Category: Sports

Back in 1993 when the first ever UFC fight was held (UFC 1), the main idea was that they wanted to match up the different martial arts against each other to see which one of the combat practices would dominate. So they got 8 different fighters from different fighting backgrounds, like one was a sumo wrestler, another was a kick boxer, another a jujitsu master etc.. and made them fight each other in a tournament. In the end Royce Gracie the jujitsu master won the tournament but all the fighters became pretty much recognized because of the fact they took part in what became the first mixed martial arts event.

One of the fighters that probably stood out the most though was Art Jimmerson, a boxer who went into the fight wearing just one boxing glove. The image on top became pretty memorable so it was a pretty cool surprise to find out that Art is in Kuwait coaching at a new boxing gym. How random is that? The new gym is called The Hook and I just called them up and they told me they’re opening up tomorrow (Monday, May 9th). You can check out their instagram account @thehook.kw or check out Art Jimmerson’s account @artjimmerson

Combat Athletics is a new training facility in Kuwait that specializes in MMA, No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Boxing. I passed by them awhile ago since they’re located near my place in Salmiya and I left fairly impressed. They’ve got two trainers at the moment with two more on the way. The first is Claudio “Hannibal” Silva, an MMA fighter with an 11-1 record with his last two wins coming in the UFC. The second trainer is Ajarn Khunsuek, the 2006 European Muay Thai champion with a ridiculous 300+ fights on his record but the coolest part about him though for me was the fact he had a cameo appearance as an extra in the 1989 movie ‘Kickboxer’ starring Jean Claude Van Damme. Both the trainers are pretty legit and Combat Athletics is banking on them to help turn the place into a proper training facility. Other than getting great trainers they’ve also heavily invested in their facility. The ring pictured above is the only official 5 rope ring in Kuwait while all their Muay Thai and boxing equipment are by Throwdown, their grappling mats by Zebra while and their strength and conditioning equipment by Life Fitness. Basically they’ve spared no expense.

Combat Athletics have been open for awhile now holding private PT sessions, but starting this coming Sunday they’ll be soft launching to the public. The gym is mixed so for all the women who’ve been asking me where they could to do proper Muay Thai training this is the place. I took a peek at their prices which haven’t been finalized yet and they’ve got an interesting system setup. You’ll have the option to sign up just to use their facilities, or the option to come just to their classes or the option for both. So for example because I’ve already got a gym membership somewhere else, I can just sign up for Muay Thai classes with them. They promised to send me the final price list once they’re ready but for now you can check out their instagram at @combatathletics

Here is their location on [Google Maps]

This post is for the MMA fans here. A few years ago I posted a clip from Warriors War, a middleweight MMA tournament that took place in Kuwait back in 2001 and involved the likes of Matt Hughes, Bruce Buffer and Big John McCarthy. I was pretty surprised back then that I hadn’t heard of this tournament before but Ray Elbe sent me a link to an article a few days back that discusses the event in full details. Turns out it was a complete mess from an organizing stand point which should be no surprise but there was also a scheme to rig some of the fights. If you’re an MMA fan you’re going to find this enjoyable to read, check out the article [Here]

If you’re looking for a place to play tennis or squash for cheap and without requiring any membership, then the best place I know of is Salmiya Club.

Tennis
Salmiya Club has 5 tennis courts, 4 outdoor and 1 in door. The cost is KD10 per hour (so 5 per person) but they also have monthly membership as well. If you’re not a member then you can come use the courts between 9AM to 1PM and 8PM to 10PM. When you get there you just walk onto the court and start playing, someone will then come collect money from you.

Squash
Salmiya Club also has 6 indoor squash courts as well. Like with tennis you don’t need to be a member to use them. The cost is KD4 (KD2 per person) for 30 minutes but they also have monthly membership. Like with tennis if you’re not a member then you’ve got a limited time slot to play which is 9AM to 1PM and 7PM to 9PM. Make sure you wear sneakers with white soles or they won’t let you use the courts, they’re very anal about this.

If you don’t know where Samiya Club is, here it is on [Google Maps]

The Kuwait Champions Challenge is in a few days and already three players have been stopped from playing in Kuwait due to the fact Kuwait was suspended by FIFA in October because of government interference. The three players banned are Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo and Xavi Hernandez. [Source]

I just tried accessing the Kuwait Champions Challenge website to see if they’ve updated the players list but the site seems down at the moment.

Update: Here is a good article for CNN on this muck up by a good friend of mine Motez Bishara [Link]

If you’ve already booked a ticket to the Kuwait Champions Challenge then you already know that you don’t get to choose where to sit instead you’re just told if you’re upper level (single men) or lower level (families). You also would have noticed that as a single guy you can only book 1 ticket.

If you’re concerned you won’t be seated with your friends don’t worry about it. According to the organizers, if you arrive to the stadium with your friends then they will seat you all together depending on availability. So try to get there early if you all want to sit together.

