Here is an example of a kickboxer and overall martial artist teaching, protecting and training a countries internal defense agencies. Maybe he should also be in movies.

 A kickboxing champion who served as “bodyguard” of famous Hollywood actors offered his services to teach kickboxing to agents and operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

He has been a bodyguard for many stars including Michael Jackson, Kevin Costner, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Robin Williams and more.

NBI Director lawyer Nestor M. Mantaring said Steven Tran, a former welterweight kickboxing champion in Australia, offered his services to teach kickboxing and other kinds of martial arts to help improve the defense tactics of the agents and operatives of the bureau.

The NBI director said he was looking forward to meet him again this week to finalize the matter. “Hopefully, this coming week we can talk again and finalize the matter. He will be of great help to us and we welcome such training to boost the capabilities of our agents and personnel,” said Mantaring.

Reports said Tran is probably one of the best fighters that has entered England. Born in Vietnam means that he has been through everything you could imagine.

He is a true fighter and enjoys the Art as much as the fight. He holds a 5 Dan in Tae Kwon Do, 4th Dan in Hapkido and is a World welter weight Kickboxing champion.

Brought up in Australia, he has worked as a Security officer for years teaching other people to be close protection bodyguards.

He also came over in 1991 with the WTF demonstration team.

Tanti will be part of a group of 16 kick-boxers who will all compete to get back home their respective title.

This is not the first time that Ruth Tanti represented Malta abroad. A Black Belt 2nd Dan having 10 years of training, Ruth competed in a number of competitions organised locally and also abroad. In every occasion she managed to bring back a trophy and honour to Malta.

Way back in 1999, at the tender age of 11, Ruth managed to win the Gold medal during the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) World Championships held here in Malta. Last year she even took part in an international competition in the UK and won the Junior Category European Title.

Ruth is also two-times winner of the Interclub Competition; winner of the Maltese Kickboxing Championship 2004 and Runner-up in the World United Martial Arts Association (WUMA) World Championships.

She is the second Maltese kick-boxer to take part in a WKN competition. Last April Reuben Azzopardi was the first Maltese to compete in the WKN competition held in Italy. Unfortunately in the final match the judges awarded the victory to the Italian competitor. This served as a priceless experience for Azzopardi and Maltese kickboxing bringing new knowledge to the Maltese contingent preparing for WKN competitions.

The Maltese Contingent that will be heading for France will be made up of Master Noel Mercieca, Jonathan Curmi and Ruth Tanti.

The Ying Yang Kickboxing Club is part of the Malta Kickboxing Association (MKBA).

Because of a lack of willing opponents, Howett has had to adjust her game plan and learn new skills for each contest.

Ever since winning her boxing debut on a stoppage earlier this year and her first kickboxing fight on unanimous points in December, Howett has had trouble finding opponents.

Her trainer and promoter Joe Nader has been working the phones as Howett works on her punching and kicking technique at Brunswick’s Powerplay Gym in the hope that someone will step up to the plate.

The imposing-looking 25 year old has also been keeping up her acting work, appearing in plays and short films while she bides her time to enter the ring.

“Acting is a big part of who I am,” she says.

After months of searching, Nader finally found a willing opponent in Kirrily Brown from Sydney’s Black Belt Pro Gym. But he had to offer a state title and modified Muay Thai rules, which include the use of knees but not elbows, to bring her on board.

“Trainers just don’t want their girls to fight Sarah, so she’s worthy of a state title because nobody wants to take her on,” Nader says.

“Sarah gets a little bit frustrated but she loves her training. I have to tell her to leave it to me.”

Nader says he has similar trouble with his main event fighter, heavyweight Toby Mitchell, who will headline the show when he takes on Tom Tomba from PNG.

Nader said he had exhausted all the local options before seeking someone from further afield brave enough to take on the heavily tattooed Mitchell.

“Toby KOs people in the first round. They (trainers) always say they’ll get back to me when I try to match him. But they never do.”

Howett began training at Powerplay, Nader’s Brunswick gym, when she started working there about 18 months ago.

Alexio, 48, was also arrested on an outstanding federal warrant issued in San Francisco for bank fraud.

Alexio was arrested shortly before 2 p.m. at his ‘Aiea home, according to Mike Ferstl, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the district of Hawai’i.

Ferstl said Alexio claimed to be a citizen of the sovereign nation of Hawai’i, not the United States. An identity status hearing is scheduled Friday before a federal magistrate. Alexio is being held at the Federal Detention Center.

