Training at WMC Lamai, Koh Samui, Thailand

I thought everyone might want to see why we have gone through all the trouble and expense to send the Malaysian Tigers to train in Thailand. It would be cheaper to bring the coaches here and I'm sure the fighters would be happier ordering teh tarik and nasi lemak every morning. It would sure save a lot of money on phone top-ups back to girlfriends and family back home.
Well,i feel, there are 3 points which outweigh everything else.

Point one, sparring partners, some of the best fighters in the world train at WMC Camp in Koh Samui. You could hire the best trainer in the world for yourself, but without good sparring partners the training would not be complete.

Point 2, the opportunity to fight in the ring, in Koh Samui there are at least 2 fights a week so when a particular fighter is ready, we can send them to the ring, no need to wait a month or 2.

Point 3, there are about 15 great trainers at WMC Muaythai Camp Lamai in Koh Samui, all Champions, all specialist in certain aspects of muaythai.



Saya ingin menjelaskan mengapa kami hantar 'Malaysian Tigers' begitu jauh, sampai ke Thailand, untuk menjalani latihan muaythai, sedangkan mungkin lebih mudah dan murah untuk mengupah jurulatih dari Thailand datang ke Malaysia untuk mengajar pahlawan kami.
Pada pendapat saya ada tiga sebab mengapa 'Malaysian Tigers' Berlatih di Thailand.

Pertama, terdapat ramai rakan 'gocoh' atau 'sparring partner' di WMC Lamai, antara fighter yang terbaik dari serata dunia menjalani latihan di sini.

Kedua, 'fighter' kami mempunyai lebih peluang untuk berlawan di gelanggang. Pertandingan diadakan lebih dari dua kali seminggu di Koh Samui. Jadi 'fighter' kami tidak perlu tunggu sampai sebulan atau dua untuk berlawan.

Ketiga, terdapat lebih kurang 15 trainer yang terlatih di WMC Lamai, trainer-traner ini semuanya pada suatu masa dahulu merupakan jaguh-jaguh terhandal dunia muaythai. Masing-masing pakar dalam teknik-teknik lawan yang tertentu.


Below-from our previous post-
I feel it's important and interesting for you to know our 'Malaysian Tigers' training routine in Samui. Being here in Malaysia, I can't help but feel that these guys have a perfect set-up: idyllic island, no worries in the world(except training), good and healthy food, no financial worries....etc......etc...
First let me point out......the training is tough.........really tough. Team Tigers have to wake up an hour before everyone else(jogging starts at 6am) so as they get in an hour earlier so they can train extra with their trainers, whom may I add are at the very least ex-Lumpinee Champions.


Then I got a reality check.......I was flown out to Samui and the truth of it all hit me. On the first day, I was asking the guys, "Hey why aren't you out at the beach(which is only a stones throw away").Bernard Radin looks at me and says "Just check out our training routine, any free time we have, we need to rest and recover, no time for the beach". And now I realise just how tough it all is. Hey even the 7km run would floor me, neither less doing it twice a day. And Dzhabar punching me in the head........well I'll update you on that one soon.


Morning Routine
6am-7km run
7am-Stretching and shadow boxing
7.30am Light Sparring
8am-Pad work with trainers
8.30 am-Sit-ups & stretches



Evening Routine
4pm-7km run
5pm-Stretching and shadow boxing
5.30pm Light Sparring
6pm-Pad work with trainers
6.30pm-Clencing

Ali vs Luke 'Pit Bull' Aram

Mohd Ali yaakub will be flying out to Perth on the 14th of March to fight in 'Supremacy' Part 6-The Real Deal. He will be fighting Luke Aram. Luke is the WMC 58.9kg title holder and 2x WKA State title holder. Muaythai is strong in Australia so this should be a tough fight for Ali.




