Honorio Banario Credits His Toughness To Life On The Farm

Honorio “The Rock” Banario believes his willingness to get his hands dirty in his childhood shaped him into the competitor he is today.

The Team Lakay standout – who will face “Crazy Dog” Dae Sung Park next Friday 2 August at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES – grew up in humble surroundings in the small town of Mankayan.

Living in the Philippines’ Benguet province had its perks, it also presented challenges in everyday life.

“As far as I remember, my childhood was very interesting in the sense that it’s very enjoyable to stay in the province. You can do whatever you want, and you got to play and go to school,” he says.

“I walked three kilometers or more going to school in the morning, and traveled the same way going back home in the afternoon.” 

“We still walked because our place is a very far-flung area and the roads are not well developed, so there weren’t too many cars passing by, unlike today when it’s easier to afford cars and roads are much better.”

The 29-year-old’s parents were farmers – the main livelihood of most of the people in their province – and almost every household planted vegetables in their own backyards to feed themselves, too.

It was natural for the young Banario to get involved in the family trade to help his make ends meet.

“For us, working in the farm is normal, but for [people from other backgrounds], it’s really hard for them to imagine doing it on a daily basis,” he said.

“We went to the farm every Saturday because we went to school on weekdays – Saturdays were our only chance to help our parents there.”

Even as a child, it was far from easy work for the former ONE Featherweight World Champion.

He would start working at about 7am and go on in the sweltering heat until around 6pm. 

It might seem like a chore to have to give up your free time to do such tiring work, but “The Rock” never saw it that way – he was happy to help out and spend time with some of his loved ones.

“When I went to the farm or in our garden, I usually went with my mother and my brothers because my father worked far away then, and would only come home about once or twice a month,” he explains.

“He had to travel 10 hours to get home, so it was a sacrifice for him.

“When I was young, going to the farm was not mandatory. You could go if you wanted to, go home if you’re tired, rest, and then go back again. It was like I was playing because I was young and I didn’t see it as a responsibility for me.”

“It was hard, but I always thought of it as playing, so that’s why I never felt the pressure of going to the farm or saw it as hard work, and I actually enjoyed it instead.”

The 29-year-old’s aptitude for hard work has been a tremendous asset during his martial arts career. By the time he started to train, he was used to long periods of physical exertion, so he could adapt to intense training sessions.

He is also no stranger to having to dig deep to make it through long, drawn-out battles, like in his wins against Adrian “The Hunter” Pang and Rahul “The Kerala Krusher” Raju, or his fourth-round TKO of Eric Kelly to win the inaugural ONE Featherweight World Title. 

On 2 August, “The Rock” may once again have to battle hard for 15 long minutes when he takes on Park at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, but he knows he can rely on his signature toughness that was forged in his youth.

“Back then, we needed to finish everything in the farm before going home, so when we were there, we had to focus on completing our task so that we can call it a day, which helped develop my work ethic,” he adds.

“I also think farming developed my toughness, especially in making my body physically strong.

“The farm was very far from our home, and it took an hour and climbing a mountain before I could reach the farm. It was very tough, but it made me stronger today as an athlete.”