Instructors from 20 Arab countries participated in the 4-day One Standard Muaythai IFMA seminar in Abu Dhabi.
The event was headed by Thailand’s two masters from the IFMA Culture and Heritage Commission, Ajarn Chao Wathayotha and Khru Artit Tobwongsri, who headed the practical part of the seminar. The theoretical part was once again led by speakers from IFMA and the Olympic Movement.
IFMA also welcomed 2 Thai Ambassadors as special guests to the event, the Thai Ambassador from the United Arab Emirates His Excellency Sorayut Chasombat and His Excellency Mr. Darm Boontham from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both Excellencies huge supporters of Muaythai and highly involved in their previous engagements as Ambassadors for Peru and Morocco.
The President of United Through Sports and President of AIMS, Mr. Stephan Fox, was a keynote speaker outlining the importance of the Olympic Pyramid and the foundation and the mission of the Olympic Movement for building a better world through sports and the Olympic Values of excellence, respect and friendship.
The IFMA Director General, Ms. Charissa Tynan, was the second keynote speaker on IFMA’s priority towards clean athletes and IFMA’s investment in the fight against doping and match-fixing. IFMA’s investment in ITA and as a WADA signatory was thoroughly discussed and Ms. Tyan highlighted the athletes will always be at the heart of IFMA’s mission.
The chairman of the Medical Commission and of IFMA Anti-doping Commission gave a detailed presentation on WADA and the cooperative worldwide movement for doping-free sport. He further outlined the partnership between IFMA and ITA to keep IFMA’s values of integrity, sportsmanship and fair play. He further made a detailed presentation on the ins and outs of doping testing programmes. Dr. Erdogan Aydin also covered topics of athlete health and injury prevention to ensure proper measures are being taken to ensure long health spans of muaythai athletes.
The Chair of the Legal Commission, Mr. Mervyn Tan, conducted an informative workshop for business owners on the current legal landscape with respect to gyms and Covid-19. Mr. Tan covered various topics including tenancy agreements, gym memberships, membership of private training and sports events highlighting key points to take away to protect businesses and lessons learned during the pandemic.
James Tucker, who leads the IFMA Safeguarding Programme, along with his colleague, Katie Hart, focused on the coaches who are involved with safeguarding of athletes of all ages where IFMA creates a sporting environment in which harassment and abuse have no place. Tucker highlighted the various types of harassment and abuse awareness and recognizing the signs in victims.
The Chair of the IFMA Athletes’ Commission and Holistic Nutritionist, Janice Lyn, led an an important session regarding the practical guide to eating for health and performance and also highlighted the dangers and risks of weight cutting and dehydration.
Mohammed Amr gave an introductory course in sports psychology and the athlete journey to achieving an optimal performance mindset and approaching setbacks in a positive way.
Ajarn Chao and Khru Id took the participants through the important OSM curriculum to preserve muaythai as an ancient martial art and combat sport and went beyond the 8 weapons with the detailed IFMA education programme.
Over 90 instructors from 20 countries passed the examination and will go to their home countries to continue to develop, protect and promote muaythai.
20 per cent of all participants were female instructors which is in line with IFMA’s development programme and Janice Lyn, Chair of the IFMA Athletes’ Commission stated that the level of female instructors has grown immensely over the years, especially in the Arab regions.
The President of FAMA, His Excellency Abdullah Al Neyadi, welcomed all the delegates, representatives of the embassies, and thanked all the speakers and the Ajarns from the Kingdom of Thailand.
