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why ONYX MMA is totally awesome



Based on the limited land space of Singapore, the number of martial arts gym set up here is considered pretty high. You'll be spoilt for choices when it comes to picking a gym to join. We all have different motivations and reason behind our decision to take up martial arts, fitness, self defence or competition aspirations.

It's not easy to find a gym to train at in the long stay, I've personally trained at other gyms and I did not start off at Onyx. So here's why you should seriously consider Onyx MMA; I first joined Onyx while they were still at located at Jurong Tradehub21 and have stayed here ever since.

Here's why Onyx MMA is totally awesome ( In my opinion and what kept me here)

1. Coaches here are absolutely patient and methodical with newbies



Many of us including myself get nervous for our first martial arts class, and that shouldn't be the case, you are paying for a class and yes you're supposed to learn something out of the class. While there might be other gyms that unintentionally throws you into the deep end of the pool. There's no such thing here. Our coaches will give you a specialised coaching class during your first lesson, teaching you the basics without the pressure of training with more experienced people there. So fret not, you'll be inducted to the actual class at a comfortable pace.

2. The trainers here can be more than just a trainer, They're family.



It has become a tradition to have some R&R after the last class of every friday. Steamboat, BBQ, Pizza, Spring chickens, you name it, we've done it. The gym places high emphasis on making students and their staff feel at home. These cohesions will allow you to make friends/nakmuays/rolling buddies, enjoy a cheat meal after a harsh training session, besides, there's more to a gym than just training, it's about feeling at home and making new friends.

3. Training that actually pushes you to the limit ( if that is what you're looking for)



There are gyms around that simply have too many members in one single session that it is impossible to have a fruitful workout session, at times you might end up holding pads for fellow members. Personally, i've seen many gyms that get their members to hold pads for one another. At Onyx, no member holds pad, it is all done by the trainers. No matter the class size, you can assure that there will be at least 3 rounds of pads per person, which is by no means easy ( guaranteed to give you a run for your money). If the padwork and bagwork doesn't tire you, rest assured that the strength and conditioning conducted by our grandmaster 'Kanditioner' will smoke you and leave you drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Remember! Sweat are your fats crying. Your #zoukoutbody might just finally come into fruition this year!

4. Our Muay Thai/BJJ/Boxing programmes are tested and proven

Our Muay Thai training sessions are modelled after traditional thai gym classes. That means, you actually learn proper and useful techniques ( Yes we pride ourselves in that, It wouldn't be nice if you tried to show off a half-baked roundhouse kick without proper technique to that pretty girl who in class who happens to be a martial arts fanatic that you've been trying to impress for the whole semester.) The 2 years I've spent at Onyx is a testament,  I dare say that I've improved at a steady rate under the tutelage of the seasoned muay thai coaches. The clarity in their instruction, patience and willingness to correct your problems are top notch and this is what martial arts is all about; perfecting and sharpening your skills through the minor details. The same can be said for our BJJ classes, with Jason from BJJ Singapore overlooking the classes,  Just come for classes religiously and you can see yourself improving exponentially.

5. The most important of all, training here is FUN.

There's no point in joining a gym if you don't enjoy it there. To put it simply, it can have the best of facilities, most qualified of coaches, but, if you are not enjoying yourself there, there is no point staying on. At Onyx we promote a healthy and fun environment, where there is no hierarchy, regardless of coach or members, fighters or newcomers. There's always room for new friends. There is no point in describing the friendship and warmth you'll feel here when you step foot into the gym. So come on down and experience it yourself. There are no obligations. Although we strongly believe that after you have your first class. You hit yourself in the head for not signing up earlier.


Why should you opt for Muay Thai as your striking discipline in MMA?

Dos Anjos giving Nate Diaz a beating of a lesson, (Photo from USA Today)

If you've watched yesterday's UFC on FOX 13, you might have caught this one-sided fight between Rafael Dos Anjos and Nate Diaz. Nate is well known in the sport for being notorious with his words and actions, but also known to walk the walk within the Octagon.

If you've watched the fight, you would have easily guess the determining factor in which Dos Anjos was able to dish out the brutal beating. If you haven't, here's a short highlight clip:


The leg kicks that Dos Anjos rained throughout the fight was the key deciding factor. Leg kicks; the proper, hard ones that don't go "piak", are extremely painful, and worse, slows you down. Dos Anjos easily dropped what? 20 or 30 leg kicks on Diaz, the rest was history.

From a theoretical point of view, it echoes the fact that Muay Thai remains the most effective striking art for MMA. It saddens me on the number of MMA fighters that do not invest time in dwelling deeper into Muay Thai, while those who did, reaped huge benefits (think Anderson Silva, Matt Browne). 

