Brunei’s MMA Warriors: Diamonds in the rough

The best from Brunei reigned supreme in two hard-fought wins at ONE Warrior Series 5 on Thursday, at Singapore. The event featured a diverse number of unique and talented athletes across the globe who were given the opportunity to fight under the premier banner of ONE Championship.

This isn’t the first time that Brunei has tasted victory on the growing international stage before, either. Not too long ago, Adib Sulaiman demonstrated Brunei’s technical skills to the world, and it would seem that history would repeat itself once more, this time in the forms of local strawweight Mohamad Norhidayat and lightweight Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez who both won by submissions in the first and second rounds respectively.

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  Mohamad Norhidayat

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  Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez

Norhidayat brought the end to the first round with a smooth transition to a head and arm triangle choke, while Faez found an armbar against his heavy-hitting opponent in the second round of his bout, with both fighters displaying stunning submission skills.

Demetrious Johnson, former 11 time UFC Champion. Photo credit to:
Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

All this was possible thanks to ONE Championship, one of the largest mixed martial arts organisations based in Asia, but open to the world. Notable fighters including world’s most feared muay thai fighter test their fists in ONE, along with a pound-for-pound former UFC Champion who was considered to be the greatest of all time.

A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class at Khalifa MMA

It’s safe to say that if one of Brunei’s own made their way onto the already stacked stable of absolute greats, the little country would forever cement itself within the minds of the world as not only being an ‘Abode of Peace’ but also an ‘Abode of Peace & Potential’.

So what’s next? Only time will tell. Small steps first. It isn’t just MMA that’s growing, but also kickboxing and boxing bouts that have provided local fighters with opportunities and experience that have proven invaluable in the development of fighters as hopeful symbols of Brunei’s progress as a budding nation.

Brunei has always been responsible for nurturing potential fighters, and the fruits of these efforts are finally beginning to command attention. Whether on the local or the world stage, the following statement should be taken note of: Brunei breeds brawlers.

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Kindness Day: PRR Letter Boards?

A time honored tradition of appreciation or the steps of social status? Held on the ninth to the eleventh of April, kindness day once more made it possible for students throughout PTEM to express themselves to one another in various forms, ranging from care packages, roses and… letters to the PPR?

This wonder of penmanship is sometimes argued by some that the system of letters itself is hardly useful. Opening an envelope may sometimes be nerve wracking, especially in this aspect, where the amount you receive may just define others’ opinion on you, never mind the quality of content itself. Peer pressure of such caliber may also result in the tedious construction of strained or simple missves, devoid of actual emotion. A lot can be judged based on a person’s letter to you, but whether it be good or bad, shouldn’t the freedom writing heartfelt letters be for everyone?

This question raises the fact that this practice should be not just be confined to the student body and peer counselors, but shared to all members of PTEM as well! The time for change should be now, where freedom to care should be shared. Caring is sharing! The suggestion of an old-school postal service sounds inciting, with missives being sent and received through a mailbox that could are then redirected out to the students, where thoughts and care are received without any obvious indication of who got more or less, which may feel more personal and heartfelt, leaving no one out!

Here’s a crazy idea: A permanent postal service! Or better yet, just hand the letters personally! After all, what’s Kindness Day as an event? It’s a theme that should be appreciated every day! Given Kindness Day’s recent end, this article may just be a little too late to raise questions of change, yet you could still do something out of the kindness of you own heart!

In the spirit of letters, go write a note to someone and let them know that they’re not just appreciated for one event, but for their whole existence of being a friend!

Sports: Found your fire yet?

Given the current ongoing holidays, you may very well be spending a huge chunk of your time catching up with your favorite sports on your preferred device. Football, basketball, boxing… Whether it’s watching a late night match projected on a screen at a restaurant, or huddled around a television set at home, we can’t help but fixate our attention on the thrilling action being displayed on our screens.

Yet, even with sports acting as our loyal slice of entertainment, the question would always beg to ask; How much more of an impact could it be to our lives than just entertainment? I’m not talking about cliche health benefits, either. I’m talking about fighting depression, finding passion and living life. I’m talking about giving yourself another reason smile.

Let’s stick to the basics, for example running! Imagine yourself, out there on the track or road, where there isn’t any drama or social demand, save for the next breath you take, the next step you take, the strength to keep moving, where the only benefits you gain are for you and yourself and the only limits and expectations you have are for the betterment of yourself.

After a while, you decidedly kind of like running. The fire starts to flicker in your heart, so you take up another sport. Even through failure you find the strength to keep pushing, the fire burns brighter than ever, and so begins the journey. Not as an athlete, but as a human being who had just found one more reason to take another breath.

If you’re reading this right now, I challenge you. Change your shoes, get out that door. Stop texting, and get out the door right now. Don’t waste any time, don’t do it tomorrow. Put yourself in another life for a minute. Start small and see where you go. Stop reading, just go!