Luke Aram

Weight: 57 – 59kgs

Ring name: Pit bull

Trainers name: Darren Reece

Fight Record: Fights 13 / Wins 12 - Loss 1

Titles: 2 X WKA STATE TITLE / WMC 58.9 AUSTRALIAN TITLE






VS

Mohd Ali Yaakub
The Malaysian Tigers

Weight:57kg

Fight Record-
Fights:65, Wins 60, Draws 5, Losses 0

Belts:Ultimate Warrior Malaysia 07
WMC TM Title
Thai Kings Cup 08

IFMA-World Championships in Busan Korea,September '08

Malaysia sent a team of athletes to the IFMA World Championships in Busan, Korea.

From left to right, Ali, Hamdan, Hui Ying & Khoo Meng Yang

Attending the World Championship proved an eye opener. This was our first experience viewing amateur Muaythai. As IFMA is a member of GAISF and also the Asian Olympic Council, they have to conform to certain safety standards, i.e body protection, elbow guards, shin guards...etc. Needless to say one cannot fight in quite the same way as Pro Muaythai with the precautions needed to conform to standards set by these world governing bodies. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means the fighting style is slightly different, lighter and faster. Though if you watch the 91+ kilo men fighting you would hardly say the fighting was light.

For example, a fighter who relies on KOing his opponents with his elbow strikes, just wouldn't be able to do so. Don't get me wrong, even with body protection, one can give and receive some heavy blows but these strikes will be slightly minimized with the protection. With so many top class athletes competing at an international event, there would surely be a bloodbath without these extra precautions.




















Left,Mohd Ali Yaakub and right, Mohd Hamdan Mokhtar.
Mohd Ali fought well in his first introduction to Amatuer Muaythai. Unfortunately, he was pitted against the world champion, Yusubov Ruslan, in the first match. Even though Ali lost, we could see that with a little work, we too can produce a World Champion.Yusubov went on to win the Feather Weight Category. And to those who are curious, his amateur fight does not effect his professional fight record.
Hamdan also did well, only loosing in his second match to Malik Bah of Sweden. Malik Bah also went on to win the Light Welter Weight Category.

Team Malaysia, center, Captain Shah with Stephan Fox, IFMA Secretary General

Md Farek Md Urep, international referee


Our very own Md Farek or better known as Boy gets invaluable experience as an international judge and referee. If any of you have any questions on Muaythai rules, you can turn to Boy, as he has attended the referee seminars etc on the Muaythai rules and point system.

Ismail Ramli Wins

Our youngest Tiger proves himself!!!

Ismail Ramli or better known as Mail won his first Thai fight against Collin from USA at Chaweng Stadium last night. Collin had a fight record of 9 Wins and 0 losses. Mail the smaller and lighter of the 2 was calm and composed. Kicking Collin high with his left leg,kicking low with his right and skillfully blocking attacks by Collin. The match lasted the designated 5 rounds with Mail winning by points. According to Mail's trainers and team mates, Mail was the clear winner.

Semalam Ismail Ramli atau lebih dikenali sebagai 'Mail' telah memenangi perlawanan pertamanya sebagai 'Malaysian Tiger' di Stadium Chaweng. Sebelum ini pihak lawannya iaitu Collin, dari USA, mempunyai rekod tanpa kalah (Menang 9).
Mail sangat tenang dan menangkis serangan Collin dengan begitu kemas. Ketika membuat tendangan, Mail lebih suka menggunakan kaki kirinya untuk tendangan tinggi dan kaki kanan untuk serangan ke bahagian bawah pihak lawannya. Perlawanan ini dimenang dengan kiraan mata. Mengikut kata jurulatih dan rakan sepasukannya, Mail telah menang dengan jelas.



Ismail 'Thunder Fist' Ramli
54kg

Fight record:
Fights 16, Wins 13, Draws 3, Losses 0



Mail is always teased by his team mates as he had yet to fight as a Malaysian Tiger. Now our Thunder Fist has earned his stripes.

Sebelum ini Mail selalu diejek oleh rakan sepasukannya kerana dia belum masuk gelanggang sebagai 'Malaysian Tiger'. Baru sekarang kami nampak belangnya :)

This victory also comes as an early birthday present as Mail turns 18 on the 24th of this month.
Happy Birthday Mail!

Kemenangan ini merupakan hadiah harijadi yang awal untuk Mail. Pada 24hb Febuari ini Mail akan mencecah usia 18 tahun.
Selamat harijadi Mail!

