The Malaysian Insight

SALIMI Nayan fears the youth in his village, Kg Felda Teloi Timur in Sik, Kedah, will throw away their future by getting involved in activities like peddling drugs.

The 44-year-old, wanting to help these youngsters, decided to use his knowledge on self-defence towards that end.

Skilled in silat and tomoi, or better known as Muay Thai, Salimi started the Muay Thai King Cobra Club in his village, providing the youth with an activity that encourages healthy habits.

“My main intention is to ensure the youth in Felda Teloi are not involved in negative activities, such as taking drugs, stealing and being mat rempit.

“To become a member, they must stay away from such activities. I provide them with martial arts training, and I motivate them,” he told The Malaysian Insight recently.

He said before the club was formed, the village youth were involved in social ills.

Training demands that students possess strong discipline, he said, adding that each of them must be fully committed to kicking negative habits, including those prohibited in Islam.

“Our training is conducted at night. I start after Maghrib prayers. I ask them for their total commitment before I start.

“When they are occupied with training at night, they have no time to loaf about and roam around on their motorcycles.

“They start building discipline to become motivated martial arts exponents.”

Salimi has about 50 students, with some having participated in events at the state and national levels.

He said the parents of these trainees are kept informed of their activities so that they know their children’s progress.

On Muay Thai, he said this form of martial arts gives practitioners inner strength, which helps “protect” them.

“Tomoi training builds inner strength. It also teaches them to take care of their diet, and helps them build stamina.

“Without stamina, they won’t have mental strength and will fail to master tomoi techniques.”

He said he charges students low fees – RM21.25 for three-month beginner classes, and a one-off payment of RM15.25 for advanced classes.

“The 25 sen is included as according to Malay tradition, it’s payment for the master. So, it’s 5 sen for each of the five techniques.”

Training and sparring sessions are held on spacious grounds, but only 40% of the necessary equipment is available. The equipment, provided by the Kedah government two years ago, helped Salimi grow the club.

He admitted that financing is a major problem, especially when it comes to taking students to tournaments.

“I use my own money to pay for these tournaments. Usually, we’d pay about RM300 to RM400 per exponent.”

He said attempts to get grants from government agencies, as well as national and regional Muay Thai associations, have failed.

“You need to know someone before they give you funding.”

However, Salimi’s students are not put off by the club’s shortcomings.

Muhammad Rafie Iskandar, 16, harbours dreams of representing the country.

“I have been training since I was 11. We train hard and are always motivated by our coaches and fellow trainees.

“Since we are busy training, we have no urges to be involved in negative activities.” – December 25, 2018.