Long before he entered the Pinoy Big Brother house, PBB Celebrity Collab Edition first runner up Ralph De Leon was leading a very different kind of life as an athlete, with a decade-long commitment to a form of martial arts called judo. The housemate known as “Ang Dutiful Judo-son ng Cavite,” talked to PUSH BETS about how he got into the sport more than a decade ago.
“Actually noong around 2012 or 2013, na-recruit ako ng pinsan ko. Kasi nasa team siya noong high school. So at that time I was in grade 6, grade 7. Sabi niya, ‘try mo lang, sige na’. Sabi ko okay, why not? Naghahanap din naman ako ng sport na ma-ta-try na bagong activities. Sabi ko, game! Tapos ever since, na-in love na talaga ako sa judo bilang combat sport, bilang martial art. Hanggang sa, ayun na nga, naging UAAP competitor na rin representing Ateneo. Favorite part? Siguro ‘yung contact talaga. Ako kasi, mas gigil ako eh, gigil ako sa mga ganun. Gigil ako sa ganung klaseng bagay na parang it’s a sport na it’s either you win or you lose. It’s either you or your opponent, tapos ‘yung preparation lang talaga, lahat ng movements na ginagawa namin, and how physical our sport is — ‘yun talaga ‘yung nag-pa-stay sa akin dun,” he recalled.
Ralph says the sport helped shape him into a person with strong values. “Sa judo, kasi nga martial art nga siya, I mean yung core values namin revolves around discipline and respect. And other than that, siyempre pag bugbog na bugbog na kami sa training, we always have to get back up. Okay talaga ‘yun,” he said.
Many have noted how Ralph is a “green flag”, and part of it is thanks to his training in judo. “Sa katangian ng green flag, siyempre I go back to my roots with judo — discipline, the respect towards other people. Siguro sa work ethics na din, kung paano ka magtrabaho, kung maganda ka ba katrabaho, na hindi ka maarte sa mga ganung klaseng bagay. And at the end of the day, kung paano ka talaga makisama. If how you are with other people, really something that they would feel na comfortable sila sa ‘yo. Parang dun mo talaga masasabi na green flag ka,” he explained.
Having taken up BS Management Engineering at the Ateneo de Manila University, Ralph also talked about why he chose that course in college during his PUSH BETS interview. “Actually ‘yung course ko na ‘yun, ginawa ko na lang siya kasi business course siya. So whether papasok pa ako ng law, whether gagamitin ko siya for corporate, or sadyang magtatayo na lang po ako ng business, very flexible talaga siya. Very flexible ‘yung course na ‘yun. Thankfully, nakapasok [ako] sa one of the top courses sa Ateneo, so ako ay very appreciative talaga na I’m able to get that kind of education. Very business minded talaga ang family ko. Dun talaga ang kinalakihan ko and that's the kind of environment that was sa family ko while growing up,” he added.
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Choosing to study business was in part a step towards Ralph’s childhood dream. “I feel like yung childhood dream ko talaga ay maging lawyer. Kaso, hindi natuloy kasi parang nabalitaan ko na sobrang dami talagang pag-aaralan na babasahin, na i-me-memorize. Kaya sabi ko, okay, never mind, change plans, oo iba na (laughs).”