Alexio reportedly retired from kickboxing with a record of 70-2. He was at one time the undisputed world heavyweight kickboxing champion, holding several titles.

Alexio won his heavyweight world title in Hawai’i in 1997 when he defeated Barrington Patterson of London.

“I got put into jail for fighting at school right before my senior year,” said Mersich, a former state finalist wrestler at Adams High School in South Bend. “I broke a kid’s jaw and they arrested me, I almost didn’t get to graduate.”

These days Mersich can look back on that rough episode and smile. He’s grown and matured, and he said that a big part of his maturation has to do with the discipline he’s developed as a student of Todd Brown — owner of the Michiana MMA club/training gym on East Jefferson Street.

“I’m very disciplined now,” said Mersich, who often thinks of how he could’ve better handled that altercation in high school. “I could have walked away and not provoked it. I was immature. I see the kid now and then and we’re actually pretty good friends now.”

This is not to say that Mersich 2007 is not an aggressive person. That he is.

How aggressive?

Let’s just say, aggressive enough to be at Michiana MMA on a beautiful pre-summer Tuesday afternoon and repeatedly kicking a hanging heavy bag with the illest of intentions. Aggressive enough to have an 8-0 mixed martial arts record under Brown’s tutelage.

“I just like working out and when I get angry or stressed I come here to take out my aggression,” said Mersich, who credits Brown for more than teaching him how to fight. “Todd’s a great instructor, he’s the toughest person I know. He’s also been there for me. He’s almost like a father figure to me. He helped me get a job, helped me get a place to live and he’s helped me out here at the club. Now, I’m not a hothead like I was when I was a teenager and that really makes me feel like I’ve grown up a lot.

“I don’t have a bad attitude, I don’t go out to the bars or the clubs. I work out and I go to work and that’s about it.”

Mersich doesn’t come here for glory, or to learn how to beat people up. Fact is, he has more energy than he knows what to do with. And apparently he’s not alone, as the club is home to about 30 local fighters, many of them former wrestlers, who come to train in the various arts offered at the club — from Muy Thai kickboxing, to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, to mixed martial arts.

“It’s just a hobby for me,” said Josh Schaffer, 30, from Three Rivers, Mich.

Schaffer, a Jiu Jitsu student, studies Muy Thai privately with Brown once a week at Michiana MMA to work on his standup/striking skills.

“I just want to learn, get some exercise,” Schaffer said, “and, of course, I always wanted to be a ninja when I was little kid.”

Didn’t we all…

But on this day, Schaffer would have to wait to attain that ninja status. Brown, beginning to teach him the finer points of the Muy Thai clinch (close stand-up grappling), was schooling him; introducing him to his elbows and knees and showing him every inch of the ring.

“He’s doing all right,” said Brown of Schaffer. “This is his first day in the clinch, so you know … the clinch is no fun. If you have a technician working on you, it’s like being in a 10-by-10 cell with a bear.”

Papa bear, that is, as the 35-year-old Brown — who conceived Michiana MMA and went into his own pocket to make it a reality — is a veteran fighter of many styles who just plain loves to pass on his knowledge to those who are interested.

“I was a basketball player,” said Brown, speaking of his unnatural path toward a career in fighting. “I used to fight a lot in basketball, though. I was the enforcer. But I do this because I love the sport. I’ve been doing this a long time. I have over 30 Muy Thai fights under my belt, over 30 boxing matches. I did the regional F/X Toughman circuit.

“To me, MMA is a sport. It’s what I do, just like golfing, and I’ll compete as long as I can at a high level. After that, I’ll go to just teaching. Those who can’t do, teach.”

But don’t let him fool you. Brown can still do, and do plenty. He holds three different regional heavyweight titles and is 14-1 as a professional fighter. He is a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu and was a member of the boxing team in the Marine Corps.

Nevertheless, he is 35, and a realist. These days Brown, a real estate broker by trade, concentrates more on training his students — whoever they might be.

“I get all kinds of guys in here,” Brown said. “I get chiropractors, doctors, dentists … all kinds. And most of them come in because there’s no better way to get fit. If you can go a few rounds rolling or wrestling or grappling, you’re getting a good workout.

