Posts Tagged ‘boxing’

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Posted on: June 30th, 2011 by admin 1 Comment

So, for the past couple days I have been in Sihanoukville on the southern coast of Cambodia. I thought I would spend a few days here to relax before heading back to Thailand for some more training but I think I may be here just a few days longer. The place is very laid back and there aren’t too many people around as it is low season.

I, of course did a search before entering the place to see if there was any place to train or at least lift weights while I was here when I saw that there were some listings on the net for a boxing club run by a French trainer.

Ironically the motorbike taxi guy that I rode into town with knew about the place and had in fact trained there. He showed me the place before dropping me off at the hotel.

The owner is actually a Doctor in Sports Rehabilitation and was practicing in Switzerland before moving out to Cambodia for good. He is also a lifelong martial artist and spent 7 years training in fighting in Thailand. A very knowledgeable guy and definitely an expert in his field. Interesting character, and I wish I was staying a bit longer to get to know him but I have to continue on back to Thailand, somewhat according to schedule.

The class that I was in was pretty much all beginners. It was run more like a martial arts class and it is better suited to beginners or people who require a structured training system. For those who have trained in Thailand, you kow that at a lot of camps there is a very unstructured train as you please appraoch that they take. Now, this may work for some people but for others it’s quite frustrating. In that respect Fitness Boxing would probably be a perfect fit for those who want a very structured and guided training system.

So on to about how the classes are run. Everyone gets lined up in a formation to do a general but sport specific warm up and stretch. After that we went to the tires. Now this part I found quite cool. In Muay Thai gyms you will often see tires that the fighters jump on, and very rarely if ever do you get to use the tires under the guidance of a trainer. Well in this case he had a whole 10 minute workout focused around the tires which I found very cool. We did different shadow boxing drills on the tires along with some plyometrics. Much harder than I thought and something I will be using for my own gym in the future.

After that we went over to the large mirror and bag area and did some basic combinations in which our technique was ruthlessly critiqued. I liked this a lot because Pierre was not going to let anyone slide by with sloppy technique. Even though I have a decent amount of experience he had a lot of things to point out to me which made a lot of sense particular about how I stand and keep my guard.

After this we gathered up into pairs and practiced counters and combinations. Gloves, no shin pads and at medium power. If your shins are not hard, I can see this not being particularly fun. However, the combinations and counters Pierre gave were stuff that I am gonna try using myself and we drilled this efor almost 45 minutes. For serious athletes and fighters, we all know the importance of drills. As much as they suck and as boring as they get. They are the backbone for learning new techniques quickly.

After the drilling the class was done and some ad excercises were followed by strecthing and that was a wrap. Good session, a bit different from your usual Muay Thai camp training but a good expereince nonethless and a good step back from the pad pounding to concentrate on just techniques for an extended period of time.

The gym is currently being expanded and will include a boxing ring and cage in the coming year. It will be Cambodia’s first MMA gym. Right now from what I can see the focus is on being a fitness resort, where one can get away live on the resort and use the facility under the guidance of trainer Pierre who is obviously very knowledagble and organized and has each of his clients have a seperate file to chart and monitor their progress. A lot of potential in this place and woth visiting if your in Cambodia or even Thailand. I will definitely be back.

If your interested in knowing a bit more and want to see some pictures. You can check out their website HERE

http://fitness-sihanoukville.com/

Health Benefits of Boxing

Posted on: January 9th, 2011 by admin No Comments

Boxing has been a great health trend in West since now because it can dramatically improve your body physique and makes you healthy. Whether you are a professional boxer or only have interest in the sport as a recreation, boxing training can truly give you countless health benefits. It is one of the best weight loss programs which are effectively helping unlimited number of people to lose excess amount of weight in a short period of time. It is also a great cardiovascular activity which helps in keeping hearts healthy, body resistance better and also keeps us in a good mood. It works on our body as well as on our mind and that is what exercise is all about. The constant back and forth movement across the canvass, with feet dancing and swaying, and punching at the boxing bag, make boxing the best cardiovascular workout. There are other important benefits of boxing such as speed; as you progress with your training, you will soon gain speed. Resistance; your body will get resistant to sickness. And energy; you will find that you can last longer during training and feel more energetic which is a sure sign of truly getting fit. One other health benefit you can gain from boxing training is keeping your arms trim. After making a number of punches in different intervals of time, in few weeks you will begin to see some major improvements in your arms, which results in making you a much stronger individual.

