Fight Fest III : Kingdom Comes, coming your way!

The 3rd instalment  of Fight Fest is named Kingdom Comes. This time around, it is going to be a hive of activities, which require a bigger space, and hence location is confirmed at SURIA SABAH.

Last Sunday 16 OCT 2016, Fight Fest held a meet the coach session at FitLine Center, Penampang. This session was held to give organizers, gym owners, & ISKA Borneo representative to meet and clarify on competition rules. It's also where main sponsors FitLine can give a briefing on how their products can help fighters achieve peak performance.

Among the subject discussed:

• K1 Rules & Regulations
• K1 Scoring System
• FitLine supplementation
• ISKA National Tournament
• Fight Fest 3 : Kingdom Comes program update 
• Fight Fest 2017 plans 

It was conducted by organizers & Fight Fest founder, Johan Julian of Kinabalu Fighters and ISKA East Malaysia representative, Alvin Chong of Borneo Combat Gym. As for FitLine supplementation talk was given by Mr. Thomas Tay.

Fight Fest III will be a platform to select the best fighter from Sabah to compete in ISKA National tournament, which is plan to take place next year.

Briefing by Johan Julian

Briefing by Alvin Chong

Briefing by Thomas Tay on FitLine supplementation

Fight Fest 3 will create history in Borneo as the 1st hybrid martial arts event. It combines :

• Grappling event :SHOGUN for gi, MATA LEAO for no gi.
• MMA
• K1 Kickboxing

There will also be a free Luta Livre seminar to be held on 28 OCT. conducted by Luta Livre Blackbelt Afonso Cego & Luta Livre Brownbelt Antonio Battistessa.

For non martial arts activities, in colloboration with HOBBYCON there will be :

• Cosplay activities and competition
• Console Games
• Fitness challenge and activities
• Booth from fitness apparels & gears, food & beverages and other sponsors

It is truly becoming an event for whole family. Those that likes to watch fight can do so and their family and children can enjoy the Cosplay and Console games activities. Those not into martial arts but are fitness freaks, SFAS (Sabah Functional Fitness Association) will conduct a fitness challenge. Celebrity Fitness guru Michelle Koh will bring fun in exercising through her FUZE FITNESS session.

The event will be divided into 4 areas, 

• Mat area for grappling matches
• Ring for K1 Kickboxing and MMA matches
• Stage area for Cosplay, Fuze Fitness activities
• Booth area for trade booth

The hi-light will be the K1 65kg Superfight between Muhd Afandi of Team Revolution, Sabah vs Anil Mehta of Team Relentless, India. This fight will determine who is the owner of the shiny ISKA-FIGHT FEST belt.

Will this title belt be kept in Malaysia or be brought back to India?

Another fight that is highly anticipated will be the MMA fight between JFL 2015 Bantamweight and FF2 Superfight Champion Mohd Hasbullah of Karabaw Keningau vs the MMA raising star Joel Nickolson of Sabah Top Team. 

Check out the schedule below:

Personally I'm very excited about this event. Because they are so many things to see and do. I just wish I can multiply myself and watch all the event.

This is definitely an event that will keep you entertained whole weekend and satisfy your thirst for martial arts action. Entrance is free!

Check out Fight Fest FB for updates or call Johan Julian if you need more infor ( 016-831 1440 )

Bryant Tan - Sarawak's Pride

Love is a powerful emotion. It can motivate & inspire and move people to do unthinkable things. Bryant Tan uses it in a positive way. Ironically the lack of love causes him to do so. In college during his business studies Bryant fell in love. He was head over heels over a girl. Thinking that the girl was going to be his soul mate he was definitely crushed when the relationship fell apart after 9 months. Brokenhearted and very much overweight he sulked for 2 months. Then Bryant decided to make something out of this. He made a decision to shed off the extra pounds. Knowing that an image change will definitely boost his confidence and inflict sweet revenge on his ex.

Bryant's journey of martial arts transform his body to a fighting fit machine

In 2012 July, meeting his first Muaythai coach Lucas Lau of Borneo Top team was a crucial point in Byant’s life. Lucas mentored him in his weight loss journey. Lucas pushed and challenged Bryant to go beyond his comfort zone. Seeing the potential in him, Lucas signed Bryant up for his first Muaythai fight. Being the only son in the family this did not go down well with Bryant’s parents. Although feeling disheartened for not receiving his parents full support, Bryant continued training. After much persistence training with blood, sweat and tears he was fruitful in that first fight, claiming a 1st round KO victory.

with Lucas Lau (L) as Bryant began his martial arts journey and (R) after a year of training

victorious in his 1st Muaythai fight

After tasting success, Bryant realized that martial arts has a positive effect on him and he decided to leave behind the ego of revenge and focus on achieving more in his martial arts journey. His success caught the eye of Sarawak boxing coach Fred Mandagi & selected him for the 2014 SUKMA Games in Perlis. But Bryant had to miss it due to his commitment in his studies.

