Petite, pretty and softly spoken, with flawless skin and perfectly coiffed hair, the participants of Dubai's first women's mixed martial arts (MMA) class were not exactly in keeping with the traditional image of female fighters, with not a cornrow braid or tattoo in sight. And yet on the matted mezzanine floor of a Sheikh Zayed Road apartment block earlier this month, the aforementioned women punched, kicked and "grounded-and-pounded" their way through the first ladies-only session in true fighting style.
Driven by a desire to release aggression, burn calories and build strength in the company of like-minded women, Fatima Rabbani, 27, from Afghanistan, arrived at the TSG Dubai MMA Academy fresh-faced and determined to make it through the instructor Tam Khan's intense cardiovascular workout. Khan, an experienced 27-year-old professional MMA fighter from the UK, has pioneered the development of the sport in Dubai since 2008, setting up the UAE branch of TSG (Team Sure Grip) MMA Academy at the World Black Belt Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road.
TSG, which is affiliated with the legendary Royce Gracie fight school, also has branches in London and Italy, and caters to fighters wanting to compete professionally in MMA, boxing, K1 and Muay Thai, as well as for those wishing to improve their fitness and conditioning or learn basic self-defence. But while martial arts, particularly kick-boxing, has become big business in the women's fitness industry in recent years, until now the testosterone-charged, tough-guy image of MMA has made all but a handful of women in Dubai nervous about rocking up to a class.
Instead, most women opt for private classes with Khan, which makes it difficult for them to put what they learn into practice. "It is hard for them to practice certain moves, particularly the grappling floor moves, with a member of the opposite sex," Khan explained. "A ladies-only class is an arena they feel more confident in. I can teach in a private lesson, but they don't get to do the practice.
"Eventually, I would like to train a female instructor." Rabbani, who exercises regularly, had decided to attend the first class after watching one of the MMA classes from the sidelines. "I had watched Tam at his MMA class. One of my friends comes to his class and I saw how good the cardiovascular training was - how hard," she said. "I go to the gym and do Body Pump weight classes, Pilates and yoga, but this is obviously something very different. I knew he was a little tough, but that was part of the appeal. Many people have trainers who don't push them hard enough. I knew he would push me.
"It was just important that I could attend a women-only session." MMA is a full-contact multi-discipline sport that uses a range of martial arts, including Muay Thai, boxing, ju-jitsu, wrestling and judo. While there are professional female MMA fighters around the world, and Khan predicts there will eventually be female fighters in Dubai, he is emphatic that the focus of this ladies' class is on conditioning and fitness, not contact.
So there will be no hitting each other in the face, then? "No, not at all," he said. "I don't want to scare people off. "MMA has that hard image. Maybe we can produce the first female MMA fighter in Dubai but that is not what this class is about. You cannot beat an MMA workout. It works almost every muscle group - your core, legs, hips, arms, parts of the body you never knew existed." Rabbani has many Emirati friends who also wanted to make the first class but were unable to because of social commitments. They will, she insisted, attend the next class.
Her family are fully supportive of her participation. "My father's first question was if it would be all ladies," she said. "When I said it would he was fine about it. After all, it is good for my safety, to know how to defend myself." The class began gently enough, with participants running around the perimeter of the hall touching the floor with their hands as instructed by Khan. But the tempo soon changed, as did the sweat-to-smile ratio, as he took the women through an unforgiving series of knee-up jumps, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, sprawls and burpees.
From there it was on to the focus mitts. The women paired up and Khan took them through a series of basic punch combinations incorporating combinations with straight-out flurries to increase the heart rate. Then came the kick shields for some basic leg work - rib and lower-leg kicks that increased in speed and intensity as the rounds wore on. After that it was on to basic grappling and knees - something that Khan pointed out could come in handy as a self-defence ploy to fend off male attackers.
The women took it in turns to hold a kick shield while their partner gripped them around the neck and pulled them forward to make contact with the knee. It was tiring but in no way harmful. Finally, it was on to "ground-and-pound" practice - a tactic that involves taking an opponent to the ground using a takedown or throw, and then when in a dominant position striking the opponent with the fists and elbows.
Today though, it happened minus the throwdown and the women protected their upper bodies with a large kick shield while their partner let out their aggression on the pad. Embarrassed giggles soon gave way to an unleashing of energy as the women poured what was left of their power reserves into the pads. Then it was back to running, sit-ups, push-ups and some Pilates moves to build core strength before stretching.
At the end, Nadine Ahmed, a 15-year-old student from Yemen, was tired but happy. "I was expecting it to be really tough, but I actually found it really entertaining too," she said. Ahmed's brother, a fighter and instructor who trains at TSG, had encouraged her to try the class when she expressed her interest in trying something new and getting fit. "It is a good way to start exercising," she said.
"I was tired but I am OK now. I am going to come again." The social aspect of the class, she said, was as important as the physical element. "I wanted to do something that involved being in a group, something that could make you stronger and empower you. It can also help with self-defence." For those who like the sound of the calorie-burning (Khan claims it is possible to burn as much as 1,000 calories in an MMA class) but are less interested in the pad work, TSG is also in the final stages of agreeing to an MMA boot camp in conjunction with Fitness O2.
It is yet another avenue for women and men to gain the body, but not the bruises, of a fighter. "This whole movement is about promoting the fitness side of MMA and making it accessible to everyone," Khan said. "It is about pure conditioning so you get the workouts that champions and MMA fighters such as myself use to get in shape before a fight." The boot camp is likely to launch while the mixed martial arts champion Royce Gracie is in Dubai for a workshop at the Black Belt Centre on Friday, January 29.
@Email:loatway@thenational.ae For more information, visit www.mmadubai.ae.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Switch%20Foods%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Edward%20Hamod%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Plant-based%20meat%20production%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2034%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%246.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Based%20in%20US%20and%20across%20Middle%20East%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE