KICKBOXING ACTION IN KARAMUNSING CHAMPIONSHIP

Combat sports action is back in Sabah. KARAMUNSING CHAMPIONSHIP will be held this weekend 13-14 April in Karamunsing Complex event hall. This event is under the banner of FIGHT FEST.

Karamunsing Championship will see 60 bouts being contested over the two days, with Kickboxing dominating the bouts on day 1 and exhibition boxing bouts on day 2.

This Championship will see a few Sabah based gym participating , namely Kinabalu Fighters, Team Karabaw, D-Sha, Ewako MMA & others. Neighbouring state Sarawak will send a few gyms such as PS Muaythai, D-30, TopDog & Sting Muaythai. Brunei is also represented, by Jeonsa & Chain Block. Meanwhile Labuan's Deaf Martial Arts Fitness will send 6 fighters.

The hi-light will be the Female Semi-Pro Title bout between Cyvilnie Angian ( Rhino Muaythai ) vs Liyen 'Blackhawk' ( Tim's Muaythai ) .This will be the first ever female Kickboxing title fight in Sabah. This fight is estimate to held at 7pm on 13 April.

Hisyam Samsudin , the former One Championship pro MMA fighter & 2016 World Boxing Federation (WBF) Asia-Pacific Light Heavyweight Champion will make an appearance after a long lay-off from active competition. Hisyam now runs his own gym - Ewako MMA & he will fight an exhibition boxing bouts vs Semuel Jhonson Michael of Underdogs Streetboxing.

Hisyam Samsudin

MMA fighter Kent Tham the 2015 Jesselton Fight League heavyweight Champion & MIMMA Semi-Finalist will also be stpping in the ring, this time in a Kickboxing match vs Lu Yi of D-30.

All Kickboxing bouts are sanction by ISKA.
 

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Organising chairman Johan Julian Lee Abdullah is said he is very glad to work with a few parties for this Championship.

Johan Julian

Venue sponsor Karamunsing Complex has been giving him full support.  Their new event hall is very spacious & fully a/c & comfortable for visitors and also equipped with good lightings & LED screen for backdro.

Daily Express is also very supporting in media coverage. Their sister company E-Cube is also supporting in media coverage through it's LED advertising screen in town. Daily Express has already launch it's Daily Express Online which brings local Sabah news to the digital world.
With these type of wide coverage, it very much elevate the awareness of the event.

Johan is also glad to work with Ararat Sports as a sponsor and Gorilla Printing that always supports combat sports event. MILO is also a sponsor and will sponsor limited edition MILO beg to all the champions.

The unique thing about Karamunsing Championship is that it is not just a combat sports event but a E-sports event at the same time. It's Malaysia E-sports selection, organised by Persatuan E-Sports Sabah . Gaming competition will be held for games such as Tekken, DOTA2 & Mobile Legends. Winners will be selected to represent Malaysia.

For further information please call Johan ( 016-831 1440 )


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story by Tan Wallace

STRIKE IS BACK... AND IT'S REDEMPTION TIME

Brunei's premier combat sports promotion, STRIKE will be back this weekend, 9-10 March 2019 at Jerudong Park Amphitheatre.

STRIKE came into the combat sports scene in 10 Nov last year, with it's 1st ever event named BATTLE OF PRIDE. It was well run and the first time in Brunei where Semi-Pro Kickboxing title fights sanctioned by world kickboxing body ISKA, was organised. It gathered the region's best talent and also featured Brunei's top talent in the main card.

The first day went smoothly until the later part of the day when a rowdy man cause a ruckus. The commotion was shot on video and spread like wild fire in a short instance and the authority had to step in to investigate, thus having the event halted and eventually day two where the main fight was schedule to go down was canceled

The trouble maker has been charge in court. All because of a trouble maker that spoilt the whole event the hard work of the fighters & the organiser was frustratingly wasted. But even though that commotion cause the event to be called off, two positive thing came out of it.
1. When the trouble maker started the commotion, the people around him manage to stay calm and patience, to contain the incident. Many of them are fighters and could have easily taken him out if they want to. The spirit of martial arts was well manifested that day.
2. The martial arts community came together in unity to support the organiser. Which shows that martial arts teaches great values and foster brotherhood and sportsmanship.