Now, in Pakistan after getting influenced by the former WBA (Super) and IBF Light Welterweight champion Amir Khan, who has a Pakistani background, youth as well as old has increased a lot of interest in boxing. There are few proper boxing gyms in Karachi, particularly in Lyari which have rings and bags but Pakistan has its best Boxing gym in DHA Lahore known as “Synergy Mixed Martial Arts Academy”. It is an English medium fitness club which has a proper facility, latest and complete boxing equipment. In order to get the results that you need, a combination of different training methods are held at Synergy which proves it the number one Boxing club in DHA Lahore and in Pakistan too.

Boxing training classes are held at Synergy four days a week under an Asian Gold Medallist in Bangkok, Imran “Bobby” Aslam who brings more than a decade of experience in the field of boxing. “Bobby” hails from a family of boxers and his father is currently the head of the Punjab Boxing Association (PBA). “Bobby” himself is a registered certified coach and a referee who lead Punjab teams and members of Synergy to local Lahore Boxing tournaments as well as tournaments taking place all over Pakistan. He coaches necessary drills of boxing with an intense cardio workout.

At Synergy, boxing is fun and held in a family environment as no one need to get hurt because Synergy consists of the latest boxing kits and head gears which saves you from each and every kind of injury and everyone has its own choice whether to do sparring or just use the latest equipment facility to get in shape. The students of Synergy from good areas of Lahore with an educated background are also blessed with important life lessons on respect, discipline, confidence, and sense of accomplishment, and this makes Synergy the best Boxing Institute in DHA Lahore as well as in Pakistan.

Why I Fight – Haider “Robocop” Qayyum

Posted on: July 6th, 2010 by admin 7 Comments

Most people take things slow in the fight-game. They train for a year or so, then have some
amateur fights, maybe change gyms and then maybe…in the rare instance that they can break
the ,monotony and social stigmas around them, they go professional.

I dove head-first into professional combat sports. Training for a few months before my Thai
Boxing debut in Phuket,Thailand and that lack of experience and know-how showing in the ring.
I fought an Australian , Taizo Hughes, who had several fights at local stadiums and was from
a pretty hardcore gym. Taizo battered me for the first three rounds of our fight. Leg kicks, head
kicks, hooks…its was a massacre. Both of my eyes were swollen shut and my nose trickling
blood down my throat, which I have to say wasn’t the most pleasant of tastes. The fourth round
begins and I notice Taizo is starting to tire and I…being the naïve seventeen year old I was at
the time decided to throw a spinning back-fist.

Guess what? It landed.

Taizo was knocked down and got up after an eight count but I knew the fight was over as
I chased him to a corner and the referee stopped the bout due to “Technical Knock Out “.
Why was that story necessary? Because at the end of those three rounds of getting my
ass beat, I was happier than I’d ever been. Standing half-naked and sweaty infront of
a crowd of people I’d never met, all of them judging my poor technique and wondering
why I hadn’t gone down yet. Covered in blood and sweat…I had finally found my calling.
So why do I fight ? Is it because I have family problems or because I was bullied in school? Is it
because I’m too stupid to get a desk job or go to college?

I don’t know to be quite honest. I think its because there’s something inherently wrong with
the way I function. My brain works differently. I like getting punched in the fucking face
and I like smiling at the guy who’s doing it. I like pushing myself in training to the brink of
unconsciousness and then doing it again the next day.

