I can't remember my last interaction with him. It must have been at least a decade ago. Since then, I saw a few of the early Budo articles, but Budo isn't distributed in any nearby newsstand anymore (hasn't been for years and we're lucky to find a newsstand that still distributes us nowadays) so I can't really remember when that was. So I lost track of him years ago. I can't remember the last thing I heard about him. With so many people in the Shaolin community, it's hard to keep track of everyone.

Nevertheless, I'm ashamed that I couldn't have foreseen his evil. He has brought more disgrace to contemporary Shaolin than anyone so far.
Shaolin torturer's young victim passes away


Aguilar had been a self-proclaimed Shaolin master since he first went to China 20 years ago and had made numerous TV appearances in which he claimed to be a spiritual guru. Photo: YouTube
Published: 05 Jun 2013 10:25 GMT+02:00 | Print version
Updated: 05 Jun 2013 10:25 GMT+02:00

The woman who was tortured by a self-proclaimed martial arts expert in Bilbao has died.

The 29-year-old Ada Ortuya died at 12.35pm, sources at Bibao's Basurto Hospital said on Wednesday.

Ortuya, of Nigerian origin, had been at the hospital in a coma since being found by unconscious by paramedics on Sunday at a gym owned by martial artist Juan Carlos Aguilar.

Aguilar has already confessed to the murder of another woman whose remains were discovered in his gym.

The head of Basque Country's Public Prosecutor's Office Juan Calparsoro said on Wednesday that Aguilar would "clearly" face at least 30 years in prison, Spain's La Vanguardia newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, Aguilar’s status as a Shaolin master has been called into question by Spain’s Kung Fu federation, who reject the aggressor’s claims that he was a world champion stating that he wasn’t even a registered fighter.

"Technically he was good, but he wasn't a great fighter," read the statement sent out to all the official martial arts federations.

Aguilar had been a self-proclaimed Shaolin master since he first went to China 20 years ago, reported El País on Wednesday.

His willingness to publicize himself as the only real Shaolin expert in Spain with videos and interviews had caused a lot controversy within the martial arts world.

Others have said he was more of an “acrobat” than a “monk”.

Alex Dunham (alex.dunham@thelocal.com)