The story of STRIKE:BATTLE OF PRIDE was continued in Labuan, as it was featured in BMAEX ( Borneo Martial Art Expo ) in Dec 2018. A kickboxing tournament was held and one title fight between Brunei's Saufi Jaman vs Sabahan Dean Hamsah finally see the light of day, with Dean emerging the champion.

Dean (left) with his coach Rayner Kinsiong after winning STRIKE championship belt in Labuan

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After the first event, the organiser lead by co-founders Firdausi Zainidi and Younis Asmad already started to plan for their 2nd event. This will materialised this weekend, dubbed REDEMPTION. They have put in extra security measures to prevent the previous untowards incident repeating itself. They have been working closely with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and sports to ensure a smooth running of STRIKE ; REDEMPTION.

Day 1 ( 9 March 2019 ) will see Kickboxing tournament on the day time, followed by ticketed event at night where the pro fights will take centerstage. It will be a mixture of 6 Kickboxing and 2 MMA fights.

The organiser managed to match-make an awesome fight cards that promise plenty of fiery action.

Bruneian top Muaythai talent Wali 'the Beastmaster' Rahman of Silverback Muaythai will take on young Muaythai specialist from Sabah Kenny Jafili.
Wali is a certified Muaythai coach and has been plying his trade and actively competing in Malaysia for the pass 5 years. He is back in Brunei and will use this fight to showcase and proof that Bruneian can be successful in martial arts career.

Wali Rahman

Bruneian Saufy Jaman of Nak Muay Fight Gym will have a chance to reverse the results in STRIKE : BATTLE OF PRIDE part 2, Labuan where he lost to Dean Hamsah. This rematch will be a 62kg MMA bout. After the lost, Saufy put in extra hours in training to sharpen his techniques. He is eager to showcase this, having learnt much from his first encounter with Dean last Dec. He definately will be motivated to do well with the home crowd support.

Saufy Jaman

Another rematch will see Bruneian from Project Mayhem, Aaron Lim take on Aziz 'The Shantung Zhai' Gwojye. This two met in the 1st BMAEX in Labuan in 2017. It was a very close fight with the BMAEX Championship belt won by Aaron.

At 34 Aaron nows run two Project Mayhem gym. He left a lucrative job in the oil & gas sector to focus on his passion for Muaythai. A proud Bruneian, Aaron plans to repeat his victory over Aziz to ensure the STRIKE belt stays on Brunei soil.

Aaron Lim

In the main fight of the night will see a great international match up between Sunny Sabornido of Borneo Combat Gym- Deaf Combat Gym from Labuan vs Arie Ananda Putra of Volkz Lutador Academy, Indonesia

Sunny is a deaf fighter mentored by Alvin Chong of Borneo Combat Gym Labuan. As a kid he was often bullied due to his disability. He wanted to learn martial arts to defend himself. But to learn it was definately tough not just for him but for the people who teach as communication was a huge obstacle. But Alvin Chong saw the potential in him and he took the trouble to learn sign language and vow to mould Sunny into a skillful athlete.

Till this day Sunny has won various combat sports title, but I believe the biggest achievement does not lie just in the titles he won but being able to lead something on his own...he open a Muaythai gym last year in Labuan named Deaf Combat Gym. With the support of Alvin & BCG, Sunny wants to give back to society and work together with Labuan Deaf Association to promote health and fitness through martial arts.

For the Borneo ISKA 57kg Title belt, Sunny faced a tough Indonesian opponent - Arie. He is the winner of IBC & finalist of  BFC MMA Championship.  Arie stepped up showing his warrior spirit in 2 weeks notice, replacing Hasbullah Sanmin whom got injured.

Sunny (right) with his mentor & coach Alvin 'AC Poseidon when he won the Sabah Fight Muaythai Championship in 2018

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Aside from unearthing and developing new talents in Brunei, STRIKE also wants give back to the local community. Various special needs organisations - Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam, Persatuan KACA and Persatuan Orang Kurang Pendengaran Kebangsaan (OKP) - have been invited to attend the event, through the sponsorship from Setia Motors and BruPay.

