A Brief History
GM Caballero, the undefeated Juego Todo duelist in his prime, was also wary that anyone (even his closest apprentice) who discovered his shrouded techniques could some day become a potential challenger. His curriculum as Olavides described was too drawn out and consisted of generic Eskrima routines like the Abecedario, and the Espada y Daga X-block and strike. These drills bored his patient student Eric Olavides who did not see the old man apply these elaborate techniques when they sparred. Olavides suspected all along that the he was hiding something from him. This was later confirmed when one day in 1975 Manong Jose's son got entangled with the police.
With no one to turn to, Manong Jose sought Olavides' help to bail out his son. Olavides shelled out his hard earned Five hundred Pesos that was quite a substantial amount in those days when the minimum wage was only P 300.00. Deeply beholden by this gesture, GM Caballero finally revealed all his techniques to Olavides. While the original written notes of Manong Jose are still being kept by his heirs, Olavides later modified and simplified the ornate moves and retained the basic potent techniques that until now is still being taught by Manuel L. Caballero in his father's hometown in Barrio Ibo, Toledo City. Of all his sons it was Manuel who inherited his father's natural fighting ability and grit.
Compared to the original lessons, the present day De Campo taught by Olavides is the closest to the actual fighting style of his mentor. The reason behind this discrepancy is not because Manong Jose was a bad teacher. It was due to his obsession with secrecy that the techniques he taught were painstakingly veiled to hide the real deadly combinations. GM Caballero taught Eskrima to supplement his meager income as a coconut farmer. In order to sustain the enrollment, he programmed an extensive course that started at the elementary level, high school, college, instructor and master levels. Olavides zealously observed the subtleties of the old man's striking combinations when they sparred. He eventually discovered that Manong Jose moved differently in actual sparring in contrast to what he did in exhibitions.
They took a break from these bruising sessions with a treat of hot crispy bread and sikwate (native chocolate) that Olavides never failed to bring along to please the old man. It was during one of these breaks that Manong Jose revealed in all candor that some of the silly stuff he taught were meant to camouflage the deadly moves he deployed during his Juego Todo heyday in the province of Cebu. What Manong Jose failed to document in his lesson plan, Olavides took note and compiled. Olavides later organized the salient moves of GM Caballero into groupings or sets of striking combinations. The present day De Campo has gone back to its hidden roots that is simple, fast, intense and violent.