Bryant was born in Sibu, Sarawak and grew up in Daro, a small village accessible by 2.5 hours ferry ride from Sibu. His family own a farm in Daro, planting vegetables and bee farming and bird nest. Bryant graduated in Diploma in Business Management from Methodist Pilley Institute(MPI), Sibu.

Bryant's family farm in Daro Sarawak

In 2013 May after finishing his studies he decided to further his martial arts training in Thailand. Coach Lucas recommended Chiang Mai. Where the hard core pure Muaythai training are at. Bryant ended up in Santai Muaythai, in the rural area of Sankamphaeng, Chiang Mai; touted as the most technique orientated Muaythai Gym in Northern Thailand.

Memories at Santai Gym

At only 19 at that time and travelling for the 1st time in his life on a plane to a foreign land where not much English is spoken, it was certainly a nerve wrecking experience for him. But his mind was set. He was not on a holiday, but on a lifetime learning experience. Living there for a month of pure intense Muaythai training.

MIMMA4 is Bryant first foray into MMA. At only 22 this year, he is now part of the Urban Ape & Borneo Top Team family. Training boxing at Urban Ape under Coach Fred Mandagi and adding grappling into his arsenal at Studio 23. As for his strength and conditioning, it is being taken care of by the very highly qualified Sean Trevena. Bryant is working as a personal trainer at Urban Ape and heading up their Fightclub along with coach, Fred.

with the Urban Ape team . Sean Trevena ( middle ), Andrew Liew (2nd from right)

Hi Bryant, congrats for reaching the contender fight at MIMMA4
Please give us a profile of Urban Ape?
The Urban Ape concept was originally envisioned as a strength and conditioning brand for youth rugby, developed by one of the partners while he was living in the United Kingdom. The A.P.E stands for Athletic, Performance, Enhancement and the Urban part, well that simply comes from the fact that the clients we mainly work with are from cities or towns.

In 2012 my bosses, Olivia, Andrew Liew and Sean Trevena worked together on another project in Kuching and they realized that Urban Ape was a catchy and unique sounding name. They decided that by setting up a training facility that encouraged people to enhance their lives by performing more athletically they could provide a service to many people while helping to promote health and fitness in Sarawak.

Urban APE's mantra is "Devolve 2 Evolve" and at its very core we teach people to value health and nutrition so that they can live a healthier life.

with Boxing coach Fred Mandagi

The services that we offer are wide and varied and include everything from 1-to-1 Personal Training, through to our recently launched Urban Ape Fight Club #UAFC where I and Coach Fred (he's the main man when it comes to all things boxing) head up the classes.

What motivates you?

I believe in continuing my MMA journey because I believe in living a life with no regrets. To live life to the fullest and not miss out on any opportunities. The last thing I want happen is to be 60 years old on a rocking chair and not knowing what it feels like to be in a caged MMA fight. I also get a lot of motivation from my coaches and YouTube motivational videos.

I believe this is your 1st MIMMA right? Any other martial arts competition u have join before?
Yes, as far as MMA competitions goes, only MIMMA. I joined an amateur Muay Thai fight once and 3 professional Muay Thai tournaments. I was also chosen to represent the Sarawak State boxing team during SUKMA XVII. But because of my final exams, I couldn’t make it to the fight at Perlis.

Fighting in Pro Muaythai

Your strong area I believe is Muaythai right?...What about grappling?
Yes, I had been trained mainly in Muay Thai for 4 years, Boxing for about 1 year and most recently BJJ about 1 year. I’m looking to go into Taekwondo next potentially.

winning his pro Muaythai match vs a tough Pakistani opponent

Who help you most in during your fight camp? And why?