MILO will sponsored free chilled MILO drinks to participants and visitors, and some prizes for winners that particpate in activities planned by organisers.

Go grab your tickets today to be part of Brunei's pioneering combat sports event and experience full impact action on 9 March, click for purchase of tickets at https://www.brunei.events/ticket/strike-redemption/

Come again on Day 2 to see some amateur boxing action. Brunei Darussalam Boxing Association will host the boxing tournament on Sunday.

Story brought to you by SISU Mouthguard Click this special code to get special promo offer from SISU : bit.ly/WRBxSISU

 

ISKA Malaysia Championship Super-4 Pro Kickboxing results.

Kai Chee with YB Datuk Rozman Isli member of parliament of Labuan (on his right) and other VIPs

Labuan 30 DEC 2018.

It was a perfect closing to 2018 for ISKA Malaysia by having a title fight in Borneo Martial Arts Expo or which is call BMAEX in short. This year marks the 2nd edition of BMAEX as it continue its mission to bring together & unify martial arts.

BMAEX started on 28 DEC 2018 at palm beach Resort Labuan, consist of many martial arts activities, ie: expo, breaking challenge, forms competition, Sanda K1 tournament, seminars & workshop. The Pro Kickboxing event was on the final day and the climax was the ISKA Malaysia Super-4 bout fought at 72kgs

4 contender for Super-4 are :

Fikri Rozan (Kelab Labah Mas Baling), Kai Chee ( Kuala Lumpur), Mohd Hafiz (Kuda Kepang) and Chew Zhi Kong (D-30 Muaythai). (Click here to read about their profile here).

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First fight : Fikri Rozan vs Kai Chee.
Both the Muaythai stylist started slow with both fighters being cautious. Kai Chee was the aggressor, initiating attacks with combos of punch follow by knees & low kicks. 2nd round was the same but Kai Chee executing harder kicks & combos pressing Fikri to the ropes and Fikri given a standing 8 count. Round 3 was the same but Fikri being on the attack mode a few times but it was not enough to sway the judges decision, which was a unanimous win for Kai Chee.

2nd fight:
Mohd Hafiz vs Chew Zhi Kong.
Chew literally a newbie taking on his 1st pro Kickboxing bout faced the multiple champion Hafiz. Chew wasted no time & pushed forward with looping punches, connected few times but also open himself for many accurate counter punch to the head by the experience Hafiz. It was a close match in the first round. 2nd round was the same but the aggression level was up another level. Chew kept pressing with punches but Hafiz return fire that rock Che's head backward & bloodied his mouth. Towards the end of round both throws single punch at each other & both scored. Chew ended the round with a few knees
Knowing it was very close first two round, Chew launch into full attack mode twice that saw Hafiz given the 8 count. But Hafiz is still in the fight, after the 2nd time count, he was the one pushing forward with excellent combos that connects & knocks Chew's mouthguard out. Chew given standing 8 count. Fight restart & again Chew on the attack mode, throwing some jumping knees and referee stop the fight at 2:56 with merely 4 seconds left to give Chew a win by TKO.
An entertaining fight that both fighters should be proud of themselves for displaying grit & warriors heart.

FINAL:
Kai Chee vs Chew Zhi Kong.
Kai Chee with many outside low kick to Chew's lead leg unanswered. Chew tries to attack but Kai Chee's counter with punch & hard hooks. Twice Chew given standing 8 count. In the 2nd round saw Kai Chee seals the win connecting a few punch and connecting & staggered Chew for a full 10 count by referee.

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 Kai Chee is the Champion of ISKA Malaysia 72kgs Super-4.

Watch the whole fight & other pro Kickboxing bouts at:
warriors.asia/bmaex-2018/

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Story by T.Wallace

ADI ERAWAN vs AWANGKU : ISKA BMAEX 51kgs Title Fight

ADI ERAWAN vs AWANGKU : ISKA BMAEX 51kgs Title Fight .

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Adi Erawan comes from Tuaran. A town half an hour away from Kota Kinabalu. He is a former Sabah state boxer. He now trains at Team Karabaw Tamparuli which he joined in 2014. 

