Philippines' top-ranked Karate (Kata) practitioner and 2017 SEA Games bronze medalist Orencio James delos Santos will miss the upcoming 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
RELATED: Philippine National Athlete Illegally Dropped from SEA Games for Standing Up Against Corruption
This was after a "big revelation" circulated online by his father, Ruben David de los Santos, that James was illegally removed from the national team lineup, with less that two weeks away before the opening of the biennial meet.
Here is the post from OJ's father Ruben de los Santos:
"I haven’t ranted on FB before. But when someone does harm to my family, like to my son, I can’t just sit in a corner and be quiet. This is the story about my son James and what happened to him just recently as a member Philippine National Karatedo Team.
Photo source via Facebook / © James de los Santos
This leader has been telling everyone that James hasn’t been winning. This is his reason for removing James from the SEA Games lineup. Let me tell all of you how this person has been leading the National Team since he took over in 2018.
From 2018-2019 and 5 major International tournaments that James and the team competed in, with many different events in each tournament, the results for the whole entire Senior Karatedo National Team was only 2 Bronze medals!! That’s the total medals from all these 5 tournaments! Then he can’t claim Junna Tsukii’s medal, as she has basically been on her own, through her personal sponsors who financially support her international tournaments and trainings. So only 1 bronze medal for all the 5 major International tournaments!! Incidentally, for those 5 tournaments, James did not have a coach who could take him to the next level !! One of the Kumite coaches would just sit in the coaches box because it’s a requirement.
Ruben de los Santos(L) with his son James de los Santos (R).
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
He says James hasn’t been winning? It’s the WHOLE TEAM that wasn’t winning! Take note of his own players from his personal club. How did they do? Did they win? In any sport, when the team is losing that bad, the responsibility starts at the top! You don’t change players, you change the leadership first! That’s where the blame starts. That’s where Change begins. He not only failed but he failed the players. He failed to give proper coaching (as in NO COACHING) for almost 1 1/2 years after he took over.
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
James has been self teaching, all this time, NO COACH. Then he was ABANDONED and left behind when the team left for the international training, August 2019 in preparation for the SEA Games. Among the few elite athletes in the team, WHY WAS HE SINGLED OUT AND THE ONLY ONE LEFT BEHIND ALONE?? Was it lacking budget? Because I saw the head of the new NSA traveling to both Turkey and Japan to “check” on the team. Why? You don’t trust your coaches??
#TOURISTMODE
After James funded his own way to JAPAN for 50 days of training, he came back to find himself in an “ORCHESTRATED CLOSED DOOR EVALUATION“ on November 7, 2019, just one month before the SEA Games Karatedo events. He was being judged by LOCAL KUMITE judges, who belong to this leader’s NSA with NO International Kata judging experience. You are supposed to use KATA judges to judge this unprecedented Kata evaluation. WHY WASN’T the NSA PRESIDENT or VICE PRESIDENT, NOT PRESENT IN THIS EVALUATION?? WHY WAS IT CLOSED to only his people?? Well, we all were expecting the result of that so called evaluation not to be favorable. Then to add salt to the wound, they criticized his training in Japan.
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
Wow!! I would like to ask; What are the accomplishments of these Philippine Kata coaches?? What was the result of these coaches’ players that they coached at the last 2018 PNG in front of WKF referees?? JAMES scored 5-0 in every round for the SENIOR MEN’S INDIVIDUAL KATA competition and took home the Gold Medal and did it without a coach! He’s been the Gold medalist in the same division at the PNG for 6 consecutive years! He’s the reigning Bronze medalist in the last 2017 Sea Games and accomplished that with no international training or a coach! He’s the NUMBER 1 SENIOR INDIVIDUAL KATA PLAYER IN THE COUNTRY! He earned that ranking at the most recent 2018 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL GAMES!
These local coaches have the nerve to criticize the Senseis in Japan who have trained champions! He was told not to go back to his Senseis in Japan as they looked down on the training he received there. He was even criticized for his new Kata, Sansai. James had the privilege of studying that kata at the original school in Japan for that style where they made technical adjustments. The Philippine coaches don’t even know the kata, let alone criticize it. These coaches were trying to reverse the teaching that James acquired and learned in Japan. How sad!
Philippine National Athlete James de los Santos with Legendary Kata Trainer, Sensei Haseme.
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
So let’s talk about who qualifies. The one replacing him has all his achievements at the JUNIOR LEVEL. He is the son of the NSA’s VICE PRESIDENT. He and James both competed at the SEAKF in Thailand a few months ago IN THE MENS SENIOR KATA COMPETITION . The kid lost in the FIRST ROUND, and James went to the second round where he tried his new self learned kata, Sansai. When it comes to past accomplishments, James is ahead because all his accomplishments are SENIOR LEVEL International tournaments. James has been competing in the SENIOR LEVEL his whole career. He’s never competed in Junior Level Tournaments.
The fair way to unseat a current National Team player is to compete at the Philippine National Games. Not an organized NSA “National” tournament or some orchestrated closed door evaluation by Kumite judges who are unqualified to judge Kata.
THIS DECISION TO REMOVE JAMES WAS ALL A PERSONAL AGENDA SIMPLY BECAUSE, HE DOES NOT LIKE JAMES.
Philippine National Athlete James de los Santos (L) with Legendary Kata Trainer, Sensei Haseme (Center), and James' dad, Ruben David de los Santos (R). Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
How many players does he have from his organization (dojo) in the National Team? 11 (ELEVEN !!) and 7 are going to the Sea Games?? Wow!! In my 11 years as a parent of a National Team member, this is unprecedented! #toomuch! He and the KPI VP control half the team! Oh my what’s happening to Philippine Karatedo?
This is not the CHANGE James stood up for. This is not what he wanted for the sport that he is so dedicated to. JAMES was #BAMBOOZLED!!
Photo source via Facebook / © Ruben David de los Santos
My son was illegally taken out of the lineup. This decision was obviously made last August when he was left behind, abandoned, for the International training. That sham of an evaluation (just last November 7) was just for show and his way to justify his decision.
I CHALLENGE THE NSA TO ANSWER MY STATEMENTS HERE."
Corruption is the reason why our sports performance had not improved very much, and why we lose athletes to other countries.
Attention friends please share this, we can't let another developing champ to be like Wesley So (who ended representing the Team U.S.A. and winning World Grand Master because he did not receive proper support from the Philippines). (READ: Why Wesley So is Not Playing for the Philippines)
Tony award winner Lea Salonga and singer of the official SEA Games 2019 theme song even commented on the matter on Twitter:
We hope this will reach the proper authorities. End the corruption in the Philippine sports system! #SupportOurAthletes
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This article first appeared on Facebook/Ruben David de los Santos.
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