Posts Tagged ‘Ying Yang’
1st Dan Black Belt for Ying Yang
March 10th, 2011 | 
Author: By Reuben Azzopardi
(MKBA/Ying Yang PRO)
07/03/2024
1st Dan Black Belt for Ying Yang
In February the Malta Kickboxing Association (MKBA) organised its first Kickboxing grading for this year. Under the supervision of 6 Head Instructors all the 30 students that took part in the exam achieved their next Belt in the discipline.
27 out of the total amount of participants train within the Ying Yang Kickboxing Club. In fact 16 of them had their baptism of fire since this was their first time that were graded in this Sport. The athletes from three different clubs were graded on the performance and implementation of their Kickboxing techniques which increases in difficulty depending on the Belt level.
The most challenging grading was that for Jonathan Curmi who went for the 1st Dan Black Belt in Kickboxing. Together with Anton Fava, founder of Strike Kickboxing and who went for the 2nd Dan, both were put under continuous pressure from Kancho Adrian Axisa, the founder of the MKBA. For the total stretch of four hours Curmi was asked to perform technique upon technique which involved a multitude of hand and leg combinations. In the end both Curmi and Fava reached their goal and gained their respective Belts.
Curmi has been training with Master Noel Mercieca, founder of the Ying Yang Club, for the past 6 years and in 2010 got his Black Belt. In 2006 he was part of the Maltese National team that represented our country in England for an International competition. In 2009 he even participated in the Kickboxing World Cup organised in Malta.
The other students that took part and passed the grading where; White to Red: Patrizia Mifsud, Jason Micallef, Brian Farrugia, Maria Antonella Caruana Seguna, Claire Gafa, Isaac Stivala, George Lee, Darien Doneo, Stathis Georgakopolos, Bernice Casha, Matthew Grech, Glenn Aquilina, Clint Abela, Christian Aaron Bonanno, Kedron Mallia, Joachin Mifsud Attard; Red to Green: Wayne Spiteri, Karl Caruana, Jeffrey Scicluna, Andrew Hillsdon, Nicholas Ellul, Joseph Dimech, Melcior Micallef, Ian Scicluna Laviera; Green to Purple: Jeannie Bell, Fiona Farrugia.
As a Kickboxing association in Malta the MKBA is the largest one with a total of 6 Clubs. Ying Yang Kickboxing together with Tao Kickboxing, Strike Kickboxing, New Kickboxing Club, Demis Kickboxing and Gozo Kickboxing are all part of the MKBA. In 2007 thanks to Ying Yang the MKBA became part of the World Kickboxing Network (WKN) and in 2009 Malta was the first WKN member that organised a World Cup in Kickboxing in which 4 students from Ying Ynag won the World Title.
For more information regarding the Ying Yang club’s training days please visit the website www.yingyangkickboxing.com or contact Master Noel Mercieca on 79208283 or [email protected].
Photos:
Jonathan Curmi and Jonathan Curmi with Master Noel Mercieca
Posted in Information, Kick Boxing News, Latest News | 
Tags: Belt, discipline, Exam, Grading, Kickboxing, Kickboxing Malta, Malta, Malta Kickboxing Association, MKBA, Sport, WKN, WKN Malta, Ying Yang
K-1 and Kickboxing in the Maltese Islands
By Alex Zammit
Combat sports have always been popular in the Maltese Islands. In the prewar and post war era of the Second World War, boxing was perhaps the most popular, introduced by the British Army in the late 1800’s. In the 1960’s other forms of combat sports started to appear on the local scene such as Judo, Olympic Wrestling and Karate. Most of these sports were practiced in “Culture Clubs” or in Garages on straw mats.
The 1970’s – The big screen introduced the legendary Bruce Lee, staring in, The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon amongst others. Martial Arts fever griped the world and Malta was no exception. Martial Arts Clubs started to spring up everywhere. Associations for the various fight styles started to be formed and many Maltese started to receive instructions in various combat forms in other countries.
The 1980’s and 1990’s saw the sport of martial arts develop and evolve. The Maltese, Martial Arts scene also evolved keeping pace with other much larger countries.
The nineties and naughties brought with it new innovations to the world of Martial Arts and amongst those who took the plunge in introducing these styles to the Maltese Islands was, Master Noel Mercieca a 4th Dan Black Belt who in 1996 established the ‘ This club soon established it self as a leader on the local scene and started to amass a number of titles both locally and abroad.
In 2007 – the ‘World Kickboxing Network’ (WKN) one of the largest Martial Arts sanctioning bodies in the world was introduced to the Maltese Islands, through Master Adrian Axsisa, a Spirit Combat expert.
Noel was the first in Malta to join the WKN family. This was a decision that was to reap benefits for his club in the years to come.
Malta’s baptism of fire under the WKN banner came in 2007 in Torino, Italy, when Ruben Azzopardi became the first Maltese to fight in a K – 1 competition (Oriental rules). While Ruben was well prepared physically he obviously lacked the experience necessary to win his first fight under the K-1 rules. However to his merit Ruben only lost on points.
In October of 2007 – Ying Yang’s – Daniel “The Jet” Zahra became the first Maltese to win a major title when he became WKN EUROPEAN CHAMPION – Kickboxing Rules, Amateur Light Middleweight after beating Adrien Lafaurie (France) in Malta.
Noel Mercieca also set out to further enrich his coaching abilities and since 2007 has attended several advanced technical courses and training seminars for K-1 in Italy, Cyprus, France, United Kingdom and Corsica.
Malta second experience in K-1 was also in Torino, Italy. Malta’s Charles Buhagar, was defeated on points. However the technical improvements were obvious and encouraging.