The person who help me most in my fight camp there’s a few people. One is Sean Trevana, he was my strength and conditioning coach, who provided me with all the S&C program. Next, my boxing coach, Fred, he has over 22yrs experience in teaching boxing. He trained my stamina, speed and agility. Then, Andrew was my mobility trainer and helped me with muscle pain release and rehabilitation. Chloe Tay my flexibility trainer, she trained me with yoga. And lastly Albert Lim from Studio 23, my BJJ coach, he is a BJJ brown belt. He has had a huge impact in my preparation training. Especially when it came to my game plan on what to do and not to do in the MMA ring. I believe fight psychology is critical and that 80% of all success, especially in MMA is due to this, only 20% is about your stamina, skill, strategy.

What is the toughest fight so far for you?
I believe every fight I fight becomes tougher. Because I constantly remind myself that I’m not in competition with just my opponent, but also myself. I will always watch my fight replays and constantly improve myself, especially when it comes to my weaknesses, and turn my weaknesses into my strengths. I would say that’s my secret or any other fighter’s secret to success.

As a Sarawakian...and just celebrated for 1st time Independence Day on 22 July...how do you feel representing Sarawak in MMA?
I feel pretty proud actually and humbled for the opportunity. I also want to take this chance to thank all my supporters, followers and my haters. You all are my source of motivation.



Please share with readers what is your personality like?...how do you describe yourself?. What is your principle in life?
I would guess I’m a pretty nurturing person. I believe in the importance of trust and relationships between my family, friends and especially my coaches. But at the same time I value the importance of freedom and success. I might be young but I think I am pretty mature for my age. I value respect, the giving and receiving of it. Finally, my main principle in life is the Principle of Discipline and Being Patient. Consistency over time, is what guarantees success, whether in the ring, in business or just life in general. Lastly, be confident. Confidence is the KEY to success

Bryant’s path to the MIMMA4 Contenders Fight on this 3 Sept 2016 is a win over Richael Amatus of Sabah. Beating Penang’s Tan Chun Keat in the quarter finals and a win over Mohd Samsuri of KL in the semi-finals. Bryant will face Faiz Faisal in the Contenders Fight to determine who the worthy opponent to face defending middleweight champion - Mohd Meeraj.

MIMMA4 Contenders Fight will be happening at Paradigm Mall on 3 Sept 2016. Or you can catch the live streaming on  malaysianinvasion.com

Enroute to winning his MIMMA4 semi finals fight ( pix by YK Tang)

Come STAND with me

The sun is setting and its ray strike your face but you are not bothered coz you got your shades on. Breeze from South China Sea sweeps your hair as the smells of smoked meat aroused your appetite. Hand on a cold drink, you move your feet on the soft, loose sands as your hearts thumps to the beats from a 3ft speaker. As the sky turns darks,… the sound of bell ring and the crowds roar to life as the attention shifts towards a ring where two warriors are throwing bombs at each other.

Where is this you ask? Phuket? Bali? No people…it’s K.K. (Kota Kinabalu)! Yup, right here in the heart of Sabah Borneo. Bringing to you … STAND. A new concept of fight event in Malaysia, where it will combine the action of boxing and Kickboxing with the excitement of a beach party.

STAND will happen on 22-24 April at the stunning resort of NEXUS Karambunai, just ½ hour drive from KK. This award winning beach resort that has seen many international functions being held at it’s sprawling 65 acres beachfront landscape. When STAND happens there this April it will be the 1st fight event with a beach party concept in Malaysia.

STAND will feature amateur boxing and K1 Kickboxing. Co-organised by 2 of Sabah’s top martial arts gym, namely; Team Karabaw and Keningau MMA (KMMA), with the collaboration with Kaza Musa Fight management .

According to Rayner Kinsiong (Team Karabaw’s founder cum STAND’s event director) STAND will feature boxing & K1 Kickboxing matches. Both at amateur level. Rayner sees that boxing is the least promoted fight sports in Sabah currently and he hopes STAND can be a platform for amateur boxer to build their fight experience. As for K1 Kickboxing, it may not be as well known as Muaythai in Sabah but it’s an upcoming martial sports that is gaining popularity due to its fast pace action.

STAND will open up lots of category for boxing & kickboxing and will be held over 3 days. For K1 Kickboxing 11 category for men and 5 for women will be competed. Meanwhile boxing will have 10 category for men & 3 for women. Day 1 will be registration, weighing in and photo shoot for fighters and team. Day 2 will see fights for all preliminary rounds and day 3 will feature finals rounds to determine the champion. Winners will be bringing back cash prizes and medals.

