There was a time when ONE Championship Filipino Flyweight Rockie Bactol struggled with his direction in life.
From being situated with bad company when he was younger, Bactol always had a hard time fitting in with people around him.
“I didn’t have friends. I would go to this cool group of people. I wanted to be friends with them because I was alone. They would tell me to do stupid stuff, and they would hit me or kick me, but I was a part of their crew,” Bactol shared.
“I was that guy who they made fun of, the guy they would hit. I was like their television. I was their entertainment.”
That all changed when Bactol finally tried martial arts.
At age 14, Bactol was exposed to martial arts when they moved to Thailand and nothing was the same after.
For the first time, his life had direction and he knew what he really wanted to do by that time.
“I have always wanted to be a fighter because of my grandmother and my lineage,” shared Bactol.
Upon learning how to defend himself, Bactol naturally had comeuppance in his mind.
The 26-year old shared that he wanted to return and give his bullies a taste of their own medicine – but Bactol eventually realized that he was bigger than this.
Martial arts taught him how to be the bigger man.
“At first, when I started doing this, I wanted to come back and show [my bullies] what I’d become,” Bactol said.
“It turned out a different way. Martial arts taught me how to be humble, how to forgive, how to be kind to others, and how to respect an opponent and shake hands after a fight.”
Now, Bactol’s heart is full of gratitude that his life changed for the better. Now he’s competing in The Home Of Martial Arts and he has no plans of stopping now.
“Martial arts totally changed my life because if wasn’t for it, I may be dead or living my life in a very different way,” shared Bactol.
“Now, every time I compete I feel the presence of God. For me martial arts is a way of life.”
