MAP-NEG. OCC. SENDS MUAY PLAYER TO POF By: James U. Sy Jr.

Muay Association of the Philippines-Negros Occidental Chapter (MAP-Neg. Occ.) will be sending a lone entry to the Muay Thai Competition of the Philippine Olympic Festival (POF) All Visayas Qualifying Games scheduled for July 23-27, 2008 in Dumaguete City .

The Philippine Integrated Martial Arts Academy-Filipino Tang Soo Do Association (PIMAA-FTSDA), Inc., a Founding Member of MAP-Neg. Occ., will be sending Reynold Baylon to represent Bacolod and Negros Occidental in the Thai Kickboxing tournament.

Accompanying Baylon will be PIMAA-FTSDA Founder/Preesident Grandmaster Elmer V. Montoyo and his son, Master Grandmaster Elmer “Don-Don” P. Montoyo Jr.

GM Montoyo, the Muay Thai representative of the now inactive Bacolod City Sports Council (BCSC), had approached the city and provincial governments for support of the local Muay Thai delegation but he laments the lack of support to this wonderful sport.

“MAP-Neg. Occ. had to use out of the pocket funding and solicitations from generous private patrons just to be able to send a skeleton team to the POF. Muay Thai may be new to some but there is already a Bacoleño world champion in Muay Thai, Vince Soberano. I believe it is a sport where Negrosanons can excel in.” A few member organizations of the Intercontinental Federation of Filipino Martial Arts Schools (IFFMAS), to which GM Montoyo serves a president, also provided some financial support for the team.

It would be Baylon’s first outing in Muay Thai. He is trained by Master Don-Don, who teaches Filipino Tang Soo Do at the PIMAA-FTSDA Gym at the Bacolod YMCA and Muay Thai at Mega Boxing Gym in Lacson St . Baylon won in a Sipa Sumbag match during the 1st Brgy. Taloc Martial Arts Showdown last April 20, 2007 in Bago City ,

MAP Visayas and Region 7 Head Kru Ike Xavier S. Villaflores of Dumaguete City introduced Muay Thai as taught by the Muay Association of the Philippines (MAP) during the 1st MAP Negros Occidental Muay Boran Instructors Course on Jun 18-19, 2005 at the Group K Complex, Bacolod City .