He has quite a colourful record of achievement, among the notable:

• Free Style Full Contact (F3 Championship ) - Silver
• JFL Amateur MMA - quarter-finalis
• Amatuer Muaythai Inter-District Sabah (2015) - Silver
• STAND 1 (2016) - Gold
• Borneo Amateur Challenge 2 - Gold
• Elopura Fights (pro muaythai) - Silver
• Borneo Cup Muaythai 2016 - Silver
• STAND 3 (2016) - Gold
• Amatuer Muaythai Inter-District Sabah (2016) - Silver
• Borneo Amateur Challenge 3 - Gold
• D1 Fighting Championship 2017 (pro Muaythai) - Silver 
• STAND Amateur Boxing (2017) - Gold
• Borneo Battle Arena (cage boxing)- Gold

Although he fights fiercely in the ring, Adi is a down to earth and humble guy. His coach, Vallerio Gumbilai explained , 

" I didnt even know  he was a ex-state boxer, when he first join Karabaw Tamparuli.  He never told anyone. About a year after then only I found out, that too because other people informed me.

I asked him why he didn't tell me. He told me he come here to learn new things. True enough when he first train with us, he didn't know how to throw a proper kick 😅,... but after only a year or so he is really good at kicking."

Adi's family are not well off, he work hard to support his family and his own training. He had work in a tyre service shop for years and would take his bicycle to work tirelessly.

He would also cycle to Karabaw Tamparuli to train and would hid it behind the Dojo.

Everytime he has a competition, Vallerio would help him write a letter to his employer to request for leave. After two years, his employer became annoyed as Adi takes regular leave to go and fight. Eventually Adi quit the job and Vallerio quickly sets him up for another job at a service center own by a friend.

Ever since then, Adi was able to train and compete without much stress with an understanding boss. He also works hard and now able to buy himself a motorbike.
Vallerio adds, " Persoanlly to me he is the most dedicated fighter I have ever seen. He's the real definition of Team Karabaw Tamparuli. Iron will and iron horns."

Most recently Adi was awarded by DSP Madius Tangau, Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah as Boxer of the year 2018 for his consistency in participation of any combat sports competition.

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SPECIAL EVENT FIGHT: HAFIY MUTALIP VS AREMIAH EDMUND FOR THE JY CUP

This is a very special fight for the people with disability. It will be in Boxing rules.

Two young fighter, Hafiy Mutalip of Brunei's 018 MMA will face hometown favourite Aremiah Edmund of BCG Labuan for the JY Trophy.

Founder of BMAEX Alvin Chong says that  BMAEX is not an ordinary fight event, it is a platform to promote unity through martial arts. He said BMAEX also help promote Labuan as a tourism destination. Aside from that, BMAEX also strive to develop talent and education, in this situation, to educate the public on the abilities of the disable group.  And educating the disable group to achieve a goal beyond their physical disabilities.
 "I used to dream of being a  champion fighter, but I found my true happiness when I can help others  achieve their dream…I think this is my true calling in life, to help the disable. I will do my best to create better community through martial arts.
Last year, we helped a deaf woman from Sweden to achieve her dream as fighter, and this time we will help other disable person fulfill their beautiful dream to fight for JY Cup."

JY Cup is named after Alvin's former business partner Joseph Yew whom pass away because of cancer. Alvin created the JY Cup in a noble effort to use it to inspire others to achieve their dream in memory of his friend.

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Hafiy Mutalip has been overcoming obstacles his whole life. His biggest challenge is getting people to look past his limitation and understand that he is just as capable as the next guy.

Hafiy has always been a boxing enthusiast and this weekend he’ll finally be putting on the gloves to fight in a special match for the Joseph Yew Cup during the 2018 Borneo Martial Arts Expo in Labuan.

The Joseph Yew Cup is in remembrance of Joseph Yew, Co-founder of Borneo Combat Gym, Labuan who had lost his battle to cancer. He is honoured every year to demonstrate that above all else, there is love in martial arts.