Lots of people I know who are involved with combat sports from boxing to Mixed Martial
Arts insist on calling themselves Martial Artists or “students of the game” . As pretentious
and crazy as it sounds… I am not a martial artist or a student of any game. I’m a crazy
person who learns how to hit people different ways and then goes does it and gets paid.
Why do I like to make my living from getting punched in the face?

I’ll tell you why. Because everyone said I couldn’t do it. They said I was crazy and that one day
I’d have to get a real job. I think I don’t fight for the right reasons, or ones that entirely make
sense but I do know that nothing has ever made me happier than staring across the ring at
someone, blood smeared face and smiling. Letting them know that you’re coming and not done
getting your face beat just yet.

While this was supposed to be an informative article for Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan , I think its
turned into a confessional.

My name is Haider Qayyum, I’m a professional fighter and I like punching things.

Shaheen Academy holds it’s first smoker!

Posted on: April 20th, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Originally slated to be Pakistan Warrior Challenge II, the 2nd ever MMA event in Lahore on April 17th turned out to be Shaheen MMA Academy’s first smoker.

For those who don’t know, a smoker is an event that can be considered before amateur. They are full on fights but are meant to be so local clubs can get experience. They are usually small affairs with a limited number of fights.

Shaheen MMA Academy will be regularly holding smokers. They will be trying for approximately every 2 weeks. 1-3 fights per smoker.

Smoker events do not have to be only MMA but also boxing, kickboxing, wushu and grappling, although the focus will be on MMA.

The next PWC is possibly going to be in an 8 man tournament format, in the light weight category 65-70 kilograms. It will be held on Sunday May 16th.

Cash Prize  of 5,000 rupees to the winner. Tournament will only take place if 8 LW fighters are found. If this does not happen then PWC will be single elimination as before.

Next Shaheen smoker coming soon.

History of Pakistani Boxing

Posted on: March 23rd, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Boxing in Pakistan it a sport which refuses to wither away. While Pakistan lacks proper sporting facilities and equipment its boxers have still managed to reach top levels through sheer hard work and dedication. Pakistan’s boxing history is filled with many victories and potential for being even better. In the hwole of Pakistan there is not even a single gymnasium or indoor stadium of an international standard. Yet we still have some great boxers around who can become great MMA fighters.

Boxing in Pakistan was started in Karachi. 1 year after it’s birth A national boxing championship was held. Pakistani boxers have had some great victories in the Asian games. What was encouraging is that it seems that the quality of Pakistani pugilists has been increasing at a rapid rate as most of our victories have been achieved in the last 2 decades.

The first major victory for Pakistani boxers came in the form of the Pakistan Boxing Team winning the Asian Boxing Championship Manila in 1983. This was the kick-start that boxing here required and after this a stream of victories started to come. After this Pakistan managed to achieve its biggest victory yet when Pakistani boxer Hussain Shah managed to win the bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics 1988. This was Pakistan’s first and to date the only Olympic medal in boxing.

Pakistan’s best medal came in the Commonwealth games in Manchester 2000 when the Pakistani boxer Haider Ali won all the way to the top and grabbed the gold medal. Pakistan’s boxing team also accomplished an amazing feat when they won the Asian Boxing Champion ship held in Vietnam in 2003. Pakistani Boxer Noman Karim elevated his country’s boxing profile when he got the bronze medal in World Boxing Championship Moscow 2003. At the 18th commonwealth games Mehar Ullah won the silver medal in boxing.
Notice how the first victory was achieved in 1983 and from then on has only managed to become better and better. There have been many attempts to bring Pakistan’s boxing into the mainstream however it has failed to succeed. The reason is that Pakistan’s boxers are still not at the level where they could hold spectacular fights which people will be interested in watching. Among all these victories we have failed to create a boxer who would win constantly. A great sportsman is the best thing that can happen to a sport. Just look at Golf, it was not a very big sport but after Tiger Woods entered the scene golf has become much more common. We need a fighter, a star in boxing who will be able to enter the mainstream in Pakistan.

