MIMMA 5 GRAND FINALS - KHAIJU DOMINATION

There’s a genre in Japanese movies that features huge giant monsters. Then few years back when Pacific Rim movie was released, the word Kaiju becomes more well-known as it refer to the big giant alien monsters that terrorized earth. This March Pacific Rim 2 is out and Kaiju again will be the talk of town as it rampage through the cities in the movie.

In Malaysia we also have a Kaiju. Tsan Neing Khai aka ‘Khaiju’ from Sarawak! He is a heavyweight MMA fighter and will be terrorizing the MIMMA cage in the grand finals on 30 March.

 

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Tsan started participating in MIMMA since 2015 in season 3. Stumbling at semi-finals to Sabahan Tham Yaw Kent Following in season 4, he came back with much fire and rematch Kent in the semis but this time victorious. Following that he beat NIker Tan of Penang in the contender fight and met heavyweight favourite Darren Low in the grand finals.

It was a heavyweight fight that went down MIMMA history as the most closely contested. Giving Darren a tough night. It went the distance to 5 rounds with unanimous decision going to Darren.

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Season 5, again Tsan is back! He is determined to win the heavyweight title this time. With 3 finishes win in the league, Tsan was positioned 3rd in the league standings. He qualified for the semis and overcame Steven Yeoh of Johor in 3 hard rounds. 

MIMMA5 semi-finals vs Steven Yeoh

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Tsan’s dream was to make the heavyweight fight a Borneo showdown again by rematch with Darren Low for the grand finals. But this was not meant to be as Darren didn’t accumulate enough points to reach the semis (read about Darren Low’s story here).

For this time Tsan will need to defeat league leader Azrel Izzat of Perak to fulfill his dream of bringing the title back to Kuching. 

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Martial arts has not been part of his life until only in 2014 when he started doing Muaythai, all for the reason of losing weight as he was weighing around 140kg then. He just became a father of a new baby girl and at the same time running the business of few cyber cafes. Hardly any exercise made him pile on the pounds. 

“One Day when I was bringing my toddler for a walk, I felt tired and my lower back hurts just by caring my daughter for a few minutes. That's when I started to realised that I need to keep fit so that I can see my daughter grow up n be there for my family." 

From that experience Tsan started going for Muaythai classes introduced by a friend at a local martial art gym.
“I fall in love with Muaythai, I started going for classes every day , 6 classes a week , and I lost 30kg in the first 3 months." 

Tsan’s Muaythai gives him a solid foundation for MMA. He is among the pioneers of MMA in Sarawak. Training at Gymbox Kuching under Matt Pellino with Jace Law, Stephen Onn Jenggeing, Aaron Lo & Aaron Tan. Each of them pushing each other out of their comfort zone in order to improve each other.

His love for martial arts lead him to convert a store room in his shop to become a personal training room. That was the initial intentions anyway. 

“Started up with my friends coming in, but as times goes by friends bring along friends, then friend's friend's friends and so on until today my gym is way too small already. This was the beginnings of MAD Fight Club." 

“I trained by myself and with Aaron Tan, I went to Labuan’s Borneo Amatuer Challenge taking the ISKA trainer course level 1. I even imported a friend from Indonesia as my boxing coach, then I will be teaching Muaythai class." 

"I enjoy sharing knowledge with people. That’s what keeps me going on teaching classes. Tsan quest for knowledge also lead him to cross train with Warmonger Gym in Miri and also improving his grappling and BJJ with Albert Lim’s Studio 23." 

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Tsan is now a very busy business man. MAD Fight Club is now one of the top fight gym in Kuching. MAD.net cyber café is in its 10th year of operations, and since last year expanded his business to serve food & beverage in MAD Food Factory, all in the same block of building.

"MAD’s name is from my elder brothers company MADTechnologies, I loved their design n term so I just use their design as to help them do branding." 

"MAD means that we have crazy ideas, doing things differently, dare to challenge the new frontier." 

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On how he feels that the rematch with Darren didn’t materialized.
“Yeah that sucks big time, during the leagues my initial strategy is to skip battles with Darren as to minimize the changes for both of us to be injured so that we can had a rematch during the grand finals, but during the early league as we were chatting along, he told me that he will be very busy with work so maybe can't fight during Chinese New Year."

"I think its league 5 that I wanna get a rematch with him, but sadly accident happens, he got injured when he was training about 1 week off our scheduled fight day." 

"He messaged me personal telling me that he was injured and was unable to fight and pulled out last minute. I was unhappy at first because I bought flight tickets at RM600 and I was then very busy with my café." 

