 It is the touchline here on Y254, I'm Robert Osore, we are just joining us, we are enjoying all the best, we can give you when it comes to the world of sports champions league, Europa League and now we are changing shift to talk about kickboxing here in Kenya. Joining me to discuss matters kickboxing is Takid Master, who is also the Kenya kickboxing federation secretary and coach. Takid, Karibu touchline, how are you doing? Fine, thank you bro. It's been a long time since we saw each other, have you been faring on? I've been faring on well, everything about the preparation for the tournaments. And in fact I'm the Kenya kickboxing federation competition secretary, not secretary. Because secretary is like secretary general, some the competition secretary. Secretary general is Mr. Willing Anga. That's a good correction there, Kenya kickboxing federation competition secretary. Major event coming up I think about 2022 will be the Chairman's Cup that will be happening in Nairobi. Tell us about the event. Okay, the Chairman's Cup is all about us dedicating ourselves to the Kenya kickboxing federation president, who is Professor Iraki Kange. We always have this championship every year once. So I decided to organize it this year on the 22nd of this month of October. Then it will be held at Palpal Pumwani Social Hall, which is next to Majengo area for people who don't know the area. So the championship will involve a lot of teams from different places, which is from Kisomo, Mombasa, Nairobi area, which will be having different kinds of teams. But I think I'll mention the teams once you ask me about the teams and how things will be. No problem, that's good for you. So let's go ahead and talk about it will be happening in Pumwani, which day will it be happening? It will be on the 22nd. That's next week, part one Saturday. So talk about the teams that will be coming in. I understand you've got KDF team, you've got private, you've got corporate. So which teams are coming in? We have Techids Kickboxing, we have KDF Kickboxing, we have Hardcore, which is from Kayole, we have Scorpion from Rwai, we have Rwai Club itself. Then we'll be having Nakuru, Menengai, and then Kisomo. We'll also be having one from Naivasha, then we'll be having some from The Coast. So it will be a day of full activity for kickboxing in the nation. That's a big team that will be coming away here in Nairobi for that event. Just giving us a brief history of kickboxing and how these teams come up. It's like there's a huge following in Kenya when we talk about kickboxing. I don't know. When we talk about kickboxing in Kenya. Because you have Namten from Naivasha, Nakuru, Mombasa, all the way coming into this event in Pumwani for the Chairman's Cup. Give us a brief history of kickboxing in Kenya. Is it a big tournament in Kenya? Is it a big sport in Kenya? Okay, to me I would say as a kickboxer myself on the other coach. I would say it's gaining momentum. Now it's a big sports in Kenya also. Because we always rely just on athletics, football, rugby, such things. Those are the well-known sports in this nation. And now we are trying to push on so that different kinds of martial arts sports, combat sports are well known. And that's why whenever I talk about martial arts I always talk about kickboxing, taekwondo karate, all such martial arts sports. So with kickboxing I've tried to push it for sure as the competition secretary does my duty to do. And you guys from the media have also been with me to push it. Without media there's no way you can be marketing all these kinds of sports for sure. The popularity of any kind of sports or art depends also on the media. And also we as the coaches and the players ourselves to push it so that we can also get any help from, or let me say any assistance from different kind of stakeholders, the government. And let me say any international body. Well that's a big one for you and I understand also you had a competition that was happening in South Africa. Did you manage to attend it or what happened to that competition? Okay we were to attend to the competition because we were already having our national team in order. Because we had already selected the best which we had 12 men categories and 8 ladies. We were camping at the KDF center, the Kawa Garison which we were provided by the government to at least accommodate us as the national team for kickboxing. But now the problem was all about the election period that we had in this country because it was supposed to be on the 26th to 28th of last month. It was not September, it was August. So we didn't go because it was Africa Championship. It was a very important international assignment that we would have gone as a country to participate because after that tournament the people would have qualified from different countries, so we presented the African continent to the World Combat Sports which will happen later. But now you see we as Kenyan team we can't be there because we didn't participate in it. But now we hope that in the upcoming different international assignments we will make as a team. Because we have good guys, we have good fighters who are ready to represent our country. So the question will be, are you affiliated to the National Olympic Committee of Kenya because they could have helped you sort out such a problem? Kikboxing has never been in Olympics. It's just now that we are in Olympics. This is the first time. By 2024 it will be the first time in Tokyo. I think it might be in Tokyo because we are still waiting for the communication from the world body, WAKO which is our world body as kickboxing federation in the country. So we are waiting for the way forward and then we will go meet the knock officials to know how we can be accommodated in the knock. That's a big one for kickboxing there. It's a big competition that will be coming on the 22nd of October. The Chairman's Cup that will be happening at Pumwani Sochiw Hall. It is the touch then here on Y254, I'm Robert Osor and we are hanging out with the Taqid Master who is actually the Kenyaki Boxing Federation Competitions Secretary and also a coach here in the country. You were talking about the election in the country and everything that has been happening and a big question that will be asked will be, new government has come in, new nominee for sports has been