Kicking high with Jose

Whatever becomes of a boy is a product of the nurturing nature that exists in his family. Take for example Jose Singson Habalo, a precocious eight-year-old, who, in his brave way, brought honors to our country by winning the gold medal at the 6th World Shito-Ryu Karate Federation Championship held in Beijing, China last year. And come July, he’s set to defend his title at the KOI World Karate Championships in Greece. If the gold medal he recently won at the AAK International Invitational Karatedo Championship in SM MOA last month is any indication, Jose will make the country proud again.

Jose is the only child of Jayvee and Bambi Singson Habalo. Putting premium on Jose’s mental and physical development is of utmost importance to the couple. 

“As a baby, Jayvee would take care of Jose while he would watch ESPN and other sports channels,” says Bambi. She adds that the PlayStation games the father and son play against each other are the NBA (basketball), NFL (American football), NHL (hockey) and MLB (baseball). Jayvee would even take Jose to live sporting events like the games of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP. “They even watched the New York Yankees at the Yankee Stadium.

“Jose has always been an ‘energetic’ (as opposed to the term hyperactive, which normally has a negative connotation) boy,” Bambi says. “Just as he turned four years old, we looked for an activity for him to engage in. This was in the year 2004. We decided to try out Karate at AAK Megamall. He was considered too young then, but was given the chance to attend classes. We didn’t know what to expect. We hoped for him to learn how to defend himself. But at the very least we wanted him to learn discipline. We are lucky that Jose liked karate, so we supported him.”

Jayvee adds, “It was also our philosophy that Jose engages in an individual sport (so he can learn to rely on himself) and a team sport (where he can learn the concept of play with others towards a common goal.” So Jose’s parents enrolled him in baseball and basketball clinic.

Karate competitions are normally categorized into Kata (you perform a standard series of moves) and Kumite (you spar against an opponent and score points when you successfully connect on punches and kicks).

According to Jayvee and Bambi, Jose started joining karate competitions when he was six years old. To this day, he joins the Kumite category.

“Being a beginner, he would be going up against more experienced opponents. As expected, he would lose. But with each fight he had, we would see improvement — he would make fewer mistakes; he would earn his first points, he would win his first match, and eventually he would win his first medal — a bronze in August 2007. The first taste of reward came after three years of continuous regular two to three times a week classes,” says Jayvee. 

The proud couple also adds their son started special Kumite classes held every Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Two months after, he won his first silver medal.

In October 2007, Jose was chosen to be part of the Philippine team to compete in Hong Kong. Though he was eliminated in his only match, his father recalls, he was able to bring his Iranian opponent to his knees as a result of his kick.

He won his first ever gold medal in February 2008 in the Fil-Japan Invitational Tournament held at the SM Mall of Asia. He bested the field of six- to seven-year-olds. From that time onwards, he would consistently win medals in succeeding local tournaments. Another international tournament in Singapore came, and he won a silver in Kata and the gold in Kumite in the seven-year-old category.

Bambi remembers, “But things to come were not without challenge or difficulty. When Jose turned eight, he entered into the new age bracket of 8 to 9. He was now at the ‘bottom of the food chain,’ He suffered losses in two consecutive tournaments as he went up against older and more experienced players. This motivated him to do better. It was during this time that he wanted to do ‘double sessions’ in class.”

Jayvee adds, “In 2009, we really saw a maturity in Jose’s attitude as well as self-confidence. This prepared him well for the upcoming international meets. At the 17th KOI Karate World Cup held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia in July 2009, Jose won a bronze medal in Kata and a silver medal in Kumite. Overall, the Philippines placed fifth after Malaysia, Russia, Hong Kong and Jordan.

The biggest in Jose’s series of triumphs so far came in August 2009 at the 6th WSKF Karate World Championships in Beijing, China. Jose bested a field of nine athletes (from Russia, Kazakhstan and Venezuela) to win the gold medal in the eight-year-old Boys Kumite category.

“It still hasn’t sunk in that our son already is a World Champion with a World ranking in his category. All this at eight years old!” beams Bambi.

Bambi says she and Jayvee, when Jose was born, both made the decision of being “hands-on” parents. They made it a point to be involved in Jose’s growth, whether it be academics related (e.g. Kumon) or sports. This decision of the couple came with personal sacrifices (e.g. change in career path) to ensure a balance with work and personal family time. 

“As far as we can recall, we never ‘babied’ Jose. We made the effort to instill specific values that help him build his character,” says Bambi. Examples of these are as follows: 1. You can be or get anything you want as long as you put in the work; no one will hand it over to you on a silver platter. There are no shortcuts. 2. Make a decision or choice, then stick to it. None of this “ningas kugon” nonsense. 3. Set your goal (e.g. gold medal) then take the steps needed to achieve that goal. 4. There are times when you will fail; what is important is that you pick yourself up and go for it again 5. If you can dish it out, you should be able to take it (don’t be pikon) and 6. Explore options and think “out of the box.”

Jayvee adds: “We are always level headed and do not impose unrealistic expectations. Although Jose was in the honors class, we do not impose that Jose should get grades that do not fall below 90. We always encourage him and challenge him to do his best in anything he does. Even if he loses, the fact that he did his best is something to be proud about, and he will have another chance to do better next time. We both dislike ‘mediocrity’ in effort and result.”

Jayvee and Bambi treat and handle their son in a mature way. They let him know that they are there for him. They would like Jose to see them not just as parents, but as his best friends. Also, the couple says both of them are naturally competitive. “And it rubs off on Jose,” they chorus.

Bambi and Jayvee both agree that their son is his own unique character. Jose, the couple says, is confident and not afraid to make mistakes. He can easily relate to those half his age as well as those much older than him (teenagers). He easily makes friends and becomes part of the gang. In spite of his playfulness, when it comes to the business at hand (e.g. tournament time), he is focused. 

This early, there’s no denying that Jose is headed for something more, something bigger in his life. All these, his parents say, would have not been possible without the guidance they always seek from God.

“We pray for God’s forgiveness and His love. We always pray for guidance from the Lord, the ability to discern what his plans are for us. We pray that He brings us together as a family. We are thankful for the blessings we have received. We are thankful that after all life’s ups and downs, we are still here moving forward. And we pray for success in our endeavors if they are according to His will and in His time,” Bambi says.

With Bambi and Jayvee’s faith in God, they are assured that their only son Jose will be kicking high all the time.

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