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By Alexander Zammit – 9 June 2012

In a few hours time Malta’s number one fight night of the year gets underway at the MFCC (Fairs and Convention Centre), Ta Qali. This year ‘Gladiator Promotions’ is offering  a total of eighteen kickboxing matches  - The main card will consist of two world amateur kick boxing titles under the World Kickboxing Network (WKN), 9 bouts will be for local titles and there will be no less than 7 other bouts on the under card.

The double billing will see Reuben AZZOPARDI (Malta) take on Stefani JACOPO (Italy)for the WKN KICKBOXING AMATEUR WORLD TITLE – 76.4 Kgs andRuth TANTI (Malta) vs Ewa Bos (Poland) for the WKN KICKBOXING AMATEUR WORLD TITLE – 50.0 Kgs.

At yesterday’s well attended press conference, Gladiators promotions president Mr. Noel Mercieca spoke about the ever raising popularity of the Gladiators fight nights and WKN titles inMalta, he also thanked all those who had in some way supported the promotion, with special thanks going to the sponsors & media.

Gladiators VP, Mr. Isaac Chetcuti echoed the sentiments of the promotions president, noting that the ever raising popularity was also reflected in the number of martial arts clubs participating in the event.

Main Fight Card

WKN KICKBOXING AMATEUR WORLD TITLE – 76.4 Kgs
Reuben AZZOPARDI (Malta) vs Stefani JACOPO (Italy)

WKN KICKBOXING AMATEUR WORLD TITLE – 50.0 Kgs
Ruth TANTI (Malta) vs Ewa Bos (Poland)

SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT – 62 Kgs
Kylie Blenes vs Rachelle Cutajar

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT – 67 Kgs
Clayton Micallef vs Darien Doneo

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT – 66.7 Kgs
Lorna Mifsud vs Farren Borg

WELTERWEIGHT – 69.9 Kgs
Garth Galea vs Joseph Dimech

SUPER WELTERWEIGHT – 72 Kgs
Tyron Muscat vs Ivan Frendo

MIDDLE WEIGHT – 76 Kgs
Adrian Debono vs Isaac Chetcuti

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT – 79.4Kgs
Eman Zammit vs Andre ‘JAPAN’ Spiteri

SUPER CRUISERWEIGHT – 92.5 Kgs
Joseph Fenech vs James Flores

SUPER LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT – 85.5 Kgs
Richard Vella vs Anthony Wood

UNDER CARD

Justin Cassar vs Steve Buhagiar

Nigel Buttigieg vs Neil Farrugia

Ryan Cachia vs Glenn Aquilina

Luke Booth vs Brandon Borg

Brandon Spiteri vs

Chris Lagana vs Shaun Ellul

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Daniel “The Jet” Zahra To Participate In  A Savate Competition

On the 16^th of March Daniel “the Jet” Zahra will once again represent Malta in a professional Martial Arts match. This time he will compete against a Savate practitioner from Marseille.

Together with his instructor, Master Noel Mercieca, Zarha will go to France to compete in a professional full contact match of 5 rounds of 2 minutes each. His adversary in Marseille will be Laurient Debon. The rules for this fight will be those of Savate which include the normal full contact Kickboxing rules and the use of special boots used in this discipline.

Savate is a French Martial Art which is also known as French Kickboxing. This sport was originally created by French sailors in case they had to defend themselves while at sea. This style varies from Kickboxing due to the fact that it allows kicks to the front of the legs and the use of special shoes which have reinforced toes.

This it is the first time that a Maltese Kickboxer will compete in this discipline. For Zahra this will be his second professional match after he won the World Kickboxing Network (WKN) European Kickboxing Title Belt last December.

Master Mercieca together with Sensei Charlo Spiteri started giving Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) classes at the Ying Yang Kickboxing club. Sensei Spiteri is aMMA practitioner who trained under Roger Gracie in the UK. For more information go to www.yingyangkickboxing.com or contact Master Noel Mercieca on 79208283 or merciecanoel@yahoo.co.uk

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Preventing and treating overweight and obesity in children & youth must be done through increased physical activity.

Activities should be fun and attractive and the practice of the Martial Arts offers a solution in the fight against obesity.

Martial arts are known to improve social skills, discipline, and respect in children. Children can also improve their abilities to concentrate and focus on activities, as well as bettering their motor skills and self-confidence. Martial arts can be fun and beneficial at any age.

The Ying Yang Kickboxing Club which is located on the small island of Malta was founded by Master Noel Mercieca in 1996.  Master Mercieca is a 5th Dan in Kickboxing, 1st Dan in Tang Soo Doo, Brown Belt in Spirit Combat, European Champion and a runner up World Title. He is also a qualified gym instructor, a Military fitness Instructor and a sports masseur.