named to be the CS of sports. That's Ababuna Muamba. What are your thoughts about Ababuna Muamba becoming the CS for sports? In fact, before even our president nominated all these guys to their positions, I asked the president because last time I was in another interview, I talked about it that the only thing that we Kenyan youth or let me say sports fraternity would ask from him would be to give us the best sports years ever because that has been the problem. I think in this country they don't value sports a lot for sure and I always talk about it, I always say that it's not only about kickboxing it's all about every kinds of sports because even if you look at athletics we do say that athletes are being well taken care of. No, it's only that what they get from their participation internationally is always good pocket wise. So if you see them you feel like they've been supported. The government should come on board and support us. So I think according to my feeling as a coach and also as a sportsman in this country for long I do feel like Ababuna Muamba would make a big change and according to me for sure I have a trust and I would urge the president just to stick there for sure and we give him time for sure to see how things will be and then again as having a youthful president and also the CSU youthful I'm sure that things will change in this country for us because they did say that we are all hustlers even we sportsmen now so we are making sure that that narrative of being hustlers and hardworking youth for this nation will bring something productive in future and for that we are looking to see whether they will support us well in sports and different kinds of activities that the youth are participating in. The question will be if we narrow it down to this kickboxing not being a major sport in Kenya because people don't know about it but you look at it, these are some of the sports that make Kenya proud to move on to individual sports we look at athletics, boxing and all that for kickboxing what would you like the CSU to push for you if it gets to be in the docket of sports? The only thing I would like is to provide us with different kinds of equipment for our training then with the training centers and another thing also if we have an assignment whether it's locally or maybe internationally they should come on board and support us because you see with the government we are always being supported in mostly let me say three major, four major championships we always have the Olympics we always have all african games, Commonwealth and world championship but the other ones that maybe we have internationally or these other ones they don't really chip in in supporting us so if they would come in and support us in all these assignments I think Kenya would be the best in kickboxing even internationally because that's the only problem that we do have and it's not only in kickboxing even recently I checked in and I found that even for boxers some of them have the same problem I think these sports are being taken as it's like they are not important for the nation for sure but there are that one will be a big inclusion for you when you are coming for that but from the past as the government ever supported kickboxing or this will be the first time you are requesting for that support the government has ever supported kickboxing like 2007 we went for all african games in Aljas, Algeria where Kenya brought in two bronze medals from Jarredo Nyango and Isaac Kibbe Kamao Championship which was the bronze and two guys Isaac Kamao Kibbe and Jarredo Nyango also brought in silver so the government has been supporting us let me say that but we as the federation and coaches we also go from the grass roots to at least make sure that these things start from primary schools, secondary schools to the campus level because that's how every sports every kind of sports in any country develops if I'm getting you well now you're talking about the growth of the sports how you are supposed to grow the sport from the federation perspective what is your plan on how you can grow the sport that it can be known all over Kenya now ok, from our side or as the competition center for the federation I've been pushing it it's already on board that's what I've been doing I've been going through different schools primary schools and high schools and also to different universities to see that at least they involve kickboxing in their ASAs after school activities which really brings in more talent out from the youth but now what I would say to these institutions or the administrations they shouldn't take kickboxing as a lethal sport or let me say as a very dangerous combat sport we have rules that govern every kind of tournament when it comes to all those tournaments in the ring and that's why we have referees who always take care of you in case of any injury and we also have a coach who helps you on what to use and what not to use as the rules and that's why to know that kickboxing is now safe you can't be in Olympics if your sport is that rough sport or without any discipline so kickboxing is just the same as Taekwondo, Karate the same they use it in different kinds of schools and even Judo that's how even kickboxing should be accommodated and that's why we are now planning to have a coaching seminar to have more coaches in different places different counties because you know the worst thing with most of sports in this country is that we always centralize everything in Nairobi as the capital city but now we should move and we should get out our roots to different counties we go to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, everywhere and that would really accommodate as well and bring in any productive and positive results for this kind of sports in the future Talk about Nairobi being the central place for some of these major sports like kickboxing I understand it's actually in Nairobi but when we are talking about the teams coming for the Chairman's Cup we are talking about Naivasha we are talking about Nakuru we are talking about Mombasa those are some of the teams that will be represented at the Chairman's Cup in those places is it also growing has it grown to a level where you enjoy going there and putting competitions in those counties Yeah it's growing it's already grown let me say mostly