“We have a kids’ class, we’re going to offer a women’s self-defense class, an executive self-defense class for guys 30-50 who just want to come in and learn how to defend themselves. This is all the next step in the evolution of this place to turn it into a full service gym. We treat people right, we treat them with respect, we teach them what they want to know. If they want to learn to compete in fighting or Jiu Jitsu, we teach them. If they want to learn self-defense, we teach them.”

One thing Brown will not teach, however, is that perceived mentality of MMA guys being backroom brawlers. He’s not turning out hooligans.

“The guys who come in here have no need to go out and prove anything on the street or at a bar. They don’t go out and get drunk and get in fights,” Brown said. “There’s self-discipline, just like any other martial art. (The negative perception) is kind of one thing that frustrates me. You’ll have people put their kids in tae kwon do or boxing. This is a sport just like anything else.”

A tough sport, and a sport that is probably not for everyone — but for Brown it’s the only sport that matters and for a kid like Mersich it has proved to be a training grounds for much more than fighting.

Kanishka Sharma, a 29-year-old martial-arts expert, who choreographed the fight sequence in Don, has had doctors, teachers and designers punching and puffing at his Shaolin Chan Academy at Andrews Ganj . “Viveik Oberoi and Isha Koppikar too have shown interest in learning kickboxing,” says Sharma, who has moved from behind-the-scenes to the front of the camera in Goal. He not only taught John Abraham to pack some punches, Muay Thai-style, but also flew up in the air onscreen to score a goal.

Forget Bollywood, think Delhi. Kickboxing is fast picking up here, especially among young women who are tired of their sedentary lifestyle and want to lose weight while kicking up some fun. At Vicky’s School of Oriental Arts in Saket, women are standing in a row, hitting punching bags. Megha Chopra, a 20-something primary schoolteacher, sucks in her breath and gives a hammer strike while her instructor looks on. She stumbles as she switches to elbow attacks and aggressive kicks, but Rohan S, her trainer, asks her to go on. “She is finding it difficult as she is new. She will soon get used to it,” he says.

Unlike Chopra, Kamaldeep Chaggar, a 30-year-old veterinary doctor, is a natural at kickboxing. Puffing between punches, she says, “It is a good way to tone up the body and build your stamina.” An hour of cardio kickboxing can help you burn 600-800 calories.

That is one reason why 14-year-olds and 60-somethings are training at Fitnesolution at Greater Kailash. Says trainer Kiran Sawhney: “We make sure that the exercises for elderly are mild and not too hard on their joints.” But if joining a class doesn’t interest you, then you can learn kickboxing in the comfort of your own home. Bharat Sharma, a fifth-degree black belt, will train you individually. “I make my clients do shadow boxing, apart from meditation, skipping and other exercises.” But the personalised service comes for a price — Rs 6,000 a month.

India claimed three gold and one silver for second position while Bangladesh grabbed three gold and five bronze. Bhutan bagged three gold and two silver.

Nepal’s Sanjay Koju was adjudged best male kumite player while Bangladesh’s Nashima Akhtar was adjudged the best female kumite player. Bhutan’s Dompa Thapa and Nepal’s Rita Maya Koju claimed the best male and female kickboxers title respectively. India, Bhutan and Bangladesh had taken part in the competition.

Licensing chiefs in Renfrewshire are considering whether to scrap the event after an MSP condemned the spectacle as “barbaric” and inappropriate for an area with an unenviable reputation for serious violence.

Cage fighting, a no-holds-barred hybrid of boxing, wrestling and martial arts, is one of the world’s fastest growing sports and has millions of followers.

More than 4,000 fans - paying £45 a head - are expected to pack Braehead Arena on August 4 to watch at least eight contestants with nicknames such as “One Punch” and “King Kong” battle with fists, feet and elbows inside an iron pen.

But Nationalist MSP Sandra White has urged people to stay away and Renfrewshire council is considering whether the arena’s public entertainment licence is appropriate for such an event.

Also known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), cage fighting has a host of celebrity fans including supermodel Cindy Crawford and Manchester United and Scotland footballer Darren Fletcher. Last year more than 300 million viewers in 130 countries watched televised bouts. In the US alone it supports an industry with an annual turnover of $5bn, with top fighters earning $1m a fight.

Bouts take place in three five-minute rounds inside an octagonal metal cage. Unlike boxing, cage fighters are allowed to use kicks, knees and flying elbows, although they must wear gloves.