Master Mercieca understands the need to have a healthy balance between study time and sport and for this purpose, the Ying Yang Kickboxing and Martial Arts Club, has designed programs for youth and children. As with any good sport school, Noel lists safety as the first priority of the children and youth classes. After all, martial arts training is meant to improve the child and youth in all aspects of life. Avoiding injury is a priority.

“At Ying Yang, we are like an extended family. We truly enjoy each other’s company; amongst our younger members we already have second generation students. Maybe that’s the secret of why the club has grown so large over the past 15 years” said Master Noel Mercieca.

For more details, follow the link to the Ying Yang Kickboxing Club

The martial arts were originally established as structured systems of combat training. Today, they are also studied for their value in self-defence, and enjoyed as modes of sport and physical development.

Ying Yang Club Structure and Equipment – The club distinguishes its members, according to their age and training experience, with traditional Martial Arts Belts (from White to Black) which are gained throughout certified grading sessions that take place over specific periods of months and training.

The gym is composed of locker rooms (including showers) for each separate gender and is also equipped with training equipment.  The floor is covered with protective mats to absorb falling impact. Instructors are trained in first aid and first aid kits & other safety equipment is installed and ready in case of emergencies.

Training Schedule: Ying Yang holds training activities and various classes throughout the week. Kindly click this link for address and instructions on how to locate the club.

Link: More information on obesity

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By Alexander Zammit

Yesterday night Malta’s number one Kickboxing champion Daniel “The Jet” Zahra, made history with a smooth transition from the amateur into the professional ranks and captured the WKN – European Light middle-weight title in the process, when he defeated in a convincing manner Jose “Bogas” De Oliveira, of Portugal , at the MFCC Conference Centre at Ta Qali, in Malta.

The event organizers, Noel Mercieca and Isaac Chetcuti of ‘Gladiators Promotions’ surpassed themselves, with a fantastic  show which kept the huge crowd entertained from start to finish. The show it-self consisted of the main event and ten supporting bouts, showcasing kickboxing, K1 and classical boxing.

The main event of the evening had the crowd roaring their support for the popular Maltese fighter. Zahra, fighting out of the red corner who looked confident and wasted no time in taking the fight to his Portuguese opponent De Oliveira. By round two the superiority of Zahra was evident and De Oliveira often had a surprised look on his face as Zahra displayed combinations of kicks and punches which often found there mark. To his merit De Oliveira remained calm and was never flustered even after Zahra drew blood in the third round. De Oliveira had his moments but Zahra never allowed him to settle in. The Portuguese fighter showing true sporting spirit lifted Zahra’s hand in victory even before the judges had issued their majority decision. A well deserved victory for Daniel “The Jet” Zahra.

The last supporting bout for this memorable event was a K1 bout between Enwan Maillot of Malta THAI BOXING Club and Renald Tabone of the Red Dragon Kickboxing Club. Both fighters were aggressive but Tabone took victory in a workman like fashion building a large points advantage over his opponent.

The bout before that was an exciting  4×2 minutes traditional boxing match between Tyronne ‘EL TERRIBLE’ Borg of the Wu Shu Ky Kickboxing Club and Chris Debono of Ying Yang Kickboxing Club. The bout was crowd pleasing and what the boxers lacked in ring craft they made up for it with a courageous display of fearless boxing with both fighters exchanging and raining punches, relentlessly on each other. The judges awarded a narrow point’s victory to Tyronne Borg.

The other supporting bouts consisted of a number of Kickboxing matches of various levels and all the participants acquitted themselves with good performances. Most notable of these bouts was that of Isaac Chetcuti (Ying Yang) vs. Chris Lagana (Strike Kickboxing) which ended in a doctor’s stoppage in round three, with victory going to Chetcuti who was ahead on all the score cards at the time of the stoppage.

The only KO of the evening came about in the seventh bout between Tyronne Muscat of the Wu Shu Ky Kickboxing Club and Jonathan Psaila of the Ying Yang Kickboxing Club. The first round was balanced with both fighters testing each other out. In round two Psaila seemed to be getting the edge over his opponent when Muscat found an opening and floored Psaila with a beautifully executed right to the chin. As Psaila rolled over and struggled to get to his feet, Coach & Corner-man Noel Mercieca threw in the towel to save his fighter from further punishment.

A truly enjoyable fight night and as has been the trend for the last few years the Ying Yang Kickboxing club was the dominant force, however the improvement of fighters from other local clubs was evident and the gap is closing fast.

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