Last month the Malta Kickboxing Association (MKBA) made a remarkable step forward in its history by winning best out of ten matches from a Kickboxing tournament held in England on Saturday 28th October, 2006. The ten Kickboxers team even managed to win the International Challenge Cup with seven wins out of the ten bouts in the tournament.

The Kickboxing tournament was organised by the MAAS (Martial Arts All Style) and invited Kickboxers to represent their country from their affiliated clubs. Malta participated with England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the International Challenge Cup.

The Maltese team was made up of Kancho Adrian Axisa, founder of Malta Kickboxing Association, Chief Instructor Noel Mercieca, 10 kickboxers and two helpers. The Maltese group included kick boxers from two Maltese Clubs, the Ying Yang Kickboxing Club whose instructor is Noel Mercieca and Demis Kickboxing Club whose instructor is Demis Schembri.

The British and Maltese were competing for the prestigious International Challenge Cup that would be won by the country who succeeds with the best out of 10 bouts. The International Challenge bouts were divided in two sections, Semi-Contact for the Amateur and Full Contact bouts.

The competitor of each respective weight category competed for the European titles. The Maltese Kickboxers had to give their utmost to win a best out of 10 bouts tournament in order to get the International trophy.

It was with great pleasure that by the end of the eighth bout the Maltese had five wins, one draw and two losses but still that was enough to lift the trophy and mark the victory over the British kickboxers.

The highlights of the tournament were the two Full-Contact bouts performed by Daniel Zahra and Terence Cilia. Due to the importance of the bouts both Maltese competitors had to face more than 200 British supporters who were trying to demoralise the Maltese team.

That did not stop the 13 Maltese to support their friends on the ring. All the competitors had Kancho Adrian Axisa and Master Noel Mercieca as corner men but for the two final bouts they had the help of Silvio Simac, Martial Arts World Champion and actor.

The Maltese Kickboxers members and their respective categories were,

Amateur European Titles: Lucienne Desira (Win), Ruth Tanti (Win), Darren Borg (Win), Reuben Azzopardi (Win), Charles Buttigieg (Win), Jonathan Curmi (Lost), Warren Agius (Lost), Stephen Cassar (Draw).

Full Contact Title Bouts: Daniel Zahra (Win), Terence Cilia (Win).

Noel Agius and Catherine Zarb were two other persons in the team who did not compete but supported the Maltese kickboxers during the bouts.

The Malta Kickboxing Association (MKBA) is a member of the British National Martial Arts Association (BNMAA), Martial Arts All Styles (MAAS) and World Kickboxing Network (WKN). For more information one may contact Kancho Adrian Axisa on [email protected] or check the website on www.kanchomalta.com