"I can only do day trips for my fight, the semi-finals fight. I had to wake up at 5am, flight at 7 am, then had to get ready to fight at 1pm. After the fight I need to get ready to pack up and rush back to the airport for the 10pm flight, I reached home that day at 1am midnight. Then have to go cafe cook the next day! Thing we do for the sport we loved LOL! , oh yeah I do the cooking myself too, I learn it from Aaron Tan… : ) "

Khaiju preparing for war

Through the love of MMA, Tsan and Darren are now close friends.
"Me and Darren, I think we are looking at this sports, somehow in a similar point of view as we both took it as a hobby. We do it so that we can eat more delicious foods, LOL. We both are the giants of Borneo, and most importantly with the love for the sports, we want to see it grow in our homeland."

the giants of Borneo

What do you think of the challenge Azreel present?
“I have been looking at his fights because I see him as potential opponent in the near future but he too choose to pullout during our matched ups, he is quite a tanky fighting styles with light feet. I think it will be a quite interesting match for us in the grand finals."

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TRIBAL WARRIOR CHALLENGE

Way back 30 years ago in 1987, Kinabalu Climbathon was organised. What started off as an event where Sabah Parks’ intention of creating a rapid rescue squad made up of a team of rangers who can bring down injured climbers fast became an iconic event which challenges runners in a very scenic Mt Kinabalu trial to the highest peak in South East Asia.

Then in year 2000, Sabah became the host of Eco Challenge, the world's premier expedition race that traverse through the jungle of Sabah. It spark off a few other adventure race in the region, but soon after a few years, quiet down.

Then in 2008, Borneo International Marathon, organised by the late Andrew Voon was held. It kick-start a serious running culture in the people of Borneo. 

Borneo being the land where historically the local tribe are well known for their warrior heritage plus the adventurous nature of the land, are still lacking of a truly iconic obstacle race in the style of Viper Challenge, Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, etc. The demand is there but no organiser has yet step up to the plate.

Many were very disappointed when two years ago as the highly anticipate Borneo Mud Challenge turned out to be a con job. Many that has registered was left hanging when the organisers disappear. Many Borneon and adventure enthusiast hunger for an obstacle challenge was left unfulfilled.  

This problem ends this Saturday 19 August 2017 as Tribal Warrior Challenge (TWC) will take place at Sarawak Negeri Stadium in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, the Malaysian Borneo state. 

TWC is organise by Borneo Tru Events, a powerhouse event management company that has excellent track record of very successful events in Borneo. For TWC, Borneo Tru Events invite all adrenaline junkies to 'Challenge Your Inner Warrior' as they introduce this adrenaline charged obstacle based challenge that is set to push the physical and mental limits of the participants.

Endorsed by Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture , Youth & Sports and in partnership with Sarawak Convention Bureau and technical partner, Viper Challenge (Asia's biggest obstacle event), it is expected to draw around 1000 participants. 

YB Datuk Karim Hamzah  (middle ) endorsing the event through Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth & Sports

One of the 3 categories of the Tribal Warrior Challenge, the 5km ‘Bizst Mode’ will be set exclusively for business events sector and SCB selected participants in conjunction with Sarawak Convention Bureau’s Redefining Global Tribes Campaign, which is modeled on Sarawak’s 3 key tribal values; Unity, Community and Identity.

Working alongside its tribal allies, Redefining Global Tribes seeks to drive the impact of Business Events to construct a stronger and globally diverse economy for Malaysia.

TWC will offer to the public two categories for warriors of all fitness levels, such as the ‘Rite of Passage’ - a 7km race for families and individuals who wish to test their mettle - or the ‘Headhunter’, a 10km race designed for serious fitness enthusiasts. 






Viper Challenge, as the technical partner is known as Asia’s Largest Obstacle Running event which began in 2013, bringing in their signature obstacle and boost enthusiasm amongst the participants.

Terence Lim, General Manager of Borneo Tru Events, said
“The trails will be set within the beautiful landscapes of Borneo. In designing the Tribal Warrior Challenge, which is the first of its kind in Sarawak, we wanted to package it as a completely unique, wholesome and unforgettable experience set against unique panorama!”

Ooohaa! The warrior pose from (L to R) Simran Latif (Viper Challenge), Silas Michael (Borneo Tru Events Sdn Bhd), Terence Lim (Borneo Tru Events), Amelia Roziman (Sarawak Convention Bureau), and Awang Saifeluddin (Grit Event Management) during the Tribal Warrior Challenge Press Conference.

Tribal Warrior Challenge will be a platform to promote team building, corporate retreats, boot camps, and orientation and incentive trips to Sarawak. 

these finisher t-shirts from Compressport are YOURS for the keeping when you successfully complete the challenges! 

finish the challenge = bring home a sexy medal fit for a WARRIOR.

