Member J.J. Hayden Posted June 29, 2023 Member Share Posted June 29, 2023 Erwin Villezon Born in the Philippines in April of 1960, Erwin moved to the USA in 1969 with his mother Nelita Villezon. Nelita had been a secret service agent for the Philippine government and she used to train her children in Eskrima and other martial arts in their back yard. They first moved to North Carolina, where Erwin studied in many different martial arts outside of his own Filipino martial arts background. It's also where he met his wife, Span who was also a martial artist. The two would move to L.A. California where Erwin would teach martial arts and continue to learn from other masters , including Jeet Kune Do master, Dan Inosanto. Dan said that Erwin was the closest he'd seen to Bruce in terms of movement, ironically Erwin would spar with Bruce Lee's son Brandon while training under Dan. Being in L.A. also meant that Erwin could follow his dream of entering the film and TV industry. Erwin succeeded in finding some martial arts roles in Hollywood, working alongside some very big names including: Don “The Dragon” Wilson; Steven Vincent Leigh; and even Jet Li. But later, Erwin's health began to suffer, at first there seemed to be no explanation, but eventually he would be diagnosed with having Tuberculosis Meningitis in his brain, which was causing his symptoms, including losing his memory. It became so severe that he suffered: Hydrocephalus; multiple seizures; and even two Strokes. He was in the forth and final stage of TB in his brain when doctors finally realised what was going on and they warned his family that the mortality rate in this situation was very high and that they should brace themselves for the worst. Despite the low chance of survival, Erwin did what he had all his life and fought, eventually pushing through and though it would be a long road to recovery, he had survived. He continues to inspire many martial artist, especially his daughter Nelita (named after her grandmother) who like her father before her, is a martial arts instructor and aspiring actress. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted June 29, 2023 Member Share Posted June 29, 2023 (edited) His daughter and protege Nelita is a martial artist who had her own episode of a show on MYX, Making It in America. Erwin appears in the program as well. https://myx.global/nelitav/ Edited June 29, 2023 by AlbertV 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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