Many VIPS recently traveled to Bangkok recently to be part of the IFMA 2019 elections. The three main positions of stood unopposed and the General Assembly unanimously elected and confirmed Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan as IFMA President, Stephan Fox and Secretary General and Charissa Tynan as Director. In addition, the unification of IFMA and WMC, Somsak Lesawatrakul was voted in as VP of IFMA, together with the five heads of the Continental Federations. The last VP position will be elected by the Executive Committee at its next meeting. All the commissions are now confirming their representatives for the Committee.

At the elections, special presentations were also made on upcoming events in 2020 & 2021 namely the World Combat Games and World Games. UTS CEO Julia Govinden made a report on United Through Sports and the ongoing cooperation with IFMA.

In other news, 102 participating countries recently came to the IFMA World Championships 2019 at the end of July. This year was the biggest in the history of IFMA.

The final competition days were heated between the three leading teams, the home country Thailand, Russia and Ukraine. The atmosphere in the stadium was electrifying especially if Russia would win as this would be the first time the trophy would move outside of Thailand. After the closing bouts it was team Russia which came out victorious winning the overall elite division with team Thailand coming second.

If you or anyone you know are interested in learning more about the sport of muay thai, check out Carlsbad Kickboxing Club for more details on how to get involved.

The official venue of the World Muaythai Championships, The Sports Authority of Thailand will soon become one of the biggest muaythai sites.

Three competition rings, fan zone, expo-zone and entertainment will be set and will take over the main sports facility of Thailand from 20 to 29 July, according to a prepared statement from the World Muaythai Council.

Extensive presentations were made by the local organizing committee at the weekly meeting with the Amateur Association of Thailand with diagrams and proposals to make this event one of the most memorable and present the Thai sports hub to the international teams, the release said.

“There is no better place to present the sport as the main office of all recognized sports and the National Olympic Committee,” said IFMA President Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan. “So many historical events took place here and the World Muaythai Championships will write another chapter in the history of SAT.”

To learn more about Muay thai, check out Carlsbad Kickboxing Club and try a class free.

Friends and members of Carlsbad Kickboxing Club came out Friday night for an In House Fighting Night fundraiser. The event was created to help support the Club’s own Joey Siplyak’s upcoming trip to Turkey.

There, Siplyak will be competing for the Gold Medal in the IFMA World Youth Muay Thai Championships Tournament. Held from September 28 to October 6th, this year’s event will bring the IFMA back to Antalya, the gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters.

According to an IFMA press release, Turkey once again will set the stage for what is sure to be another great tournament and event that will see not only the youth muay thai tournament in all junior divisions, but also the championships of Wai Kru, Muay Boran and Muay Talay.

Two yeas ago, Joey Siplyak (who just 14 years old at the time) retained 2 championship titles in 2 different weight divisions. He is now 16 and an IFMA bronze medalist with 34 fights under his belt.

When previously asked what his advice is to new fighters in the sport, he said it is to work hard and train hard. “If you set your mind to it, you can do it,” he says.

The USMF brought one of the largest USA Muaythai teams to the 2019 IFMA Youth World Championships in Turkey. This year’s event was in Antalya, the gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region, known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters.

Turkey once again set the stage for what was another great tournament and event. The event concluded with an award night which revealed new names in the youth elite. The personal awards went to Ukraine, Australia, Moldova, Malaysia, Netherlands and many other countries.

Under the guidance of Rami Ibrahim and other coaches of the USMF—including Carlsbad Kickboxing Club’s own Rolando Montano—the USA team brought home three gold medals, four silver medals, and nine bronze medals.

USA’s Neil Zelinsky won Muay Talay Champion. The Muay Talay tournament has really become an integral part of each Youth World Muaythai Championships and medals for the muay thai On Water are treated with the importance of the main competition. IFMA director Charissa Tynan said that compared to last year this event, it was at least two times bigger.

Tierra Brandt was awarded 3rd place for the Best 16-17-year-old Athlete. She leaves the youth events in a status of the two times world champion with flawless record in IFMA events of 7 victories and 0 losses.