Please Stay Positive.

To all the readers of our blog and supporters of the Malaysian Tigers. I would like to ask you all to be positive and continue your support of us. I have received many negative remarks in our comment section(some targeting us, most targeting another muaythai club), and I all feel that we need to put an end to this. Initially I posted some of these comments as I am all for democracy and freedom of speech, but with freedom of speech should come responsibility. One should be responsible for ones actions. And as moderator of this blog I refuse to be a communicator of all this negativity.

Please by all means give us constructive criticism, advice or support towards the Malaysian Tigers but no more negativity please!


Kepada pengikut blog ini dan juga peminat Malaysian Tigers. Saya telah menerima banyak kata-kata yang negatif di bahagian komen blog ini, ada yang dituju terhadap Malaysian Tigers, kebanyakkan dituju kepada rakan-rakan muaythai kelab lain. Pada permulaanya saya telah lepaskan komen-komen ini, tetapi sekarang saya sedar, sebagai penulis blog, saya mempunyai tanggungjawab ke atas apa yang diterbitkan, walaupun komen-komen ini bukan dari saya.
Mulai sekarang, saya hanya akan lepaskan komen yang positif atau komen yang bernas, yang dibuat dengan niat memperbaiki Pasukan Malaysian Tigers! Kepada peminat Malaysian Tigers, terima kasih atas sokongan anda, teruskan dorongan anda terhadap pasukan kami!

Bernard & Ali to fight in Koh Samui, Thailand

On the 18th of February, both our King's Cup winners, Bernard Radin and Mohd Ali Yaakub will be fighting in Koh Samui.

Ali will be fighting Petmai who is the South Thailand champion and he is from Nakon Sri Thammarat.

Malaysian Tigers team captain, Bernard is either fighting Teerapong Kowit or Ole Sakdecha. Teerapong is a very good fighter and so is Ole. They have fought and KOed people such as Kieren Keddle from UK, Piggsy Ben Burton from Australia and many others. These are all very credible fighters

Bernard Radin

TEAM CAPTAIN

Fight Record-
Fights:47, Wins 41, Losses 6

Contender Asia 2 Qualifier
Malaysian Ultimate Warrior '07
Thai Kings Cup Winner







Mohd Ali Yaakub

Fight Record-
Fights:65, Wins 60, Draws 5, Losses 0

Belts:Ultimate Warrior Malaysia 07
WMC Asian Title
Thai Kings Cup 08








We know you are training hard right now and will give your best at this fight.

Good Luck to both of you!

Behind the Scenes

Breakfast at the Mamak shop, Saturday 7th morning. Everybody looks positive and upbeat, ready to make their debut as Malaysian Tigers on home ground.

We didn't want to publicize this but strangely our 3 fighters came up with fever then a rash just days before the fight. Faizal first in Koh Samui. Then Zeri and Hamdan, suffering from fever when they arrived in Malaysia a day before the fight our fighters were rushed to the clinic to be checked out and the doctor confirmed that the fighters had mild symptoms of chicken pox. They then had to have a vaccination(to help boost their immunity towards the virus). Which was really funny actually as these guys are brave warriors, but bring out a needle and they turn to jelly. All three still had swollen glads on the night of the fight.


Our Traniners from WMC Camp, Lamai. On the left is Anarong, Contender Asia 1 trainer and Lumpinee Champion, and next to him is trainer and fighter Matsui. Matsui will also be fighting on the 18th in Koh Samui in the Contender Asia Southern Thailand selections. There are around 15 trainers at WMC Lamai, but unfortunately not all of them could come. We would have loved to show them all our beautiful Malaysia.

Hamdan being prepared before the fight.

From left, Ijat, Robbie, Ben & Mark.
Our 3 Malaysian Tigers physiotherapist, here to make sure our fighters were well taken care of, before and after the fight. Ijat is abang Boy's assistant.

Our Champions!
Nasi lemak in Kampung baru. After the fight, starving, we were all treated to nasi lemak at 12.30am.