But learning from the Dos Anjos and Diaz fight, Nate's proper and real mistake was standing in a side stance against a Muay Thai kicker, and worse, a low-kicker. The reason why the Muay Thai stance is mostly squared, is to give proper balance to shin-blocking left, right. The side stance that Nate was standing on then, reveals his right thigh for kicking, which Dos Anjos properly did. I hope this becomes a case study for MMA fighters. When the right combination of striking ability, matches up with the right combination of striking inabilities, the results can be devastating. 

But I must humbly admit that, MMA is not a Muay Thai fight. Muay Thai is but a tool/weapon for utilisation. Matt Browne may be an excellent Muay Thai fighter, but he gets pounded on quite abit as well. Anderson Silva who was once thought to be invincible, beaten by a broken shin; the irony.

So, come. Let's do some kicks and then roll on the mats.

UFC & Reebok Sponsorship Deal - The Ripples


Sneak preview of what might be the UFC-Reebok future
A couple of days ago, at a highly anticipated press conference, the UFC announced an important and somewhat secretive 6-year contract with Reebok to outfit all UFC fighters and events. The word that was frequently seen in reports was the "uniform" that the fighters have to don whilst on the fight event, as well as event week. Erm, does that mean we don't get to see our favourite brands and designs?

At first glance, it seems so. This sponsorship deal effectively means that all UFC representatives would now be wearing Reebok gear albeit some amount of customisation. I don't know about others, but at second glance, Reebok...? They will need some serious serious design power house to make them cool again.


My last memories of a cool Reebok remained at the Pumps era. Since then, I've admittedly walked into a Reebok factory outlet hoping that they've magically become cooler. But as far as I can remember, they remained largely boring and I remained largely, unexcited.

But now comes UFC, with all of its glory, gory, lights, actions, and cool factor. Before this sponsorship deal, the UFC sponsors were made up of a few prominent brands (think Muscle Pharm, Hayabusa, Affliction etc), and some not very prominent brands (think Dynamic Fasteners). But regardless, the UFC opened up a niche-but-not-really-niche avenue for sponsors to get their brand in, rumoured to be at a relatively low cost too. Suffice to say, prior to the Reebok-UFC deal, MMA sponsors were actually getting a bang for their buck.

I'm not going to over analyse the situation and give you charts and bars of data and money signs. Instead, let's look at the more localised problems.

Apparels (especially T-shirts) Sponsors

Seriously, almost all UFC fighters walks out with a T-shirt sponsor. You might be familiar with some of them such as Hayabusa, Torque, Affliction, Bad Boy, Venum, Dethrone, etc. Some of these brands have also ventured into MMA/Boxing gears of their own, and have reaped moolahs. I know for a fact that in Singapore, Hayabusa gloves sells at a premium over the Thai brands.

Now imagine, no more walk-out tees from your favourite fighter's brand. It will now, be replaced by a Reebok tee. Where will your loyalty lie now? The fighter or the brand?


Do a simple search on Google, and it's not hard to find a consolidated response page from the current T-shirt brands. Some were obviously unhappy, but others chose to stick by the fighters. But to be honest, having your greatest source of exposure (PPV events, press conferences, training videos, etc) removed can't be good at all right? If it was up to me, I think i'd spend my remaining contractual period left milking out what's left before Jul 2015, and after that sell a bunch of those leftovers as memorabilia.


Retailers/Vendors

In Singapore, there are a couple of online retailers that have profited from the rise of MMA popularity. These retailers were able to either obtain distributorship, or stock these MMA apparels at wholesale prices from the usual brands. Now that the landscape is changing, I honestly don't think that Reebok would distribute these MMA shirts out for these online retailers.

INSTEAD, think World of Sports, Royal Sporting House selling MMA gears and tees!

I'm no retailer, and these are just my thoughts, but I would think that the Reebok deal would hurt the revenues of these retailers by a significant amount; so much so, that I think a new strategy might be necessary to keep these businesses afloat.

Again, I am no retailer, but if we look back at say, sneakers. There is actually a viable and sustainable market doing niche product lines. Let's imagine, a shopfront that sells exclusively, MMA stuffs. I don't mean gears or apparels, but STUFFS; posters, gloves, figurines, t-shirts, shorts, etc. I promise, i will be a regular customer there. Better if you're able to obtain exclusive franchise of UFC merchandise from Dana White! Worth considering if you have a couple of million inside your bedside drawer.

So? Your point being?

Most of the time, change seem like an adversity to people, and the Reebok-UFC deal is a huge change. I'd dare say that the top guns at UFC must have had done their number crunching. For starters, a layman like me would be very interested to see our RSH and Sportslink selling MMA merchandise. Naturally, it signifies an increased outreach.

But it irks me to see that all UFC athletes would be "One-Brand". In the NBA, the players all wear the same team uniform. But hey, at least they have different shoes, and because of this, it laid out the possibility of big brands like Nike, Adidas, to think hard about their design. When the uniform is uniform, people do pay attention to the supple differences (shoes in the case of basketball, or soccer).

But last i heard, MMA fighters are bare footed. Maybe start designing ankle guards?


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