Leo Gaje (born May 5, 1938) is the grandson and heir to Conrado B. Tortal and the present Keeper of the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali System.
In 1972 he moved to the United States and shortly after began to teach his family martial art fighting system.
Today, Gaje continues to teach his art of Pekiti Tirsia to students of martial arts, personal security, law enforcement and militaries worldwide.
[3] Gaje has trained notable martial artists such as Dan Inosanto, Eddie Jafri, Tom Bisio, Erwin Ballarta, Manuel Taningco, William McGrath, Philip Gelinas, and Greg Alland.
[4] Inosanto said about Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, "In the field of strategic knife defense, the Pekiti-Tirsia System of Kali is one of the most progressive, practical and sophisticated systems of tactical knife self-defense and edged weapon awareness that I have encountered."