This weekend, Hafiy will make us proud by being the first ‘Orang Kurang Upaya’ (OKU) - People with disabilities from Brunei Darussalam to partake in such a sport. Here at STRIKE, you will always be a fighter in and out of the ring. Good luck and all the best.

( above excerpt from STIKE.bn Instagram introducing Hafiy ) .

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profile of Aremiah pending.

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STRIKE : BATTLE OF PRIDE PART 2, SETTLING THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The first martial arts promotions of Brunei, STRIKE is back. ( read about what STRIKE is all about, click here )

The ISKA sanctioned STRIKE: Battle of Pride was held on Nov in Airport Mall Brunei. It started smoothly on the first day, until later towards the evening a thug started to verbally abused athletes and coaches which ended up in a brawl.

It was quickly contained & controlled by many sane minded martial artist ( so who said fighters are eager to brawl? They only do it inside the ring ).
 
The noble effort of it's organiser to promote martial arts & healthy lifestyle in Brunei came to an abrupt end when authorities decided to cancel the day 2 of the event to facilitate investigations. This resulted in many of the amateur category Boxing/Kickboxing semi-finals & finals bouts, 3 Kickboxing Super fight for semi-pro title didn't see the light of day.

Not only is the cancellation a big let down to the organiser and business owners who has sponsored and some have taken up exhibition booth there but also a huge disappointment to fighters that had work very hard and prepared to give their best representing their country and gym.

Many is of the opinion that STRIKE is a big boost for combat sports in Brunei. According to Eazy Anuar, Brunei's pro MMA fighter & owner of Khalifa MMA,  
" STRIKE was well ran with good planning, logistics & great prizes."
He also adds that he was saddened that due to fault of one rascal resulted in cancellation of day 2, and he said the authorities should not let bad hats marred an event that is beneficial for the general public.

According to one of STRIKE's founder, Nate Younis the culprit has been caught and as organisers they wanted to make a police report but kudos to the police they beat them to it and has charged the offender. The case is now pending court hearing. The organisers has met Brunei's sports authorities to clear the air and has their support for their next event STRIKE : Redemption planned for March 2019.

When the commotion happened, ISKA representative Alvin Chong was there on the ground and as organiser received news that authorities are cancelling their day 2 event, in the spirit of martial arts brotherhood he quickly offered a solution by offering to let BMAEX be the platform for STRIKE : Battle of Pride.

Now we are 1 day away from BMAEX 2.0 in Labuan and STRIKE : Battle of Pride will be on day 2 ( 29 Dec 2018 ). Firdaus from STRIKE explained,

" Understandably some of the fighters that qualify for the finals are not able to make the BMAEX dates, hence the idea of Wild Cards, where either a new participant can replace a fighter who is unable to make it or a participant which did not advance to the semi-finals/finals are given another shot at redemption to earn a top spot. We are fortunate to have five wild cards for STRIKE : Battle of Pride part 2. " 
 


A total of 7 amatuer bouts ( boxing/kickboxing ) will be held at BMAEX and 1 title fight between Bruneian Saufy Jaman and Sabahan Dean Hamsah for the semi-pro Light Welterweight title. The
other two title fight featuring Bruneian Adib Sulaiman & Aaron Lim , prefers to fight at home turf which is planned for the March event. Dean Hamsah will attempt to win two belt as on 30 Dec he will fight under pro Kickboxing rules for the 67kgs ISKA BMAEX Title belt.

STRIKE : Battle of Pride needs a closure and to have it a month after the original event and not dragging it too far is a good move. It's good to see the organiser collaborate with ISKA & BMAEX to make sure it has a platform. Labuan is only an hour by ferry from Brunei and Labuan has close affinity with Brunei.

Alvin Chong further reiterate that BMAEX is not just another martial arts promotions, it's objectives is to unite martial artist in the region to promote talent development, sportsmanship, recognition to contributors of the martial arts industry and improve overall standard of events. He said by having STRIKE in BMAEX is a good example of this and he said other organisers & promoters should not look at BMAEX as a competitor but to use BMAEX as a platform to promote their own event & grow the industry together.

