I got the call on a Tuesday night between classes while I was teaching at the gym.
I have always enjoyed group fitness classes. So it was a natural progression for me to get myself qualified as a group fitness instructor. I was already busy with dance and tuition classes, but I didn’t turn down the opportunity to teach fitness as well.
In addition to being a generic group fitness instructor, I also took up certification in Blast FX/T3 Blast and Fight FX/T3 Fight. These fitness certifications are under Fitness FX from the United Kingdom, and the unique thing about them is their T3 programmes, which are group personal training sessions.
So during the T3 Fight sessions I’ve been teaching, some of my members have asked me to find out about gear that can be used during class – things like body shields and kick pads.
I’m not a fighter. I’m not going to pretend that I am one. The most I’ve done is basic kickboxing classes which extended as far beginner classes.
But I’ve always enjoyed cardio fight sessions, especially in the gym. That was the reason I decided to take up the instructor course in Fight FX/T3 Fight. There’s no actual sparring, but there’s a lot of stress relief from the pretend punches and kicks (without the potential impact injuries!). However, I have to admit that nothing beats being able to physically hit something. To be honest I wasn’t too sure where to get the body shields and kick pads. Wait, that is not true. I do know where to search for them. My concern was getting shields and pads of good quality.
So it was a blessing that I stumbled upon Throwdown Malaysia during one of the earlier rounds of Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) championship which was held at Paradigm Mall, when I was there one day for lunch. The exciting fight rounds aside, I discovered the brand Throwdown which had all kinds of fight gear including gloves, wraps, fight mitts – and of course, body shields and kick pads. However they didn’t have any at their booth, but Bax Yap (one of the partners of Throwdown Malaysia) told me I could check out their website and browse their online catalogue.
Anyway I had put all purchases on hold, because I didn’t see the necessity of buying any shields since my most regular classes were at the gym which already had their own kick pads. But then one of my dearest friends Elisha expressed interest in personal T3 Fight sessions, and she asked me to look up the fight gear. Remembering Throwdown Malaysia, I checked out their website and looked up their products. Throwdown is a brand from United States which specialises in all kinds of fight gear including those used for boxing, kickboxing and MMA.
So after a lot of browsing and comparison against other brands, we decided to buy wraps and a body shield from Throwdown Malaysia. I was also itching to get my own pair of gloves, for my own personal use (for cardio fitness, NOT for sparring!!!!).
Then on Tuesday night, I got a call from Bax.
I had won an AUTOGRAPHED MAGNUM GLOVE!!!
Autographed by UFC CHAMPIONS AND FIGHTERS!!!
It was a complete surprise to me, as I hadn’t even known that there was a competition, much less that I was in the running to win one. It turned out that everyone who purchased the MMA fight gloves would be in the running, and the winner was selected by a lucky draw.
The reason I didn’t know of the contest was because I had purchased the items directly from Throwdown Malaysia‘s website, and did not see the announcement on their Facebook page. I bought the gloves because I wanted the gloves, not because I was hoping to win anything. In fact, initially I wanted to buy a different colour (neon pink), but there was an error in the stock listing, and Saif from Throwdown Malaysia had contacted me to ask if I wanted to change my order or cancel it. I was actually considering canceling the order, but in the end reluctantly decided to switch to white.
Good thing I did! Otherwise I would not have been in the running to win!
So needless to say, it was an amazing feeling to win something so amazing, even more so when it was completely unexpected.
Bax invited me to visit their booth on Saturday, 13 September at 2pm to collect the prize. I told him I would show up only if he promised that I didn’t have to fight on stage in the cage for it.
I also got to get taped up for free at the event! As in covered in tape, not be videotaped.
I have had a tennis elbow for more than a month – but not from kickboxing or MMA. It was a dance injury during one of my latin dance practice sessions, and it hasn’t gotten better, probably because I was still actively using my elbow in my many other physical activities. I saw the tapes being sold at Throwdown’s booth, but I was hesitant about buying them. Not because I didn’t think they didn’t work – I knew these tapes were effective, because I tried similar tapes before on my injured ankles (taped on by my podiatrist). My hesitation stemmed from not knowing how to put them on. The tapes would be useless if they were not used correctly. But the guys at the KT tape booth were very patient. They took one look at my elbow and immediately identified the problem. They could even determine the exact spot on my elbow which hurt. They took time to explain exactly how to put the tape on correctly, and assured me that there were videos online which teaches us how to put the tape on in different locations. In a matter of minutes I was able to feel the heat off the tape targeting my sore spot. So of course I bought myself a roll – given how injury-prone I am, it looked like a good buy (in the past few weeks, I’ve been covered in elbow and knee guards during all the physical activities I’ve been taken part in).
Thanks Elisha for accompanying me and acting as my photographer! And honestly Elisha, if it wasn’t for your suggestion that we buy the wraps and shield, I would never have won this, because I wouldn’t have bought the gloves too.
Elisha and I stayed back to watch the MIMMA Contender Fight, which were pretty exciting. Our local boys are really, really good. I think they can seriously give the international fighters a run for their money.
Anyway, I would like to say THANK YOU once again to THROWDOWN MALAYSIA for this amazing surprise. One of the best things I have ever won!!!
By the way, for those of you who are wondering what this is about – it’s a giant replica of an MMA glove that has been autographed by various Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions and MMA fighters. It could probably be worn by a real giant to fight, because the material it is made out of is exactly like the real (smaller) MMA gloves.
To make you MMA fans even more jealous, here is a list of the fighters who autographed it.:
I don’t know the exact value of this glove, but I hear that it would fetch a really high amount on eBay 😉