Fight Five is the sponsor for fight gear. This is a new high quality local Malaysian brand and it will be making its debut in a fight event at STAND. Fight Five apparel will also be available soon, with fantastic design from New York designer....witness it for yourself at STAND.

The organizer is looking forward to large participations by team. For their convenience of accommodation, venue sponsors NEXUS Karambunai is giving a special rate of RM288 per night for any team. Team with most medals collected will get to bring home a big a$$ challenge trophy!

The organizers hope to bring great fight action in the ring to entertain fight fans but around the ring too will be many entertaining activities. Auto and bike show has been planned to satisfied motor-heads. Food and drinks will also be available with a menu focus on BBQ dishes. And of course, DJ’s will be in the house to spin you all the entertaining beats.

STAND’s fight night beach party is inspired by BBQ Beatdown organized monthly by Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) in Phuket. TMT is the No.1 fight gym in Thailand and has produced many top fighters in Muaythai & MMA. Foreigners from around the globe especially westerners flock to TMT as the training is facilities is top notch, great trainers and also the lure of the beach party. Even in Bali now a few fight gym has been set up as they see the success of Phuket drawing in serious fighters and also lots of casual fighters and fitness enthusiast.

STAND wants to replicate the mood in BBQ Beatdown, where fighters can fight and build their fight experience, at the same time his team can stay at the resort for a weekend getaway. Casual fight fans can enjoy watching fights and enjoy a beach party at the same time.

This could be a potential new segment for tourism in Sabah. Rayner was one of the trainer in Amazing Borneo package of tour for Sabah where tourist can come & enjoy the many outdoor adventure activities in Sabah such as climbing Mt Kinabalu, water rafting, scuba diving, jungle trekking and they add in training with ONE Championship fighters which include AJ Pyro and Ann Osman. With this concept from STAND,
I believe Sabah can also be successful in fight tourism. We have great beautiful beaches and resorts in Sabah. Bringing the fights to these amazing places and throw in a great party, this could be a great recipe to boost tourism in Sabah.

Let's get to know the sponsors, giving them the support as without their support we will not be able to watch STAND for free.

STAND is brought to us by Borneo MajuBina ( BMB ). BMB has been strong supporter of martial arts event. BMB also help support JFL and Team Karabaw grand participation in Ultimate Beatdown 17 in Johor Bahru. Warriors of Borneo had a quick chat with Hisham Michael, the CEO of Borneo Majubina.

May I know your role in Borneo MajuBina (BMB)
I am one of three directors in the company. The other two is Aidil Zakuan and Mustaqim.

BMB play a big role in Team Karabaw & JFL...why does BMB chooses to support martial arts?
Me and Rayner Kinsiong used to go way back to the good old Karate days where we used to compete along side in State and National events. Martial arts gave me the proper structure to be the person I am today. And I'd like to give the younger generations an opportunity to build their character whether competing in this sport or in fighting for their career in the same way Karate has given me the opportunity too.

What is BMB's main business? Can you please give the readers some background on BMB?
BMB is actually a construction company, we've been around since 2011. Our aim is to give our clients the best in comfort and ease that our projects are completed in the best possible manner whether it is a school project, government quarters, government offices etc. Our second aim is to bring up young locals that are interested to pursue their career in the construction industry by giving them the opportunity to handle every aspects of this very tough market.

What do you hope to achieve through STAND?
The same way we in BMB are giving the opportunity to young locals to pursue their career in the construction industry, the same way we hope to achieve in the martial arts industry. We hope to be a part of building our younger generations that will eventually be an asset to our society.

When did the idea for a beach party and fights came about?
My team and Rayner had a discussion at a mamak shop in 88 Market in Kepayan. The best ideas come out of teh tarik and roti canai session. We were discussing on how for us to make it interesting enough for the younger crowds to get involved in martial arts, hence the beach party theme event came about.



ELITEZ MMA is also a sponsors for STAND. ELITEZ MMA is the 1st MMA gym in Klang Selangor. It is headed by Andy 'The Bullet' Teh, a pro MMA fighter and recently starred in local chinese movie FIST of PASSION. Sabahan Effendy Kalai & Eddey Kalai of The Kalai Borthers Boxing is also a part of ELITEZ MMA team of coaches.

Andy Teh with the Kalai Brothers

Another sponsors is from the interior of Sabah, Keningau, the land of the legendary Murut warriors. This is where Keningau MMA ( KMMA ) is located. Headed by it's head coach Mohd Bakri, KMMA has produced a JFL bantamweight Champion 2015 in Mohd Hasbullah Sanmin. Find out more on KMMA in my previous posting here.