Another thing required is for there to be proper places to train boxers. Boxing is a glorious sport. It involves a lot of money and there have been many great movies made about it (The Rocky series being the most famous one). Once a proper training ground is established the people will come to train themselves. There also need to be much more amateur fights in Pakistan in order to polish the talent we have.

As of right now, there a few proper boxing gyms in Karachi, particularly in Lyari. These gyms have rings and bags. In Lahore, one gym which has a proper facility including rings and bags in Synergy Fitness Club.

If interested in learning this sport please call Gym Manager Ali Haider 0333 407 2724 for those in Lahore. You can also check out the website here Synergy MMA and Fitness Lahore

Pakistan show strong showing in Combat events

Posted on: February 10th, 2010 by admin No Comments

Pakistan took home gold medals in boxing, judo, wushu, karate and wrestling at the SAF 2010 games in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The total medal count for Pakistan was 19 gold, 25 silver and 36 bronze. This means that over 25% of Pakistan’s gold medals were in combat sporting events adding further evidence to the massive potential Pakistan has in churning out quality competitors for Mixed Martial Arts competition. Hopefully, in the coming months and years the same athletes that won gold at the SAF games in Dhaka can be earning decent pay days using their skills in international Mixed Martial Arts events. Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan would like to show it’s support to all athletes who participated in the SAF games.

Please remember to register for the upcoming MMA event “Pakistan Warrior Championship” and remember that trials and match ups are to take place on the 21st of February at White Sports Club, E and F block Model Town Lahore.

Please contact info@pak-mma.com if you are interested in competing or info@pak-mma.com if you have any other questions or suggestions.

PTV Seminar (with video)

Posted on: January 23rd, 2010 by admin No Comments

Apologies for the late delivery of this article. The website was down for almost a week and just got back online.

On January 17th, at Sukh Chan Wellness club in Gulberg, Lahore Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan partnered with Fite Selektor to hold an MMA seminar for Pakistan Television. The purpose of the seminar was to educate the Pakistani audience on what Mixed Martial Arts is as well as let everyone know that there is a reality show taking place and that we are looking for as many applicants as possible.

The exercise studio at Sukh Chan had about 40-50 people during the shooting. People from all walks of life attended the seminar ranging from domestic workers to those working for international firms. Children just starting their martial training were in the crowd alongside some of the top Martial Artists in the country.

The seminar dealt with the history of modern MMA, what MMA is (a form of competition), the sports rules and the latest news regarding Fite Selektor Reality Show. This was the first part of the seminar, the second part of the seminar had players from various Martial Arts put on demos ranging from Kata’s to light sparring. With each demonstration Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan gave commentary and analysis about what was going on as well as how each style contributes to MMA.

After the demo’s there was a wrap up where Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan summarized the days events and ended with the conclusion that there was a lot of talent in Pakistan that just needed a platform and outlet to be recognized. Fite Selektor is helping make that happen. Then came the issue of wether or not pakistan is ready for such a new sporting event in light of the current situation. MMA Pakistan is of the opinion that Pakistani’s just want to go on with their lives as they normally do, and this sport has such potential in the country that the current security situation will not pose an obstacle in it’s path to supreme popularity.

A special thanks goes out to all those who attended particularly those instructors who came with their students. Thanks, Shahbaz Ali Khan, Shafiq Awan and Aamir Butt for attending and to all your students. Thanks to all those who performed at the seminar helping make it the success it was.

Next up on the MMA Pakistan agenda is continuing to look for fighters from all around Pakistan to compete in Fite Selektor and to begin organizing an amateur MMA event in Model Town Lahore on the 14th of February. Details regarding this will be announced in the coming weeks. Those who want to fight please contact info@pak-mma.com or call 0334 413 7706.

Those who wish to take part in Fite Selektor please send the following information to info@pak-mma.com

Name -

Age -

Location-

Weight -

Experience -

Phone Number -

PICTURE in fighting stance -

Please keep yourself updated and take some time to look around the website and watch how MMA has developed in Pakistan! MMA Pakistan the original origin and destination of all things Mixed Martial Arts in Pakistan!

Enjoy the video.