PAGE XX | NEW SUNDAY TIMES
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER XX, 2015
NEW SUNDAY TIMES | PAGE XX
PHOTOJOURNALISM
PHOTOJOURNALISM
By NST photojournalist OSMAN ADNAN, posing here with Dhiaaul Amal Othman after a fight.
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Groan
Glory
M
ixed Martial Arts (MMA) has gained the attention of Malaysian martial arts practitioners who are interested in one-on-one combat. It has not only become a daily sporting activity for many, but there are also those who have chosen to take up MMA as a professional career by competing in the One FC championship or the amateur MIMMA (Malaysia Invasion Mixed Martial Art) tournament. It all started in the gym as a physical exercise before it grew in 2010 as a side event during a Muay Thai championship. From there, it grew to the point that it received attraction and publicity, along with its own commercial value.
MMA is the evolution and combination of 3 basic martial arts techniques, namely Striking Martial Arts, Grappling Martial Arts and Hybrid Martial Arts. This combination also involves an octagonshaped, 24-feet-diameter fighting ring. It is typically 10 feet tall and surrounded by six-feettall fences. The excitement is not just among the spectators who fill up stadiums to watch these one-on-one combats live. In fact, even the fighters wait in anxiety before they enter the ring, not knowing if they will retain or lose their championship belt. Regardless whether they win or lose, they are satisfied because all their effort and dedication has paid off in the ring. Though there are those who suffer from serious injuries, such fights do not spark a longing for revenge. On the contrary, MMA teaches the value of respect and sportsmanship. MATA @ NSTP Images