JMMA striving to develop martial arts

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Slavik Moskalev, president of the newly formed Jamaica Mixed Martial Arts Association (JMMA), said his administration will be moving very swiftly to develop the county's practitioners for international competition.

The Russia-born Moskalev told The Gleaner in an interview during the launch of his association on Monday that his administration will also be working closely with the Cayman Islands and The Bahamas' mixed martial arts associations to have regular competitions among the countries.

"What happens in Jamaica is that there are a lot of martial arts schools and they are struggling to find funding, sponsors and even competition and so we plan to have big international competitions out here," said Moskalev, who operates the Extreme Edge Fitness Club on Ruthven Road.

"By the end of this year, we plan to put on an international competition. We plan to have people from Russia and Israel and a lot of other countries will also be invited with different martial arts styles," said Moskalev, who has been living in Jamaica for the past 16 years.

"In January, we will go to The Bahamas and they will go to the Cayman Islands. They will also come down here because we plan to have two or three international competitions per year in Jamaica," Moskalev added.

Popular in the USA

JMMA, a mixture of martial arts disciplines such as muay thai, Brazilian ju jitsu, judo, wrestling, boxing and taekwondo, has become quite popular in the United States in recent years and is now a major rival to boxing.

Because of its fast-paced action, which also includes kicking, punching and various grappling techniques, it is now a major pay-per-view event in America, Europe and Asia.

Moskalev, however, stated that his association is yet to identify a major sponsor for any of the local or international tournaments which they plan to stage.

"The sponsors would benefit a lot because we will be having a lot of international fighters for our events and so the exposure for the sponsors will be worldwide and this will also be very good for tourism in Jamaica," said Moskalev.

He also noted that there are no requirements for persons who are interested in joining the JMMA.

"Any schools which would like to participate, no problem, and even people who are just doing martial arts and want to train with us can come join - no problem," Moskalev said.

Bob Daigle, president of the Cayman Islands MMA and former world karate champion, who is working alongside Moskalev to assist with the development of the nation's MMA athletes, said Jamaica has the potential do well on the international stage.

Jamaican athletes' potential

"Our goal is to help Jamaica and Moskalev to bring a team to compete on the world stage and I think he is the man to do it," said Daigle. "I also believe that Jamaican athletes have the potential to become the mixed martial arts world champions one day.

"However, to be a mixed martial arts champion you need to train in all the disciplines and you need to train hard, have fun and work together," Daigle said.