Adib Sulaiman vs Rungrot Posi LIVE Play-by-Play (ONE Championship: ONE Warrior Series 4)

SINGAPORE – EQUINOX Editor-In-Chief Wira.G gives you the LIVE play-by-of the heart of Brunei Darussalam’s MMA pride, Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman as he goes head to head against his opponent, Rungrot Posi from Thailand in the Strawweight division on the 28th of February 2019 in the 6th bout of former champion and MMA legend Rich Franklin’s Warrior Series under the banner of Asia’s most renowned and prestigious proving grounds: ONE Championship.

 

ROUND 1: As the bell sounds off for the first round, we see Brunei’s Adib “Deep” Sulaiman and Thailand’s Rungrot Posi coming out tentatively with Orthodox and Southpaw stances respectively, with both fighters attempting to establish the range and pace of the fight, with Posi advancing forward with leg kicks and snapping front kicks, Sulaiman is calmly able to counter with a straight right. Inching forward in a linear fashion with an open stance while pawing out the jab, (as tradition for most fighters from Thailand), we see Sulaiman’s response being composed, stepping in and out of range while occasionally using angles to avoid being propped up against the ropes. The rest of the round consisted of Posi attempting to assert himself by occupying the center of the ring as a base to begin swinging for the fences with combinations often set up with a right hook or a left uppercut feint. Sulaiman continues to confidently stay out of range and throw occasional strikes which are set up off of Posi’s strikes. A break from the flurry of strikes came up as both fighters meet once more in the center of the ring.

Like lightning, Posi catches Sulaiman with an overhand left that pushes him back against the ropes,

swarming him with strikes and head kicks

as the bell brings an end to the round soon after.

Wira’s Scorecard: 10-9 in favor of Rungrot Posi.

ROUND 2: With the confidence gained in the first round, Posi once more attempts to set the pace, but is stopped by a solid right body kick followed up by a step in left hook by Sulaiman. Posi’s began to start swinging in response, triggering Sulaiman to nimbly step out of range again as the pace dies down once more. Not long after, the fight gets shifted into second gear, a brawl breaks out, with Sulaiman firing a straight right, Posi firing back in the form of a counter by Posi, while in the midst of all this, Sulaiman clips Posi with an accurate overhand right

followed by a left hook cross, but is countered with pinpoint accuracy by Posi’s left that targets an opening that Sulaiman left following his combination. Covering up, Posi once more charges forward, mixing up punches in bunches that pressure Sulaiman all the way to the other side of the ring, as Posi, a Judo practitioner in his own right, executes the first takedown of the fight, slamming Sulaiman

face-first into the mat, hunting for a head and arm choke. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt himself, Sulaiman defends well against the choke, getting back to his feet while forcing Posi into a corner, finishing a double leg takedown and passing into a half guard mount. The summarized result was Sulaiman laying down powerful ground and pound shots

and an Americana submission attempt before Posi rebounded from the bottom, attempting a neck crank, after failing to secure his arm fully under the chin.

in the last ten seconds of the round.

Wira’s scorecard: 10-10, a fairly even round.

ROUND 3: As the final round of the match sounds off, both men touch gloves and hug each other out of respect and sportsmanship before the war begins.

Sulaiman seems to be biding his time, calm and composed as usual. On the other hand, a seemingly worn-out Posi wings off an uppercut hook duo, followed by Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman’s answer,  lunging forward with a swarm of punches that started off with a left cross, a few left overhands and right hooks that beat Posi from the center of the ring to the corner post. In his attempt to escape, Thailand’s Rungrot Posi gets thrown to the mat by Brunei’s Adib Sulaiman who flattens out Posi with hooks, posturing up and raining down merciless bombs

that finally finishes Posi, with the referee stepping in to put an end to the fight within seconds of the third round. Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman roars with a burning passion at the glory of the hard fought victory, kneeling to pay respects to his opponent

and embrace him in the same ring he had emerged from the battle, victorious, with the Brunei flag wrapped proudly around him.

 

Result: Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman, from Brunei gets the TKO stoppage in the 3^rd round.

Assessments & AS Levels, folks!

Ladies & gentleseniors, the time for action is nearly upon us, with assessments and AS levels just around the corner and some of them LITERALLY TOMORROW, I repeat to you:

The TIME. HAS. COME– for last minute revision, unimaginable stress and nervous laughs, am I right? I am confident in saying that the same goes for the life of the average student here in PTEM and possibly the REST OF THE WORLD.

Not to worry, you’re not the first, and you shan’t be the last to face such trials and tribulations in these desperate times. Countless assignments? School and family responsibilities? Can’t find anyone with a foolscap paper? We’ve all been there, yet it’s through such pressures in our time that has made veterans of the students mind in the two year war against A Levels.

For those of you who find despair at the thought of failing in the first round of assessments, fear not! It’s not too late to get up again each time after we fall. With less than two months to go, the next contender approaches. For most, their first fight in tackling AS levels, for some, a chance at redemption, but a step forward for all.

The clock is ticking, and the nasi katok grains of time are falling through the hourglass onto the plate of A Levels. Will you have nothing but plain grains to show for your efforts? Or will the end be flavoured with the sambal of dedication and hard work you’ve added with your grains of time?

The choice lies with you.