Outstanding Female Athlete (over 14) went to USA’s Nicole Fernandez.

The Lebanese female athletes also made an outstanding contribution towards the team result as Maya Kalash and Sirene Hadara became the world champions.

Carlsbad Kickboxing Club’s own Joey Siplyak was there representing the United States and beat Uzbekistans Shakhriyor Askaraliev, however, he lost a close match to Ravan Aghazada of Azerbijuan. Siplyak certainly held his own against an opponent with over 140 recorded wins we expect big things still come.

In the end, Mykyta Goncharenko (UKR – 16 -17 Male Youth -60kg) entered his first and last Youth World Muaythai Championships with a bang as he celebrated winning the gold medal in Antalya. Next year he will turn 18.

Athletes from more than 30 countries will travel to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi to participate in the 2019 Asian Championships coming up from December 16-22, which is also a qualification event on the road to the 2021 World Games.

The UAE Muay Thai Federation and the government is in full preparation to make the event an everlasting experience for the athletes and in muay thai community, according to a prepared release. The release also states that this is not just a muay thai event, as there will be conferences, forums and cultural activities.

Abu Dhabi will host Elite Men’s and Women’s divisions which will give 100% top muay thai show for all spectators at the stadium and viewers on TV, the release notes.

With UAE successful performance in recent years the organizers promise full house every day as local athletes became famous for their victories at the international competitions. The FAMA President Karim Massimov recently congratulated the chairman of the UAE Muaythai H.E. Abdullah Saeed Amer Al Neyadi on hosting Asian Muaythai Championships 2019 and said that the level of Muaythai in Asia has truly grown making equal competition for any team in the world and continental tournaments.

It was also recently a historical moment in Bangkok at the IFMA Executive Board Meeting when IFMA President Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan and Executive Director if the UAE Muaythai Mr. Tareq Mohamed Al Mehairi signed the agreement marking the countdown to the event.

We look forward to seeing who comes out on top in the upcoming event.

Back home, here in the United States, Carlsbad Kickboxing Club will be hosting its IKF-PKB Muay Thai Kickboxing semi-contact event for both adult and junior levels Saturday, December 7th. Click here to register.

A few years ago, a then four-year-old tried a free trial class at Carlsbad Kickboxing Club with her older sister. While there wasn’t an age limit on the youth muay thai boxing class, (it was based on each individual) mentally she just wasn’t there yet.

But there was a fire and passion in that four-year-old, and it was quickly apparent that this wasn’t just a place to run around and play. She had a passion for the sport—even at such a young age.

It took nearly a year of coming back to try every five or so months, and before she was six, she got the go ahead and joined the Carlsbad Kickboxing Club and since then, she hasn’t looked back.

That fire and determination is something not every kid might have for the sport, but the lessons boxing taught and continues to teach such young kids are invaluable.

See below to see some of the many benefits of boxing for kids.

Builds Confidence and Provides Self Defense—Believing in abilities is key for any child. Boxing builds a kid’s self-esteem and gives them a sense of empowerment in case they ever would need to defend themselves. Boxing teaches safety and teaches proper techniques should a kid be forced to use it outside of the ring.

Social Development—This is often more overlooked than physical benefits of boxing, but it is important as it gives kids something healthy and safe to do and it is productive. It also can give kids a place to put their aggression or energy.

Physical health—Boxing helps the heart. The high intense exercises combined with improved hand-eye coordination, balance and more, will overall, help improve a kid’s physical health.

Set Goals—Kids learn how to set goals for themselves when they box whether a trainer pushes them to overcome a particular challenge or win a tournament, achieving any goal (big or small) will make a kid feel empowered.

Discipline and Focus—You cannot have bad behavior when learning the sport of boxing. With sparring, for example, the goal isn’t to hurt your opponent. Following rules in boxing is a healthy way for kids to improve their discipline. Boxing requires concentration and definitely tests a child’s mental strength, which could be useful outside of the gym in school and at home.

While some might think boxing might be a dangerous sport for kids, that isn’t the case. There are many benefits for young boxers with adult and trainer supervision. To learn more about Carlsbad Kickboxing Club’s kid’s programs, click here.