For more information on Tribal Warrior Challenge, please visit www.tribalwarrior.com or Like their Facebook page for more updated information.

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)

Jace Law @ MIMMA3 Grand Final fight

Jace pix by YK Tang

After 3 trail blazing tryouts in Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru, MIMMA Tryouts is on its 4th stop coming this weekend 19-20 Mac 2016. Coming to Plaza Merdeka in Kuching, Sarawak. Sarawak is a treasure-trove for martial arts talent. In MIMMA Season 2 , Stephen Onn Jenggieng was the grand finalist for middleweight. Last year saw Sarawakian had a field day when 3 of them enter the grand finals of MIMMA3. Melvin Kho ( welterweight ), Joanna Yap ( female MMA ), Jace Law ( lightweight ). Joanna and Jace went home with the championship belt and if you count Ahmadjon Karimov of Tajikistan who studies in Kuching at that time winning the foreign pride championship belt, it shows that the spirit of the headhunters warriors are strong here.

One of the high lights of MIMMA3 Grand Finals was the lightweight fight of Jace Law vs Muhd Hasrul. Going against Hasrul, MIMMA Season 2 champion was certainly intimidating as Hasrul is known for his heavy hands, but Jace came into the fight with bombs of his own rights. The fight was a slugfest with Jace coming out victorious by knocking out Hasrul at the closing seconds of round 1.

Warriors of Borneo caught up with Jace to recall the eventful night in October 2015. Catch the video of the fight here. And you can read more about Jace’s from my previous posting

Pix by YK Tang

Tell me about the fight. What was in your thoughts stepping in the cage & looking at Hasrul across the cage?
Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all. My thoughts were basically telling myself "Wow! This is it! The big stage! Don't screw it up!"
My coach Matt Pellino telling me, “You got this!” helped boost my confidence even more coz he knows what he's talking about.

Pix by YK Tang

You initiated with a jab and immediately duck under his hard right, did you see that coming? Did that hit you?
I knew coming into this fight that I had to be cautious of his right hand. I think he caught me only once on my forehead. Other than that I pretty much controlled the fight with swift combos and footwork.

Pix by YK Tang

You hit him with two rights and the 2nd one floored him, did you practice that in training?
Yes I worked that combo a lot. My favorite counter against someone who's charging forward.

Did the lost in Jesselton Fight League 2015 fuel your desire to get the MIMMA belt?
Definitely! I still remember that night after the fight...my team mate Ahmadjon also lost his match and we were so down. We couldn't really sleep. I remember telling him we'll get those MIMMA belts. Fast forward a few months... Jon and I are MIMMA champions. It all worked out as planned.

Pix by YK Tang

So what is next after achieving the MIMMA3 glory?
Can't really say for now. I'm keeping my options open.

How did you celebrate the win?
Sleep! Fight week leading up to the fight was exhausting to say the least!

Looking at ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia ( OCT 2015 ) the night before MIMMA3 grand Finals, where Peter Davis & Ann Osman got KOed by foreigner, do you think we Malaysian are on par with them?
Yes of course. Malaysian fighters have come a long way. Everyone suffers a loss once in awhile, the important thing is to bounce back from it and come back stronger!

How do you train for the knockout power of JKO? ( what type of strenght & conditioning do you do to get this?
Its all in the hip ;)

Pix by YK Tang

Have you got any offer yet from other MMA promotions to fight Pro?
Can't say that I have.

What do you think of the overall quality of fights in the MIMMA3 Grand Finals?
Most of the fights were good. My personal favorite was Gino vs Melvin ( welterweight ). Nobody knows how close these 2 have become with each other since our training in Tiger Muaythai Phuket. The sportsmanship was awesome to see from both sides. They are funny guys outside, but warriors in the cage.

What's your opinion on the No-Contest decision for the Bantamweight fight?
Well it is what it is. We gotta respect the decision of the MIMMA officials and judges.

Finally who do you wanna thank for the win
Gymbox, Sean Wong. Coach Matt Pellino, Muay Thai Trainer Ncedo Gomba, S&C Trainer / Team Mate Stephen Onn, my fight team Aaron Lo, Melvin Kho, Tsan Nieng Khai, Ahmadjon Karimov and Aaron Tan. A few Gymbox Fight Club members who helped me during my training camps. My family especially my mom, my friends and last but not least my girlfriend who's always been there for me.

Jace's team mates from Gymbox will be at the tryouts, at Plaza Merdeka Kuching this 19-29 Mac,to make an impact.

Jace Law himself will be there too to encourage and motivate new comers at the tryouts.
Catch him with his shiny MIMMA3 Lightweight champion belt.

me with the Champ