Edgar Sulite

written by Dan Inosanto

I first met Punong Guro Edgar G. Sulite on August 14, 1989 in Indian Creek, Tennessee, during a Pekiti Tersia Kali Camp conducted by Grandmaster Leo T. Gaje, Jr. Both Punong Guro Sulite and I are long time students of Grandmaster Gaje. Punong Guro Sulite and I both taught a portion of this camp along with Grandmaster Gaje. It was at this time that I received my first (of many to come) private lessons in the art of Lameco Eskrima.

When the camp ended, Punong Guro Sulite relocated to the Los Angeles area. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, I began my private training on a continuing basis.

I took great pleasure in watching Punong Guro Sulite and his art of Lameco grow in the area of the Filipino martial arts. In my opinion, Punong Guro Sulite’s system of Lameco has one of the most practical and highly developed progressions of teaching and training.

Lameco takes a student from “A” to “Z” in such an organized and ejoyable progression that training and learning is both fun and practical. The Lameco methods and progressions enable a student to learn both quickly and efficiently what will work and what is applicable in a multitude of combative situations. I credit the outstanding contribution Lameco has added to the martial arts community to the vision, talent, creativity and unparalled devotion and dedication of Punong Guro Edgar Sulite.

I remember the early years of Lameco. Punong Guro Sulite always credited with love and respect the great talents and valuable training he had received from the Grandmasters of the Philippines who had trained him, and always gave proper respect and acknowledgement to the techniques, drills, methods and material that was developed by those men, and which he used to form the core of the Lameco system.

What was unique about Punong Guro Sulite was the manner in which he was able to combine practically and efficiently the knowledge he had received form the Philippines. Upon his arrival to the United States, Lameco’s “Laban Laro” had a sequence of only 12. Punong Guro Sulite worked constantly to add, modify and develop his inmeasurable body of Filipino martial arts material until it had reached the highest level of practicality and value to his students.

Punong Guro Sulite always stressed the importance of drilling the basics — over and over again.

Reprinted from FREE VOICE