Emmanuel NMAI

BACKGROUND

At the age of 4 I began Gymnastics, and at 7 Shaolin Kung Fu. Two years later, I started taekwondo and at 17 I was Black Belt in second Dan.

I am very passionate about combat sports, and that’s why I did military jiu-jitsu training (a combination of judo, karaté and wrestling) while I was in the special force. Meanwhile I learned African Goju, which is a traditional African styled fight reserved at the time for the special force in Ghana and elite groups. This discipline is very similar to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).

I take part in many KUMITE FIGHTS : these are competitions that combine many fighting activities in which numerous fighters are in the same ring. At the end, the last fighter is declared the winner.  I was a legend because of my wins.

In the early 80’s, I worked hard so African goju could become popular all around the world and also to give publicity in the media for Mae Muay Thaï (traditional thaï Kung Fu), which is the ancestor of modern-day thaï boxing. At this time, fights weren’t legal and popular : the fighters’ only reward  came from the love of their sport.

In the late 80’s, I was coached by the famous Lucien Carbin. I fought against the thaï boxing world champion Franck Lobman. Despite the weight difference, we were declared equals at the end of the fight. Then, I won many international titles and created the national federation of thaï boxing in Ghana and in Switzerland (launch of my first centre dedicated to martial arts in Zurich : Kiron Kampfkunst Schule). It led to the recognition of thaï boxing as a sporting activity in Europe.

In the early 90’s, the boxing champion Mousse Moukandjo opened a martial arts centre in Geneva, the « centre d’arts martiaux » (Servette district). He asked me to promote and teach thaï boxing to the public. Afterwards I continued by giving many seminars and training courses in Switzerland to share my experience with many coaches of muay thaï.

In 1994, I took part in and won the first K-1 in Russia the title of IRON GLADIATORS. After all these wonderful experiences, I decided to open the Digital Fight Club (DFC SPORTS) in the early 2000’s. It is situated at Boulevard des Philosophes 12 in Geneva.

I am proud that half of the thaï boxing champions in Switzerland have been trained in my club.