The Ying Yang, Kick boxers and K-1 fighters, were to suffer a number of defeats before tasting success. In February of 2009 - Ruth Tanti lost on points in France, In 2009 Ruben Azzopardi - became the first Maltese to participate in a pro tournament in Cyprus – he lost to Christo Nikolao on points.
It was in the last quarter of 2009, that the hard work put in by the Ying Yang fighters, training under Noel Mercieca, started to bear fruit – during this period the Maltese club took no less than four major WKN kickboxing titles and one major title under the K-1 rules.
Daniel “The Jet” Zahra – proved himself to be flagship product of the Ying Yang Gym.
(Daniel “The Jet” Zahra) WKN WORLD CHAMPION – Kickboxing Rules, Amateur Middleweight, beating Furleton (Northern Ireland) in Malta, September 2009
(Daniel “The Jet” Zahra) WKN EUROPEAN CHAMPION – K1 Rules, Semi-Pro Middleweight, beating Mohamed Jama (Holland) in Malta, February 2009
(Daniel “The Jet” Zahra) Defending Title - Semi-Pro Middleweight, beating Mark Bird (Northern Ireland) in Belfast, April 2010
Other members of the Ying Yang club also enjoyed a good measure of success:
Ruth Tanti - WKN WORLD CHAMPION – Kickboxing Rules, Amateur Featherweight, Nuura Mohamed Sayed Ahmed (Egypt) in Malta, September 2009
Stefan Cassar - WKN WORLD CHAMPION – Kickboxing Rules, Amateur Super Middleweight, beating Kiriakos Konikkos (Cyprus) in Malta, September 2009
Kursten Borg - WKN WORLD CHAMPION – Kickboxing Rules, Junior Amateur Light Heavyweight, beating Ali Hanedar (Belguim) in Malta, September 2009
Terence Cilia - WKN EUROPEAN CHAMPION – K1 Rules, Amateur Middleweight, beating Stuart Jess (Northern Ireland) in Malta, May 2010
Presently the Ying Yang club is home to no less than four national champions in Kickboxing: Ruth Tanti – Lightweight, Kyle Stone – Middleweight, Nicholas Ellul – Cruiserweight and Lucienne Rosso – Superheavyweight
While there are other competent and good clubs in the Maltese Islands, Ying Yang has taken this sport to the next level. The success of this club when considering the size of Malta is astounding.
This year (2011) Daniel Zahra, the WKN World and European Amateur Champion was nominated for the Maltese, ‘Sportsman of the Year Award’ although he was not shortlisted for the final awards, it served as a clear indication of the publics appreciation for the efforts and achievements of this young man and his club.
Club President: Isaac Checuti and club founder Master Noel Mercieca, attribute their success to the daily dedication of their members and the support of a sterling team who work behind the scenes ensuring that Ying Yang retains its position as one of the leading Martial Arts Clubs in Malta.
For more details and information about ‘Ying Yang Kickingclub’ please click this link
Posted in Kick Boxing News, Latest News, MMA Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai |
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports, K-1, Kickboxing, Kickingboxing Malta, Malta, martial Arts, Master, Noel Mercieca, Sportsman of the Year, WKN, World Champion, Ying Yang
Ying Yang Kickboxing Club - Malta
Over the past few years Kickboxing in Malta has seen a huge surge in popularity and hundreds of Maltese youths have taken up the sport. Recently “Ying Yang” one of the most successful kickboxing clubs on the Island celebrated its 14th anniversary.
The Ying Yang Kick Boxing Club was set up in 1996 by Master Noel Mercieca a 4th Dan Black Belt and is located in the town of Fgura.
If a club’s success is to be measured by its results, than this club would certainly qualify amongst the top in the Maltese islands. Ying Yang athletes have over the past years amassed an impressive amount of titles both on the national and international scene.
Ying Yang is also home to one of the leading Kick Boxers on the island - Daniel “The Jet” Zahra – trained by Master Mercieca - Daniel has fought both as an amateur & semi pro and has won several international tournaments, such as the WKN European and world Championships titles.
The Fgura club is also home to several other international titlists, such as Terence Cilia WKN European Champion 2010, Ruth Tanti WKN World Champion 2009, Stefan Cassar WKN World Champion 2009, Kursten Borg WKN Champion 2009 and several more.
Ying Yang Kickboxing Club is located on the small island of Malta in Europe and was founded by Master Noel Mercieca on the 17th November 1996. Master Mercieca is a 4th Dan in Kickboxing, 1st Dan in Tang Soo Doo, Brown Belt in Spirit Combat, European Champion and a runner up World Title. He serves with the Armed Forces of Malta and is also qualified as a gym instructor, a Military fitness Instructor and a sports masseur. Nowadays Ying Yang Club has over 100 members and is part of the largest kickboxing association, the WKN.
Master Noel Mercieca has been training his athletes with Ying Yang Kickboxing Club for the past 14 years and through these years many of our athletes won numerous competitions and titles, both National and European.
Our club itself organises various kickboxing events throughout the year to promote kickboxing more in Malta and to give its athletes every excitement this sports has to offer. Being in a large association such as the WKN, gives the opportunity for Ying Yang athletes to participate in competitions all over the world and gives them the chance to win International Kickboxing Titles in different weight categories for both Amateur and Professional classes.
Ying Yang training sessions are held regularly, daily from 5.30 pm till around 9.30 pm.
more information @ http://www.yingyangkickboxing.com/
Photos:
1. Daniel “The Jet” Zahra - R Noel Mercieca - L Adrian Axsisa (WKN Malta)
2. Ruth Tanti in action