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NOREEN NUR VS ERLIANA @ LIYEN : ISKA BMAEX 51KGS FEMALE TITLE FIGHT

NOREEN NUR VS ERLIANA @ LIYEN : ISKA BMAEX 51KGS FEMALE TITLE FIGHT

It's Malaysia vs Brunei for the only female pro Kickboxing title fight on 30 Dec at BMAEX.

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Erliana Said @ Liyen is from Tawau. She is 26 this year and trains out of Tim's Muaythai Tawau. She is an entrepreneur but loves to train Muaythai.

Her motto in life is  
"Work hard, be patient, be consistent and never give up" 

She applies this motto in her martial arts life and holds a fight record of 1-0-0 ( Muaythai ), 3-1-0 ( Kickboxing ), Boxing 0-1-0. Her favourite technique is spinning back fist.

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Bruneian Noreen got into martial arts to lose weight. She joined a workout program call 'Projek Kurus' run by ADN Gym. It was a workout program conducted outdooor at the beach and focus on Kickboxing and boxing techniques. The workout got her hooked & her interest in martial arts began to increase.

Januar 2016, ADN gym offered Projek Kurus for the second season, and she without hesitation joined the program. The weight she lost motivates her and she continue training & joining other classes such as HIIT conditioning.

Under the tutelage of Coach Adey & Coach Dean at 018 MMA Gym her skills improve and competition became a tool to test her acquired skills 

Her first fight was in 2016 at BAC 3, Labuan. The following year she improved and got silver in the BAC 4. Further improvement follows when she won Gold in the Pahlawan Boxing competition in December 2017 and bagged aother Gold in BMAEX 1.0 women’s category.

She works as a teacher and also obtained certification as an ISKA Instructor in mid October 2018.

She has two short term target...to close 2018 with the ISKA BMAEX female title on her waist and targetting Gold for BAC 6, in March 2018.

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ISKA BMAEX 72kgs Super-4 Malaysia Title

ISKA BMAEX 72kgs Super-4 Malaysia Title
 
Fight A : Hafiz (Kuda Kepang) vs Chew Zhi Kong (D-30 Muaythai)
Fight B : Fikri Rozan ( Kelab Labah Mas Baling) vs Kai Chee (Kuala Lumpur)

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Chee Jian Kai or better known as Kai Chee is the highest profile fighter in this Super-4 fight.
At 33 years old he is considered a veteran in the Malaysian combat sports scene. A Muaythai stylist he won ISKA BMAEX 2017 Super Fight Title was the South Thailand Patong Stadium Champion, & Malaysia Sanda Champion His Pro MMA Record 30-20-10.

He is one of the earliest few Malaysian whom fought pro MMA , and  holds a 4-7-0 record with fights at Martial Combat, Malaysian Fighting Championship, ONE Championship and URCC.

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Standing at 176cm tall, although just 29, another veteran is Muhammad Fikri Rozan from Kelab Labah Mas Baling.
Fikri is a Muaythai specialist and holds an impressive record of  58-2-53.

He was Kedah state champion 3 times 2005,2006 & 2007 and Champion in Songkla Hatyai Thailand under WMC 2008 and fought recently in Road to Z1 Langkawi 2018.

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 Chew Zhi Kong is from Miri representing D-30 Muaythai trained under Master Tang Hui Ding

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At 32 this year Mohd al Hafiz bin Mohd Hanaffi of Kuda Kepang is a Muaythai specialist based in Johor Bahru.

Hafiz is from Segamat and  started training in martial arts since 19. He has fought more than 70 times in his martial arts career. He is 2011 Muaythai Pesta Pulau Pinang Super-4 champion, and most recently collected another belt - Asia Super Challenger.

He loves the fighting art and has made it his full time career by teaching PT and instructing in Johor Bahru. He also delve into MMA a bit but still prefer the art of the 8 limbs.

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BMAEX is a event that aims to unite all martial artist in this region by giving all styles a platform to perform & excel, with many martial arts activities such as expo, forms competition, breaking challenge, wushu & amatuer kickboxing tournament, seminar & workshop. All this happening from 28-30 DEC at Palm Beach Resort Labuan.
The climax is the 10 title fight in K1 Kickboxing rules happening on 30 DEC 2018