Ismail Ramli
54kg

Fight record:
Fights 13, Wins 12, Draws 3, Losses 0





Only 3 days after the event in Cheras another of our fighters will be fighting, this time at Chaweng Stadium,Koh Samui. Ismail Ramli or better known as Mail will be matched against Collin Pinyo, Gym from USA. This will be a very hard challenge but we need our guys to be tested and they need international experience.
Mail is the youngest of our fighters, still only 17 years old. He is also the quietest of our 'Tigers' but don't let this unassuming lad catch you off guard as he packs a really heavy punch.


Mail, left, with Faizal in Koh Samui.

Congratulations Boxxevents

On behalf of the Malaysian Tigers-

We would like to congratulate Boxxevents on a Championship well organised. I can honestly say we truly enjoyed the fights and the degree of professionalism at which the events were handled.


We would also like to wish a speedy recovery to all those injured in the event especially to Alex Lim, Seethanonchai Sor Chitlada, Barbod and also Hamdan Mokhtar. I hope you are all up and fighting ASAP!

Alex Lim

Zeri's our Champ!

Some people thought Zeri might be knocked out in the first round, some even questioned his ability to fight Iddi 'Selindang' Kuning. Well on Saturday, 7th February,thanks to Boxxevents, 18 year old Zeri put everyone's doubts to rest.

During the fight, Zeri was never disheartened, even though he was pitted against a far more experienced fighter, he stayed focused and showed everyone what he's made of. Throughout the fight Zeri kept pressuring and attacking his opponent, this coupled with his new found technical skills won him the fight.

Zeri is a really nice guy, I must admit one of the most positive amongst the people I have come across. He trains hard, never complains and is always cheery. I'm sure his attitude will take him far in life. I also feel I should mention his supportive father without whom I'm sure Zeri wouldn't be the positive guy he is today.

Good job Zeri!!


Bernard gets all teary eyed with pride.

On top of the World

Faizal beats Abbas!!!
Faizal, on top of the World

Sunday,8th February,our Malaysian Tiger Mohd Faizal 'the golden elbow' Ramli beat Boxxwarriors Abbas Ahmadi at the Muaythai Championship organised by Boxxevent at Stadium Badminton in Cheras. For nearly 2 months Faizal has been training at WMC Camp Lamai in Koh Samui along with 8 other Malaysian Tigers, and the training has paid off. Faizal has beaten the seasoned exponent from Boxxwarriors Gym, Abbas Ahmadi. Not a small feat as Abbas has a worthy fight record, definately a feat for Faizal to be proud of. A worthy mention must be made to Abbas, for his show of good sportsmanship during the fight.

The first two rounds were rather uneventful, ala Muaythai style whereby the fighters take it easy studying each others technique, the referee had to urge these two fighters several times to attack.This inadvertantly showed that these 2 fighters were not about to underestimate each other. In the third round Abbas proved more aggressive but this agression was exactly what was needed by Faizal to push him into high gear and control the final 2 rounds. Faizal also managed to down Abbas with his famous 'golden elbow', causing the fight to be stopped temporarily for the doctor to assertain whether the gash to Abbas's brow was serious enough for him to stop the fight. Abbas was given the green light to continue only to be eventually be beaten by points by Faizal.

Congratulations Faizal, you make Malaysia proud!

Lets not forget Hamdan who put up a courageous fight against PDRM's Tengku Shahrizal


Our experienced fighter Mohd Hamdan Mokhtar lost to Tengku Shahrizal. Tengku's heavy blows proved too much for our Hamdan. But Hamdan showed grit, getting up after being floored and also wanting to continue fighting even though he had received a one inch gash to his brow.



Those who personally know Hamdan, will tell you that this guy has a tough exterior but a kind heart within. He has an especially soft spot for kids. At the fight, taking good care of the 2 Sasha's, one his little one year old and the other Bernard's 5 year old. When Bernard's Sasha fell asleep at the fight, it was Hamdan who picked her up and placed her on the comfortable sofa.

