[perakan] Kota Bharu: Kickboxing making comeback

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:59:02 -0700

KOTA BARU: The muay Thai or Thai kickboxing exponents ascended to the ring to the resonant tone of the flute and drum upbeats. Together they performed respectful greeting steps before the 5,000-strong audience who cheered them on. 
 
The crowd at the ring had paid a RM10 entrance fee to watch the Thai kickboxing or locally known as tomoi at Wakaf Baru in Tendong, Pasir Mas. 
Tomoi is a form of martial art which uses hands, shins, elbows and knees. It is a brutal fight in the ring with the exponents trading kicks and punches using gloves. 
 
The martial art thrived in southern Thailand from the 1970s to the 1990s so much so that enthusiasts from Malaysia especially in the northern states made a beeline to watch them. 
Tomoi boxers Pipi Alfa (left) and Belay from Pasir Puteh in action recently.
But the unrest in southern Thailand which erupted in 2004 had somewhat dampened the sport, with many boxers or anak muay moving to northern Bangkok to ply their trade following the closure of a majority of boxing rings due to lack of support. 
 
The scenario has renewed interests to reopen the kickboxing rings in Kelantan. 
 
The kickboxing rings are sprouting in Kelantan. Besides Tendong in Pasir Mas, other rings are found in Wakaf Baharu in Tumpat, Tanah Merah and Pantai Irama in Bachok. 
 
Closed door bouts are held in the community halls which can house 1,5OO people while outdoor rings in the fields can accommodate about 5,000 people. 
Due to the overwhelming response, the bouts are held for three nights in a week from 9pm to midnight except for Thursday. 
 
Five bouts are held each night with three local pairs and two more from Thailand slugging it out for cash prizes of RM500 for winners and RM300 for losers. 
Thai kickboxing was popular among Malaysians in the 70s and 80s with exhibition bouts and tournaments held at Stadium Negara. 
 
But what was supposed to be an enthralling evening turned ugly midway when supporters of the losing fighters started to hurl chairs into the ring. 
Police had to move in to restore order, and that was the end of the Thai kickboxing craze in Kuala Lumpur. 
 
In Kelantan, Thai kickboxing flourished in the 60s and 70s before the interest in the sport started to wane. 
Local children Abang Ngah (Anak Baling) from Kg Chicha Tinggi, Pasir Mas (left) and Uda (Anak Singa) from Kg Kelar, Pasir Mas (right) in action.
The likes of Chepa Somadi, Wan Jaafar Tok Raja Geting, Husin Bidah, Cikgu Harun Pohon Tanjung, Dollah Kuda Kayu, Ibrahim Anak Balin and Ismail Awang drew the crowd to the rings in its heyday. 
 
Narathiwat Tourism Association chairman Abdul Aziz Awang Seman said many Malaysians used to throng Narathiwat before to watch tomoi. 
 
“Local traders made a lot of money then. The hotels were fully occupied so much so some people had to sleep at the mosques and madrasah. The eating shops ran out of rice,” he said. 
 
Thai kickboxing rings were now reduced to only four or five in Nara-thiwat and whether the contests would be held, depended on the prevailing security situation, he said, adding that the crowd was rather small.  
 
With the renewed interest in Thai kickboxing in Kelantan even national boxer, Rakib Ahmad from Kelantan is learning it. 
 
Rakib who collected a gold medal in the 1994 Malaysia Games and a bronze medal in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games felt that the kickboxing training improved his agility in boxing. 
 
Kelantan’s Sukma boxing coach, Ramli Hamat, 57, concurred that tomoi training would do a world of good to his boxers. 
 
“Tomoi focused more on physical endurance while boxing is more on punching skills. By blending both elements, we can produce boxing champions,” he said.//Thestar

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