The Gilroy martial artist takes Gold in Filipino Stick Fighting
World Championship
Everyone’s heard of Bruce Lee. Not many have heard of Linda
Pulido.
But the fact of the matter is the martial artist from Gilroy,
who holds a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, is the best in
the world at her craft.
The Gilroy martial artist takes Gold in Filipino Stick Fighting World Championship
Everyone’s heard of Bruce Lee. Not many have heard of Linda Pulido.
But the fact of the matter is the martial artist from Gilroy, who holds a first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, is the best in the world at her craft.
In a span of four days that started back on July 1, Pulido captured the Martial Arts World Championships in Las Vegas for the sixth year in a row and followed that up by winning a gold medal for team U.S.A. at the Filipino Stick Fighting World Championships on July 4 in Orlando.
What makes the latter accomplishment all the more impressive is that Pulido is new to the sport.
“I was very shocked to have won,” said Pulido, 38, who is now back teaching at Champions Martial Arts in Gilroy. “I knew I had been working hard but it was only for a short time. I expected everyone to be better than me. I’ve only been doing this for a year and I competed against people who have been doing it for 30 years.”
In order to earn a spot on the U.S. team and a trip to the Filipino Stick Fighting World Championships, Pulido had to finish in the top two at the U.S. Nationals in Milwaukee in May, where she finished second.
In all, 300 individuals qualified for the U.S. stick fighting team where they were placed into different divisions based on age, weight and gender. Pulido fought in the women’s welterweight division (130 to 140 pounds) in the 30-to 40-year-old age group.
Although Pulido was somewhat nervous heading into the Championships, she had a lot of reason to be confident too. Entering the tournament she had solace in knowing that she had already beaten the Italian reigning world champion at the U.S. National tournament.
And that confidence grew after she beat an American teammate in the opening round of the world championships, which pitted her against her Italian counterpart for a second time. After winning that match, Pulido wound up beating another U.S. competitor for the world title.
Each stick-fighting bout consists of three one-minute rounds. Competitors wear heavy protective gear covering the entire body. In one hand they hold a 26-inch rattan stick.
Points are scored based on the amount of hits delivered and the amount of force they are delivered with and how impressive the hits are. It’s somewhat subjective.
“Basically, they are trying to gauge how much damage you would have inflicted if there wasn’t any padding on. I broke a stick once and that impressed the judges because it shows power and speed. You don’t just start wailing on someone though. They are looking at certain types of strikes and techniques.”
While most fighters would stand still and battle it out, Pulido’s strategy was to keep moving around the fighting area while striking her opponents on the move.
She acknowledges that her background in Tae Kwon Do gave her an advantage.
“Footwork is so important in martial arts,” she said. “I think I might have started a new style. People kept telling me that, too. A lot of people will be studying the film of my fights and my technique. I flew across the ring. Most people stayed still and banged it out.”
A graduate of Gilroy High School in 1987, Pulido has been involved in martial arts for 23 years. At her gym, which is located at 7560 Monterey St. in Gilroy, she teaches Tae Kwon Do, kick boxing and also works as a personal trainer.
After winning the world stick fighting championship she will also offer classes in that art as well.
“I eat, sleep and breath Tae Kwon Do and I’ve taught it for so long,” she said. “It felt so good to try something else (stick fighting) that I didn’t know much about. Now I’d like to continue to work at it and perfect it. I hadn’t been a student for a long time.”
Pulido plans to enter her next stick fighting competition in October in Hawaii. After that, she has long-term goals of competing in the Olympics.
“The Olympic committee was at the world championships in Florida to see about making it an Olympic sport,” she said. “If they decide to do that, I’d definitely be on that team because of my world champion status.”