The Malaysian Tigers who aren't fighting this weekend have stepped foot on Malaysian soil, the rest, the fighters-Hamdan, Faizal and Zeri will arrive with their trainers at lunchtime. The trainers who will be accompanying them are Anarong,the impressive Contender Asia Khru and equally impressive Matsui, trainer and fighter.

'Malaysian Tiger', yang tak berjuang pada hujung minggu ini sudahpun tiba di tanahair tercinta.Pahlawan kami yang akan berjuang iaitu Hamdan, Faizal dan Zeri pula,akan tiba tengahari ini bersama jurulatih masing-masing iaitu Anarong, Khru Contender Asia 1 dan juga Matsui, jurulatih dan juga 'fighter' yang ternama.

Hamdan, in the background Zeri.

Our fighters are really in high spirits. I asked the them whether thay are nervous about the fight, you know what they said, to them the fight is the esay part, it's the training and preparation that's tough! Whether you win or lose is of no consequence if you trained as hard as you can and give your best, then you have 'no regrets'.
Pahlawan kami sekarang sangat bersemangat. Ketika ditanya kalau mereka berasa gentar, semuanya bersetuju bahawa menghadapi lawan dalam gelanggang adalah lebih mudah daripada persediaan yang dihadapi sebelum berlawan. Menang atau kalah tak penting, janji kami berjuang bersungguh-sungguh.


Zeri

Zeri can't wait to fight and show the world what he's made of!
Zeri tak sabar nak lawan dan buktikan 'siapakah Zeri yang sebenarnya'

To all our Malaysian Tigers- good luck, all the best and we know you will all put up a good fight!! You are all champions to us.
Kepada semua pahlawan kami, semoga berjaya. Kami yakin kamu akan berlawan bersungguh-sungguh!!!!

Hamdan & Faizal

On the 7th of 8th February three of our Malaysian Tigers will be taking part in the K.L. Muaythai Challenge in Cheras.

They are:-

Zeri vs Iddi Selindang Kuning

Hamdan vs Tengku Shahrizal

Faizal vs Abbas



Zeri

These three fighters have been training very hard and contrary to recent rumors,they are fit and healthy. Our fighters and their trainers will be flying in to KL on Friday in preparation for the fight. We wish the best of luck to these guys!
Ketiga-tiga Pahlawan Malaysian Tigers, sihat dan sedang berlatih dengan gigih di WMC Lamai di Koh Samui. Pahlawan kami bersama jurulatih masing-masing dijangka tiba di KL pada hari Jumaat. Semoga berjaya!

Thai King's Cup-5th December 2008

The Thai King's Cup was truly an amazing and you might even say magical event.


Exerps from the WMC website-








The fireworks were truly a 'blast'! In this picture it looks like a bomb went off. But that night was really quite the contrary, the atmosphere was really serene, you actually felt like you had warped into the past, into a bygone era. All of us were in awe of the fireworks and personally, I was in awe of the love and respect the Thai people have for their king, and in return you could also feel the benevolence of the king towards his people.It was all very touching.-SA






Ali is given a new mongkol in honour of the Kings Cup tournament. Below Ali has to wait a couple of hours for the fights to commence after the break in honour of his highness the Thai King.




Ali has done us proud. Congratulations Ali!!!






The picture above shows Leo Monteiro, most of you know him from the Malaysian Superfights, helping his WMC Camp training mate, Bernard Radin with his gloves. On the right is Bernard's German opponent.


Ali shares a joke with his trainer '3-stripes' whilst he gets his hands wrapped.

The calm before the storm.




If you know Bernard, you will know that he always manages to find some place to rest/sleep before his fights. Here he found a hammock under the VIP seating.


Captain Shah and Riaz Mehta,of Contender Asia, congratulate Bernard on his win.



Our fighters had a lot of Thai supporters!! These supporters made a lot of money betting on our fighters :) They were so happy..............


All in all this turned out to be a really successful night, not only for Ali and Bernard, but also for all of us working hard behind the scenes supporting all the Malaysian Tigers. This was also the first time a Malaysian has participated in the Thai Kings Cup, and Bernard and Ali made us proud!! And as our 'Tigers' always say "Demimu Malaysia", anything is possible. You've got to dare to dream.