If you haven’t booked a ticket yet you will be able to do so today between 4PM to 8PM from [Here]

The Kuwait Mooseheads Ice Hockey Team are looking for new members. If you can ice skate and play hockey then this is for you:

Looking for something fun, active and social? Miss those days at the rink? Well you’re in luck, the Kuwait Mooseheads hockey club is looking for new members to join us for our weekly scrimmages. We play twice a week at the ice rink next to Discovery Mall. The club also takes part in international tournaments throughout the year. Full equipment is required, and some experience is necessary. Check us out on Facebook or contact Graham via email at [email protected]

A fight took place earlier this evening during a football game between Al-Jahra and Khaitan. During the match, the manager of the Al-Jahra team attacked the referee due to a disagreement over one of the calls resulting in the chaos you see in the video. Kuwait is already suspended by FIFA so this altercation is definitely not helping. [YouTube]

Thanks Sala6a

Tickets for the 2015 Kuwait Champions Challenge are now available online. The tickets are free but you don’t get to choose where you will sit other than if you’re going to be in the singles section or family section. Once you finish the booking process you’ll be able to print out or email your tickets.

The final list of players on the international team was released and it includes:

Mohamed Aboutrika
Jamie Carragher
Andrea Pirlo
Jens Lehmann
Paul Scholes
Ronaldinho
Robert Pirès
Carles Puyol
Míchel Salgado
Alessandro Del Piero
Gianluca Zambrotta
Luís Figo
Alessandro Nesta
Andriy Shevchenko
Deco
David James
Steven Gerrard

If you’re interested in attending the game you should book your ticket ASAP before they run out from the official website [Here]

Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium will be officially opening on December 18th by holding the Kuwait Champions Challenge, which according to their website is the largest entertainment and sports event of its kind to ever take place in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti All-Star Team will be playing a friendly match against the Football Champions Tour which will be a team made up on international football stars.

They haven’t listed the international players that will be coming but right now voting is open on choosing which players you want to be on the Kuwaiti All-Star Team. Tickets to this event will also be available next week. For more information check out the official Kuwait Champions Challenge website [Here]

I guess whatever issues the stadium had they’re all fixed now.

via sala6a

Update: The international players are being announced, so far the following players will be coming

Keep checking the official website for more details [Here]

Figured I’d post about this gym (Al Hamra Thermae) since I just passed by to check it out awhile ago. It’s not the nicest looking mens gym, but they’re located on the 74th floor of Al Hamra Tower and they’ve got a pretty good offer at the moment. They’ve brought down their price to KD700 year plus will give you a month free which brings the price down to around KD50 a month.

The nicest thing about the gym though is twice a week they swap with the womens gym on the 3rd floor and you get access to use the outdoor running track. If you’re interested you could call them up on 97997797.

Not sure if the womens gym have a similar offer, I tried calling them up but no one picked up (60660060).

You can now shop for Adidas products on the Adidas Kuwait website. Not sure how new this is but I just spotted an ad for it yesterday on Twitter. Shipping is a flat charge of KD2 and you can pay either by credit card, paypal or cash on delivery. Here is the [Link]

I know there are a lot of people interested in Muay Thai training in Kuwait so figured I’d post about a new place that opened up that offers it. A new gym opened up in Shuwaikh called Empower 31 and one of the services they offer is Muay Thai training. They’ve brought in a world class trainer (Joesoef Henri) who has worked with top fighters all over the world including:

Remy bonjasky – Former K-1 Champion, One of the best kick boxers in the world.
Raphael Assuncao – UFC #3 Ranked Bantamweight
Andy Souwer – Dutch welterweight. Currently a Glory top contender. He is two time K-1 World MAX champion as well as a four time shoot boxing world tournament champion.
Dhiego Lima – #6 ranked welterweight in the world – currently in the UFC

The trainer is from Holland so he’s bringing the Dutch style of Kickboxing to Kuwait which is something new according to the owner (All of the K-1 finalists are usually Dutch or have a Dutch style background).

So if you’re interested in Muay Thai, Empower 31 is offering beginner and intermediate/ Advanced Muay Thai classes. The cost is KD85/month, KD220/3 months, KD385/6 months or KD620/year. This cost gives you access to their whole facility, not just Muay Thai, so you’ll have access to “strength and conditioning coaches who are all highly educated and have past experience within professional sports teams as their strength and conditioning coaches”. For more information including contact details, check out their instagram account @empower31

Does anyone know where expats can get archery lessons in Kuwait? I contacted the Kuwait Archery National Team on Facebook asking about lessons and they told me the Kuwait Shooting Federation offers lessons but it’s only for Kuwaitis.

360 Mall have released new renderings as well as a video showcasing their upcoming mall expansion which will include a tennis complex, a hotel and additional shopping. The tennis complex will have a combined stadium seating for over 7,600 people across two main arenas, each with the capacity to hold 4,000 and 1,600 people respectively, eight indoor courts with over 500 seats and eight outdoor courts with 1,500 seats. The tennis arena will be called “The Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex” and is expected to become one of the world’s best tennis facilities.

In summary, we should basically all start learning tennis so we could take advantage of the facilities once they open up.

On a side note I’ve managed to confirm that Bloomingdale’s will be opening up where the exhibition hall at 360 Mall is located right now. What I wasn’t aware of was that the exhibition hall is actually three floors tall but because they hadn’t installed the escalators yet, it never showed. Regarding the 5-star hotel thats opening up in the new expansion, all the renderings are pointing towards Hyatt making a comeback to Kuwait. I’m still trying to get confirmation on this but I haven’t been able to as of now. My contact just confirmed the hotel that will be opening is Grand Hyatt and that an official announcement will be made shortly.