ARTICLE SERVICES            Reprint this article     Print this article       Send as an e-mail     Send Feedback       Post a comment     GALLERY 1 2 3 Next   Zoom    Read Full Story FUTURE OLYMPIANS. Monsour del Rosario, who represented the country in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, loves giving taekwondo lessons to kids. Zoom    Read Full Story GETTING A KICK. While still able to show off a form that belies his age, Monsour now finds other reasons to get his high. Zoom    Read Full Story GETTING A KICK. While still able to show off a form that belies his age, Monsour now finds other reasons to get his high. Reward programs bring customer loyalty I JUST came from National Bookstore, where I bought two black pens. My receipt showed that I have 565 points in my e-purse, which translate to P80.00. That put a smile o ...More While you were sleeping ... Hunkering down Corporate war comes to Philex The immobile Piltel (price) Wealth from worms Pullback or reversal Bells toll for SMC’s Meralco venture? Still hitting the ‘buy’ button In doing good, Manila Water does well More Stories » Business Aim to retire with no debts PLDT taps Meralco for new venture Corporate war comes to Philex RCBC bent on expansion EDC to raise P18B more April exports fall 35.2% on year Wall Street crook to earn pennies Piltel transforms into holding firm Plan your fun-spending this summer Money lessons you won't learn in class Business GMA 7 expanding overseas Thrift bank up for sale BSP wants cover for forex losses Focus backs out of Tindalo venture S&P affirms RP ratings, stable outlook QC judge told issue arrest order vs PBA cager Mobile money exchange scheme launched PLDT taps Meralco for new venture Robinsons mall, hotel to rise in Tacloban Lodestar, OVMPC sign deal BSP ready to act to counter downturn Problems in search of marketing solutions   Business Most Read RSS Wally Gonzales Photography Look for: Arlene Lacea Tel.No.: 890.5524 or 890.1318 Mobile: 0917.8492559 Instant Rewards! Buy Donaldson filters. Redeem your dream holidays, electronic gadgets etc...

MANILA, Philippines -- Monsour Del Rosario is not a person who easily panics. But when realization hit him that the action movie industry was in serious trouble, largely because of rampant DVD piracy and the proliferation of “instant” but inferior movie copies, his future all of a sudden had turned dour.

Since 1989, the year he started his movie career as an action hero (or at times, an anti-hero), Monsour had been steadily cashing in on his roles, taking full advantage of his skills in taekwondo, a popular Korean martial arts movement with a large number of followers worldwide. “I was building my name as an action star. It never crossed my mind that things could abruptly end,” he said.

He had thought he would grow old in the movies, the same way that Filipino movie legend Fernando Poe, Jr. did. But the inability of the industry, and later of law enforcers, to curb the piracy issue slowly strangled to death the action movie industry. “Actors, directors, cameramen, movie crew were finding themselves without work. Then the producers just stopped producing action films,” Monsour said.

After taking stock of the situation, Monsour decided to put up a taewondo training school. His friends, of course, dissuaded him: it has never been done, they said. Taekwondo training was, and still is, largely school-based, with instructors being paid a percentage of what the school charges its students.

Monsour felt he could make the concept work. It was also an opportunity for him to go back to something he liked doing – teaching taekwondo – and at the same time, getting back into the discipline. As one door was shutting close, a new one was opening.

With the blessing of his mentor and master, Sung Chon Hong, Monsour together with Stephen Fernandez set up the Olympians Taekwondo Training Center in 2000 in Makati City. Stephen and Monsour were long-time friends who had represented the country in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

According to Monsour, Master Hong had been instrumental in his foray as an actor, persuading him to stay in the country instead of migrating to the US. It will be good for taekwondo in the Philippines, Master Hong had told Monsour. A training center dedicated to taekwondo riding on Monsour’s fame would also improve the contact sport’s popularity.

The business partners spent about a million pesos to renovate the venue and buy the necessary equipment. Friends gave the venture six months. Sure enough, there were a few operational snafus in the beginning, but Monsour’s popularity was helping boost enrolment, such that the training center quickly picked up patronage. “In close to two years, we were able to recover our investment,” said Monsour.

MONSOUR’S OWN LINE

As the training center became even more popular, Monsour received an offer to endorse his own signature line of taekwondo uniforms and sporting goods. “It was a very generous offer,” according to Monsour. Unfortunately, Master Hong preferred that Monsour help two of his taekwondo friends, Jobet Morales and Ricky Santiago, who were having difficulties marketing their own new line of martial arts equipment and supplies.

The company, Paneros Trading, had started selling martial arts equipment in 1996 under the brand name Peak. Jobet and Ricky asked Monsour to come in as a partner, but exclusively marketing the Monsour taekwondo line – kickpads, uniforms, armors, training shoes, belts, even bags.

Thus, Monsour settled for the lower valued endorsement package deal, without any feelings of rancour, accepting his guru’s wisdom with finality. In the end, it turned out to be a better deal since he has a say in the products – quality, design, and style -- that are being sold under his name. “We’ll be re-imaging the Monsour line soon,” the martial artist-turned-entrepreneur promises.

It’s been almost a decade since Monsour and Stephen opened Olympians, and while the center has moved to a new home three years ago, there continues to be a steady stream of youngsters who attend the training sessions. Monsour is now in the middle of preparations, together with Arnold Barati, another taekwondo buddy, to open taekwondo classes at the Alabang Country Club early next year.

It’s a good thing that Monsour did not heed his friends’ persistent advice to open a bar back in 2000 while searching for an alternative source of income. “I could not imagine myself staying late night after night at a bar. It was just not healthy,” he said.

“Teaching taekwondo? Now, that’s something I thoroughly enjoy,” Monsour says. While his two businesses still do not bring in the income he used to enjoy when doing action movies, they have given him a deep sense of fulfilment.

In 2005, Monsour was designated as taekwondo ambassador by the World Taekwondo Federation for his contribution to the martial arts. This honor is definitely giving the two-time gold medal recipient of the 1987 and 1989 Southeast Asian Games one hell of a big kick.

Olympians Taekwondo Training Center can be found at the 2nd floor of Amber Place, 19 Bayani Road, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. They can be reached at (632) 8895463. Peak Martial Arts products are available at 2 Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Adriatico St., Malate, Manila, with telephone numbers (632) 5249273 / 5281384 / 5223968 / 4747841.

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