Organisers insist the sport is no more dangerous than horse racing or rugby. But a recent Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Manchester saw:

• Croatian contender Mirko Cro Cop knocked unconscious by a flying kick to the head;

• His opponent Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga land further blows on his opponent as he lay out cold on the canvas;

• British fighter Mike Bisping emerging from his bout with blood streaming from his face.

White, a Glasgow list MSP, said: “Cage fighting is one American import that we can really do without. This sounds less like a sport and more like a return to the barbaric days of old when gladiators did battle in front of crowds baying for blood.

“The Greater Glasgow area, and Scotland as a whole, has real problems with violence. This type of event serves to glamorise and glorify violence, particularly among impressionable young people.

“Not only that, but the people taking part are also putting themselves at risk of serious injury.

“Hopefully, when parents find out more about it they will boycott it.”

The area has chronic problems with serious violent crime, with around 65 murders in the city itself a year, and well over 100 in the Strathclyde police area.

Renfrewshire council spokesman Dave McLavin confirmed that the authority was reviewing the suitability of the event.

He said: “The council has concerns about this event and is looking into the exact nature of what is involved. Any such event should only go forward if it is in the context of the proper regulatory framework.”

McLavin said the Braehead Arena holds a public entertainment licence for sporting events and “miscellaneous entertainment”, as well as concerts, exhibitions and conferences.

However, promoter Johnny Burrows insisted that the event would be safe, responsibly organised and family friendly.

“Cage fighting is an exciting night out and is no more dangerous than any other contact sport,” he said. “You only have to look at the injuries that people sustain in equestrianism, rugby and football. Every sport has an element of danger, but we do not have the same number of concussive blows to the head that are associated with other combat sports.”

Burrows said highly trained referees were instructed to halt bouts to prevent serious injury taking place and that medical staff were ringside at every event.

“The most serious injury we have had at one of our events has been a knockout or a cut that requires a few stitches,” he said. “Most fights are won by submissions.

“Although our fighters are highly trained athletes, they are mostly amateurs and have to go to their work on a Monday morning. It is not their main source of income so they have to be sensible about how they fight.”

The Ulster-based promoter claimed most of the sport’s critics had never seen a bout.

“I would issue an open invitation to anyone with doubts about the show to come along and see it for themselves,” he said.

He confirmed that accompanied children would be admitted to the Glasgow event.

“I’m not a parent and it is not for me to say whether parents should bring their children along, but we have some young fans of 12 and 13 and they really enjoy the events,” he added.

Fighters from the US, Brazil, Holland and France are due to join Scottish and other UK contenders. In Montreal, a recent MMA stadium event broke all box office records, outselling the Rolling Stones and Beyonce.

In April an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the Manchester MEN Arena attracted 16,000 fans and a US television audience of more than 10 million.

Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, boxer Amir Khan and Man Utd star Ronaldo were among the celebrities who attended.

Choke holds, takedowns and the ‘ground and pound’

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a combat sport in which competitors use various forms of fighting techniques from judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling.

It is a far cry from the bare-knuckle boxing contests, which were portrayed in the Brad Pitt films Snatch and Fight Club.

Competitors must wear standardised gloves, designed to protect the hand, but not improve the striking surface or force of a punch, and gum shields. Tops are not allowed.

Scoring involves points for striking blows with the hands, feet, knees or elbows, and grappling, including submissions, choke holds, throws or takedowns.

Bouts feature three five-minute rounds, with championship bouts having an additional two rounds.

Forbidden moves include head butting, eye gouging, groin attacks, blows to the spine or back of the head, throat strikes, kicking or stomping a grounded opponent, spitting, throwing an opponent out of the ring, or attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded. Abusive language is also outlawed along with hair pulling and biting.

Valid moves include smashing your opponent’s head into the canvas using a technique called “ground and pound” and launching flying kicks or elbow smashes to the head.

More than 300 of the best fighters in the country took part in the championships, held in Corby, but Whittlesey Kickboxing Club certainly held their own with 15 competitors bringing home 12 trophies.

John Barnes competed for the first time and was crowned National Veteran Champion (older than 35 years), and experienced England international youth fighter Courtney Brown won two categories.

Ritchie Walton finished second in the senior men’s heavyweight section and promising youngster Ryan Connor was narrowly beaten in the second of his continuous fights.

Executive instructor Andy Whitwell said: “I am very proud of all the students I took along to the event. Although some were not lucky enough to pick up a trophy, everyone gave me 100 per cent in every fight and gained valuable experience.”

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