WARRIORS OF BORNEO supports STAND as a pioneer in fight tourism, fight fans let’s support this together and make it a success. Come and enjoy great fights and good food. Entrance is FREE!
This possibly is a first step for Sabah to be on the map for fight tourism. Let’s have fun and create history!

Check out STAND's Facebook for further updates, or call Rayner Kinsiong 013-888 8379 for further infor.

ISKA Referee Course with The Red Dragon @ Labuan

"Hoong Loong" is in Labuan. Reknown Malaysian martial artist master Khoo Meng Yang aka The Red Dragon will be conducting the ISKA K1 & MMA Referees certification course in Labuan on 22 Jan 2016. The course is hosted by Borneo Combat Gym led by Alvin Chong aka AC Poseidon.
The course will be follow up by amatuer K1 and MMA challenge on 23 - 24 Jan 2016.
Catch BCG's story here from my previous post

Master Khoo is Malaysia's ISKA Representatives and has known Alvin since 2010. He supports Alvin's objective of developing more qualified referees from this region of Borneo. ISKA stand for International Sports Karate Association is an international body body based in the United States that regulate and sanction sport karate and kickboxing matches.

With an international certification, the aim is to upgrade the standard and quality of refereeing in combat sports for this region. Once we have more qualified referees here in Borneo then matches being organise locally too will be properly monitored and judged.

We have seen many occasions where matches results was unsatisfactory due to poor refereing. The victim almost always is the fighter themselves and his team as all the months of hard training, the blood and sweat will go down the drain if they lost a match due to bad decision from the referee. Another crucial point is referee must always put safety of fighters on the top moist priority, especially in amatuer matches. All this is which Master Khoo will be emphasizing on during the course.

Master Khoo is more than qualifies to conduct the course as he himself is a veteran of 38 fight.
24 wins 13 losses 1 draw 11 K.O.( 9 pro muaythai fights, 3 amateur muaythai fights, the rest are all kickboxing, western boxing, Ultimate Warrior and Sanshou fights)

• 3 times Malaysia Taekwon-do Champion ( ITF )
• 4 times Malaysia Sanshou ( chinese kickboxing ) Champion
• 2007 Malaysia Ultimate Warrior 1st runner-up
• 2008 Malaysia Freestyle Kickboxing Champion
• 2008 World Amateur Muaythai 2nd runner-up

infor from : muaythaitigers blogspot

Fans of MIMMA will be familiar with him as he is a one of the most sought after referee in MMA matches.

Warriors of Borneo got in touch with him for a short chat:

Can you give me a personal account of your relationship with him; what do you think of him and his passion for martial arts?

We are friends and we share plenty of martial arts knowledge to each other and helping each other to grow in this industry. He is also my ISKA East Malaysia Borneo representative. He is very keen and passionate in martial arts. What's he is doing is not mainly to earn money but to help the members to grow through martial arts.

As you know he has been helping plenty of bad kids who has been suspended from school. He even went to talked to headmaster so that they can stay in school and study. As I can see he has changed some people’s life and his own life to better as well. And insert plenty of positive energy to others and himself.

Alvin Chong and Master Khoo

You are the instructor for the ISKA ref course …pleases give some inform on the course

My ISKA K1 stand up and MMA referee course will be on 22 to 24 Jan. The theory part will be on 22 Fri.

23 - 24 Jan will be their practical part during Alvin’s BCG ISKA K1 & MMA Borneo Amateur Challenge.

It will be very practical so that participants could fit in and be referee and judge for Stand-up Fight and MMA matches.

Participants will get official ISKA K1 Stand-up Fight & MMA Two referee certificates if they pass the course.

What do you think of Labuan?

Labuan is a small island but have good economy value and good potential as a travel spot for Malaysia; and here all races live in harmony.

What are your thoughts on seeing BCG progress from a shop lot gym to what it is now today?

It is very good and I’m happy to see Alvin’s BCG growing so fast to be the biggest in Labuan and have the best sea view gym In Malaysia. He deserve all these due to his passion and hard work. Plenty of people even his friends kept telling him to quit because it’s like dumping money and hard work to the sea as he will get nothing back. But I have been telling him, 

“Do what is right and do it right. Do what you love and loving it. Filter the negative but absorb the positive comments. You don't live in other people’s world. Make them live in your beautiful peace harmony & hard working gym that you created for them and make them work out happily.”