domination of the Spaniards. The ruling government was threatened by the practice of the fighting arts and in 1871 all forms of martial arts practice was banned. However, the ban did not stamp out the practice of martial arts in the Philippines. The practitioners merely went underground. They established training sites in remote areas of the mountains and forests. They continued to train and develop the fighting arts. The Spanish authorities also used this ban to flush out those who were masters and coerced them to teach their arts to the Spanish Soldiers. It was not until a century later, after a more widespread hispanization of the archipelago was achieved, that training in the fighting arts was allowed in the open as a sport and for exhibition purposes.

During the period of he ban and the turmoil that followed after the Spanish occupation, a man by the name of Amang Huinyo left Mindinao and went to southern Luzon to settle in Ogbon Nabua Cam Sur, bringing with him the art of Kun Tao.In time, Amang has two sons, Yoyang and Yong I Ban. Amang taught his sons in secrecy. When the elder Amang passed on, his two sons continued to follow in their father's footsteps. I Ban later had a son named Steban who joined his father in teaching the art of Kun Tao. Steban in due time had a son of his own named Carlito. By now the Spanish had gained a solid foothold in the Philippines.

In an effort to completely colonize the natives, the Spaniards issued a decree that the people of the islands must change their names to a Spanish surname. So it was that the name Huinyo was changed to Lanyada. Carlito as a youth lived with his father and grandfather in a secluded village where neighbors were miles apart. Because of their isolation, Carlito did not have peers to relate to and consequently in his leisure moments practiced Kun Tao with his father and grandfather. Carlito would accompany his father to all its provincial celebrations and watched with great interest when exhibitions of the fighting arts were presented. One of his favorite sports were called "the circle fight" in which two contestants get into a circle and try to push or pull the other off balance. The one who maintained his balance was declared the winner. Just when the fighting arts began to merge into the open, World War II came along with the Japanese occupation.

In 1945, the Japanese put a ban on all forms of martial arts practice. The Philippine fighting arts went underground again. Following the end of World War II when the Philippines received its independence, again the fighting arts appeared in the open. For the first time, Carlito Lanyada and his friends were able to observe various forms of fighting arts practiced by the American soldiers such as western boxing, wrestling and Jujitsu. As Filipinos observed the Americans, gradually the Filipino practitioners were willing to demonstrate their arts. During the period of the Bans, the Filipino fighting arts went through many changes. When it emerged after World War II, it was quite different than prior to that period. For example, according to the old way, Kalis was a dagger and spears art. Following World War II wooded and rattan canes were used as substitute to the dagger and spear and the art came to be known as Armis de Viarco. However, in the southern regions of the Philippines, an area dominated by Muslims, the art of Silat and Kun Tao were practiced in secret. It was an art that was practiced only by royal families and as a result did not undergo the changes Kali did.

Silat, an art of wielding the bladed weapons in much the same manner as Kali originated from a merging of the pre-Spanish Kali and a type of sword play from an exclusively Muslim Arabic source. On the other hand, Kun Tao is basically a fist and foot fighting art, utilizing the cat like, soft and hard movements characteristic of karate and kung fu. Although, masters of the past have tried to keep Kun Tao a secret, they have not been successful. People such as Amang Huinyo were able to keep the art alive by passing it through generations of son to son. About 6 to 7 years before World War II broke out, the United States armed forces sent their best men to train in jungle warfare and the art of Kun Tao. The United States, for years, has always considered the Filipinos as some of the most feared fighters in the world. The task of the Filipino masters was to construct a specialized force of elite fighting men. Their training took place in the remote areas of the Southern Philippines.

Joseph W. Rossi was one of those men. After years of intense training, he became one of those elite soldiers. At the time of his death in 1998, Grand Master Rossi presided over 18 affiliate schools in the United States, and was the U.S. representative of the Philippine Karate Association. In 1968, Grandmaster Rossi co-founded the Connecticut Martial Arts Federation and has certified several Black Belts as instructors in the art. Currently, there are several schools around the world that are members of the Kun Tao Association. In 1958, at the 6th Asian Games, Kun Tao was officially recognized as a martial arts of Asia. Kun Tao is now one of the methods of self defense used by the Philippine armed forces for hand-to-hand combat training. Hopefully, the American public will appreciate the mental, physical and spiritual value of the art of Kun Tao.