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Grandmaster Lanada has been inducted in the 2008 North American Martial Arts Hall of Fame! GM was also awarded the lifetime achievement award for 2008!

Born in Naga city of the Bicol region of Luzon island in the Philippines in 1939, he is the son of Yong Iban Lanada, whose father Yuyong Huenyo came from the Tausog tribe in the Southern Muslim island of Mindanao.
He was taught by both his Grandfather and his father in the art of Kuntaw as was learned back in Mindanao and as passed down within the Muslim royalty families. Great-Great GrandMaster was one of the sons of the Raja of the Tausog tribe. He decided to find his fortune in the northern Philippines. After forming his organization of Kung-fu/Karate Organization of the Philippines and formalizing the training of Kuntaw, he went on to train many champions.
     Thus, in 1966 GrandMaster Lanada was rewarded by his peers the title of 'Youngest Filipino Martial Art Founder', in 1968 his organization became a founding member of the World Union of Karate-Do Organizations (WUKO), and in 1970 he became one of the founding members of the Philippine Karate Association. He changed the name of his organization to Maharlika Kuntaw Association, honoring the Filipino Muslim royalties from which Kuntaw came from. In 1974 he changed the name to Kuntaw ng Pilipinas following his award for work in the Filipino martial arts by then President Ferdinand Marcos, thus completing the formalization of Kuntaw as a completely Filipino national art.
     With the closeness to the American base he trained many Americans and other foreigners, as well as many Filipinos who migrated to other countries. These Kuntawistas went to such countries as America, Saudi Arabia, Japan, England, United Arab Emirates, Canada, and many other countries to establish schools of their own. Thus in 1979 he held the inauguration of the International Kuntaw Federation (I.K.F.) thereby uniting all members of Kuntaw worldwide.
     To date the Kuntaw Temple in Olongapo City is being cared for and run by his eldest son Carlito A. Lanada, Jr., and GrandMaster Lanada has moved to America with most of his family and bases the I.K.F. main headquarters in California. Within a few years of coming to the U.S. he had garnered the highest award by being a recipient of the Presidential Sports Award as a Martial Arts GrandMaster in 1993. GrandMaster Lanada has completed his book "KUNTAW - The Ancient Filipino Martial Arts" in January of 1995 and has commenced compilation of an advanced book on Kuntaw. In 1996 he was inducted into the Martial Arts Museum of America and the International Karate Hall of Fame. In 1997 he founded a new worldwide organization - World Unified Council of Martial Arts (WUCMA), with 5 other GrandMasters. Grandmaster Lanada is the 2002 Filipino Martial Arts Magazine Who's Who Man of the Year!
    Kuntaw has come of age, from obscurity to international renown.