XANGA, NEWEST MMA GYM, OPENS IN CITY OF SMILES

Team Xanga MMA Gym officially opened its doors to the public last June 7, 2006 at the 2/F SC Centre Bldg. (former location of ACA Video), B.S. Aquino Drive, Bacolod City.

The Team Xanga MMA Gym is being managed by Martin Chua, a former student of Founder/Chief Instructor Edwin J. Tusil of the Fight Club Combat and Streetfighting Center. Chua and his buddies bought an intensive line of training equipment for use in the gym, among them 5 life sized punching bags.

The name Xanga is actually an Ilonggo term which means “to block,” in this case an invitation of would be opponents to the attacks dished out by members of the gym.

Classes officially opened with the Western Boxing program under former ALA Boxing Gym (Cebu) professional boxer Rogelito “Nonoy” Plomeda and his assistant former Philippine National Boxing Training Pool member Michael Regalado. Plomeda is a native of Bago City, the renowned boxing capital of the Philippines. He is ranked No. 7 in the Philippines in the bantamweight division. He holds a professional record of 8-1 8 KO.

The Kickboxing, Yaw Yan, and Muay Thai program will be handled by Senior Instructor Alan Gako, who is a student of Yaw Yan Founder/Grandmaster Napoleon Fernandez. He will be assisted by Christopher.

Kickboxing is a synthesis of Western Boxing punches and Asian martial arts kicks, particularly karate, made by the Americans a popular sport in the later half of the 20th Century. Here in Negros it is often referred to as Sipa Sumbag or Tadyak Suntok.

Yaw Yan is a Filipino style of kickboxing (or footboxing as it’s known in the past) founded by GM Fernandez in 1972 by combining various styles of Asian martial arts, including arnis. It is a contraction of the Tagalog words Sayaw ng Kamatayan “Dance of Death.”

Muay Thai or Thai boxing is the Thai style of kickboxing which is often referred as “The Science of the 8 Limbs” as it makes use of not only the fists and the legs but also the knees and elbows. As the national sport of Thailand, it is backed by thousands of years of evolution and history. Amateur Muay Thai in the Philippines is governed by the Muay Association of the Philippines (MAP) under its President, Kru Roberto Valdez.

The grappling program is still on hold until Chua finds a qualified instructor to handle it. A unique characteristic of the gym is that its clientele can walk in and train at any time convenient to them. Program instructors are full time except for yaw yan where classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-8:00 P.M. Team Xanga MMA Gym opens at 7:00 A.M. and closes at 10:00 P.M.

Founder/Chief Instructor Edwin J. Tusil of the Fight Club Combat and Streetfighting Center and Founder/Head Instructor James U. Sy Jr. of Conceptual Martial Arts Society graces the opening day of the Team Xanga MMA Gym.

Interested parties may contact Chua at 0917-7102482.