Welcome To Fight Club! Malta Taekwondo Association Launches ‘National Fight League’
Hardships of life often lead one to explore colourful avenues of stress relief. And let’s face it, we’ve all relished the plausibility of doing so by throwing the odd punch or kick.
Enter the Maltese National Taekwondo League (NTL), a tournament where you can do just that.
You can even adhere to the rules of this fight club if you so choose to (except you can totally talk about this fight club!)
The tournament was created by Malta’s National Taekwondo Coach, Sajad Habibi, conjuring the structure of the tournament as a means to keep Maltese taekwondo players’ skills sharp during COVID-19 lockdowns and shutdowns.
But now, the tournament has been opened to anyone willing to throw down, so long as they adhere to the rules of the sport.
The rules follow those issued by World Taekwondo (WT); based on an electronic system wherein fighters score points by striking sensors on the body.
The very same sport is currently sanctioned as an Olympic event and has been so for the past 22 years.
In contrast to sports like boxing and MMA, Taekwondo is not a full-contact fight sport, because all players are made to wear protection and limit certain attacks otherwise deemed dangerous.
By enrolling, you can expect it all – from the ‘head-to-head’ fighter’s display down to the nitty-gritty fighting associated with the sport conventionally known as ‘Korean Kickboxing’.
The bouts are even streamed online.
Lovin Malta reached out to Sajad Habibi, who had much to say following the launch of the NTL on Saturday 19th January.
“We made use of a point-based scoring platform. Much like what one would expect to see in football’s ‘Premiere League’. Like this, winners of each bout tally points to the good, with the scope of finishing the league in the top spot.”
“We created categories for everyone. From the experienced players who aspire to fight internationally, to absolute beginners who had never thrown a punch or a kick before.”
“By affiliating with the registered clubs, they can train to be better.”
One can get involved in the game by contacting the association through their Facebook, or by email at [email protected].
Through the competition, the MTA has emulated countries like Iran and South Korea; countries where Taekwondo takes a prominent role as a competitive sport, and use such competitions as a basis for national selection.
In doing so, it becomes the first of its kind in Europe.
If you’re ready to get down and dirty, get cracking by contacting the association, right here.