The Baguio City and the Cordillera martial artists are looking at the kickboxing as another medium to showcase their finesse as modern day gladiators in the SEA Games next year ushering the revival of this particular sports.
This development came after Philippine Olympic Committee Chairman and Tagaytay Congressman Bambol Tolentino recently called for a national assembly of kickboxing gyms’ and clubs’ operators in the entire country. Tolentino who was the President of the old Philippine Kickboxing Association informed the assembly that the 34th SEA games that shall be hosted by the country included kickboxing in the list of 54 events to be played.
This prompted the assembly to revive the National Sports Association (NSA) which was re-named “Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas,” says John Cay-ohen, Head coach of Scorpion Martial Arts International based in Baguio. He along wioth some Baguio based martial arts instructors attended the assembly held in Makati City last October. It should be noted that the Kickboxing Federation of the Philippines became dormant during the POC presidency of Peping Cojuangco
Cay-ohen recently invited various martial arts club represnetatives in Baguio, other Cordillera provinces and in nearby Regions II and I to re-echo the development. During their meeting held at the Dangwa Tranco Terminal area, the group decided to form the “Kickboxing Alliance for the Cordillera and Northern Luzon” that will become a chapter of the Samahang Kickboxing Ng Pilipinas (SKP). The group immediately elected their interim set of officials with Cay-ohen as it first president. They said that they will immediately work for the incorporation of the group.
Among those represented in the kickboxing alliance includes, the Scorpion Martial Arts, Universal Martial Arts, Red Lions Martial Arts Club, Muay Boran-Sayam Youth, Max Fusion-Warrior’s from the Mountain, Altitude Gym, FullCon Martial Arts Council, Bauko Warrior’s, Malayan martial Arts, School based groups, among others.
Apart from this, the group will be holding a familiarization seminar on November 24 and 25 on the rules being followed in kickboxing based on the World Alliance of Kickboxing Organization’s (WAKO). The group will then follow it up with its first Kickboxing open tournament to be held here in Baguio on November 30 and Dec.1 to set the motion for the development of players that shall compose the country’s national team for kickboxing. “We will have to compete with the players from all over the country and so we need to start the process if we are to be able to send players for the national team”, Cay-ohen said of the two events.
Sensie Edwin Aliong of Universal Martial Arts who got elected as vice president for operations noted the fact that during the 80s and 90s kickboxing was a very popular martial arts in the Cordillera along with the traditional karate. He disclosed that most of those Igorot fighters that became famous for carrying the national flag in international competitions traced their martial arts foundation to kickboxing. It is just proper that it should again regain its glory after two decades of being overshadowed by other arts which include the Mix Martial Arts, Muaythai, Wushu, Jujitsu and Taekwando, he added.
Kickboxing based on the WAKO rules uses three ruling systems. The Full-Contact Kickboxing with low- kick, Full-Contact Kickboxing without low kick and Light Kickboxing. The light Kickboxing is intended for amateur and younger players. Designed in the tradition of Karate’s Committee Rules, Light Kickboxing will likely be the system for school based competitions. ** Joel B. Belinan