in Mombasa it's getting bigger there because after this tournament we should be having another tournament that should be on the 26th of November that's National League which I haven't confirmed the locations and how it will be done because I'm still concentrating on this Chairman's Cup you not to concentrate on anything or to give any clear outcome of any kind of arrangement you must have stakeholders who are also willing to support you but we haven't caught anything that shows it all so after that we'll be having the Kenya Open Championship which should be staged in Mombasa and that will be on the 17th of December so that shows that kickboxing is growing in every kind of county but I'm sure if it wasn't about COVID-19 we'd have been far for now and the growth would have been really amazing but I'm sure that by next year things will be a big change let me say Well COVID-19 really brought a bad effect in the country but some of the games we understand even boxing their calendar is actually starting and they'll be traversing all the counties kickboxing is here you're going to Mombasa it's in Nairobi, Eldoraj and all that so your league is not a weekend week out competition it goes when you plan for the event Yeah according to the station now we go there as we are provided we plan for the event Finally government is there to support and everything but the major thing when it comes to sports is also the private sector that is supposed to come in to help out in the world of sports what is your engagement like and how would you like to engage with the private sector to come and support kickboxing For any private sector let me say sector to come and support any kind of activity number one thing you must also show any goodies that you've been bringing in after any support that will be given whether it's from the government or any private sector you see so right now because we've been working hard and having different kind of tournaments which are for example this Chama Scarp the Kostwan, the National League all these things after any private sector this is what we've been doing and the results then I'm sure that it's easy for us to go and face them the officers then talk to them then I'm sure that for that most stakeholders will come on board and support us because I'm sure that everyone whatever you do you always want to see results of what you've been supported to do because even right now if the government would support us we go for any international championship let me say like one or two then we come without any goodies for sure there will be no moral or motivation for the government supporters so we are willing that our players let me say our fighters will be training hard they'll be sharp and well to represent the country or any kind of whether locally or international tournament then from that it's easy for any kind of private sectors to come and support us well that's a big one for us there but let's recap the Chairman's Cup you said will be happening at the Pumwani social hall and that's in Majango that's in Majango area next to Majango Mosque so it's just next to the Dio's place that's where Palpal for people who know about boxing for long there's a nickname known as Palpal but it's officially known as Pumwani social hall that's where we'll take the Chairman's Cup on the 22nd that will be next week but one Saturday when the teams will be are there levels of competition that will be happening at the event we'll be having juniors also then we'll be having female fighters we'll be having male fighters but there'll be different weight categories also so whether you are from the national team this now will be on a club level because all the winners will get number one trophy for club two trophy for club and three trophy for club and three medals for number one, two and three individuals and certificates well that's a big one for us that will be coming and we'll be sending someone there to cover for us and what about the how do you call it the categories full compact, full body how do you call it we'll be having the full contract and low kick that's what you are trying to ask full contact is American type and the low kick mostly relies on Thailand that's Muay Thai but now as per the rules and what happened also in South Africa during this African championship we allow the low kickers to also come and participate the only thing they won't use is the elbow and the knee but low kick will be allowed and that will be a point too actually what was on my mind was also of the players who represent Kenya in kickboxing how do you come out for that selection we'll come out with that after going through our profile the tournaments that we've been having all of this year then that's where we'll select the national team which we had already selected the one that was to represent the country in South Africa for African Championship but now again we have to go back again on board then take care of it so after this chairman's cup get the profile with us as the federation then again after Kenya Open then national league from there is when we will have the national team for next year that will represent the country in the different categories well look at that camera and tell fans to come to Pumwani social hall to enjoy that event on the 22nd of October okay can I tell them that just in Kisahili maybe you are the up one okay ma fans Kisahili Nambili Uumwezi Tukutane Palepal Apu Eriyama Djengu Kalibuna Mosk Tutakwa na Kenya Kikboxing Federation Chiyama Skap Championship Itanza, Kutakasane, Mpaka Ishe Na fight ita kwanzuri Na ukweza kujana rafikiya kopia Namutu support Namoneville Fadali Kujeni Nifri Itakwa Fri Entrens Nifri Entrens will be free for that event that has been Takid Master is actually the Kenya kickboxing federation competition secretary and also a coach of kickboxing here in Kenya I'm Robert Osoro that's where we come to the end of this interview let's go for a short commercial break enjoy some Europa League highlights when we come back we'll be all about the funds on with Erika Ganya and Ken Andrews we wanna know what is your plan for the world cup and also is Ellen Harland the unstoppable robot that has stepped onto the Premier League and also you have got an interview about beach volleyball here in Kenya don't go too away just stay with the touchline here on Y254