Gain fitness through fighting

The fitness glossary of Malayali never stayed within any strict format since time immemorial. From sweating it out in the open to going that extra mile for gym workouts, they were always open to every new beat in the fitness arena. In the long run, people let their muscles and limbs stretch and flex to yoga, salsa, zumba and much more in a bid to lose oodles of weight.

The expansion mode is still live and what is considered a full-contact combat sport, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), an assemblage of a variety of other sports of its kind, is a new entrant to the list; thanks to those awe-inspiring, high-octane action movies from Hollywood to B-Town.

Kochi, the business capital of the state is in a rapid progression to be an MMA hub for physical well-being, followed by other cities — Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

“Men and women, irrespective of age or gender make a beeline to the ‘fat-burning’ centres. In Panampilly Nagar, 4:13 MMA, a training centre has almost 95 per cent of its members learning the martial art form with a sole intention of weight loss.

“Outside India, MMA is an effective stress-reliever. Coming to Kerala, it lags far behind from getting due recognition. Some of our students who strictly followed the instructions were able to shed 25 to 30 kilos within three to four months.

Adults can start learning at any age. Women also join here; some for fighting and others for fitness,” says Jophil Lal, master trainer at 4:13 MMA. The centre opened two years ago, blends the moves of Kickboxing and Muay Thai (a combat sport of Thai origin).

MMA experts in Kerala owe much to the critically-acclaimed 2008 martial arts film Never Back Down of Jeff Wadlow for popularising the fighting sport down south. Coming to 2015, Bollywood itself turned out to be an inspiration to take up MMA for fitness with Akshay Kumar-starrer Brothers, directed by Karan Malhotra hitting the marquee. A movie that brought into perspective the street-fighting issues in Mumbai was woven around MMA.

The absence of a rule book is cited to be a drawback of MMA, where lies the cautious side. “A few common rules are applicable for fighting. Say, for instance, MMA allows continuing the fight with a person knocked-down to the floor. For competitions, it is a five-minute-long item in three rounds. The thing is, the person on board has to have a thorough knowledge regarding the basics of wrestling, locking and grabbing techniques,” says Joshy Johny, a trainer-cum-learner from Thiruvananthapuram.

It all depends on the expertise of the trainer to steer clear of injuries and accidents. “It is a misconception that MMA lacks guidelines. There are rules in fact. We teach our students to avoid strikes behind the head, on the groin, spine and neck. Only effective strikes from various disciplines are adopted,” Jophil points out. He runs another full-fledged MMA centre in his hometown of Kottayam.

Moving to the northern region, Kozhikode is by all means the hot bed of MMA as a sport. In August 2015, the first major championship event touted to be the first in South India was hosted here by Swastik Fight Club, the MMA club at the Kozhikode Indoor stadium. It was noteworthy for the participation of fighters of international repute. Signs of a fitness trend are too thin here in comparison to the footfall at the centres in Kochi.

Sonal Taj, with a five-year stint in the UK for martial arts training, has been offering MMA training in Kozhikode for a year. “Mostly, people come to me with an intention to take part in competitions. Just two people are taking personal training for fitness. Some have come to know about this art by word of mouth while there are others who got enthused from YouTube videos. People fed up of gym find this a breather. Those accustomed to gym workout have some vantage points in agility and flexibility. That is not mandatory as we have sessions for gaining strength and conditioning," says Sonal.