Spotlight: Fauziah Ibrahim

It has been said that it is not the size of the fighter that counts, but the size of the fight in the fighter that counts. If you happened to pass by Fauziah on the street, you probably would not be the least bit intimidated by her. This is partly due to her warm personality and pleasant disposition. Secondly, she barely measures five feet in height and is as light as a feather. Generally those aren’t characteristics that match the profile of a hard-hitting kick boxer. So what makes Fauziah an exception to the rule; it’s her attitude.

Fauziah may be small in stature, but she has a giant-size work ethic. Her ‘can do attitude’ is a trainer’s dream. One of the characteristics of a good self-defense practitioner is the ability to weather adversity. She has proven to be as tough as steel. During practice she has thrown a number of misplaced kicks or punches on the heavy bag and jammed either her toes or knuckles, ouch. But I have never once heard her complain, or worst yet seen her quit the drill.

Fauziah’s hard work, attention to direction and tenacity motivates me to be a better instructor, and that’s why she has earned my respect and note worthy mention_ these are feelings toward people that I don’t part with very easily.

Flash Back

I was recently taken back to my childhood, when the captain of the plane I was flying on invited me and my travel mates to visit the cockpit and chat a bit. The last time this happened I was 6 years old flying United Airlines to California from Philadelphia to spend my summer vacation with my father. I remember that trip well, because it was the first time I had flown on a plane, in addition to making the trip solo. The world was a different place then. Clearly my mother was not concerned about her only child being snatched and kidnapped, and neither was I.

I wore a matching studded blue-jean jacket and pants outfit that I especially picked out for the occasion. My mother took the precaution of pinning a name tag with my details on the front of the jacket.It reminded me of the big name tags the contestants would wear on the game show ‘The Price is Right’ with Bob Barker. I also remember the flight crew making a V.I.P. fuss over me during the entire trip. Until this day it remains the best trip I’ve ever taken, because of all the excitement and fun I had flying the friendly skies for the first time.

What a difference 3 weeks makes, which is the approximate time I took the second photo prior to Level Up Fitness commencing its grand opening on 30 October, 2009. At that point in time renovations were a month behind schedule and completing the task before the month's end looked quite dubious. Dust, tools and building materials were scattered throughout the ground level and first floor of the facility. This scene also included the challenge of delivering and assembling fitness equipment while construction workers were frantically racing against time to build the club.

But Level Up Fitness proved to be 'the little engine that could'. Kenny Sia, the club's owner, and supporting cast managed to pull a hat trick out of the playbook to close out the month in grand style. This is proof that you can't cause where you start, but you can certainly affect where you end up.

Then & Now:

According to Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, "Malaysian patients who had severe heart attacks were far younger, with an average age of 56 compared with people from developed countries in the West, where the average age was 65".

Reported by The Star Online_Heart diseases and diseases of the pulmonary circulation were the top killers in government hospitals last year and accounted for up to 16.54%of the 45,936 deaths in Malaysia. That's the bad news. The good news is that Malaysians can reverse this trend by making sensible dietary decisions combined with participating in regular-bouts of physical activity.

Q: What really causes heart attacks?

A: Published (Answer (Published 4/25/2005) by Andrew Weil, M.D.

Researchers from Canada's McMaster University released at a 2004 meeting of the European Society of Cardiology study results that suggest risk factors contributing to cardiorespiratory dysfunction such as: smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and others including diabetes, stress, abdominal obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, eating too few fruits and vegetables account for 90% of heart attacks. This is significant news, because previously these risk factors were only thought to be 50% the cause of heart attacks, with the other half being unexplainable. Consequently, this means most heart attacks could be prevented.

The study included almost 30,000 people from 52 countries - and for the first time included a cross section of the world's population - blacks, whites, Asians, Africans, Americans - not just white men. Half of the participants had had heart attacks and half were healthy. All were of similar age and gender and from the same region.

The researchers, from Canada's McMaster University, followed their participants for a decade and found that no matter where you live, no matter your race, sex or age, the risk factors for heart attacks are the same. Here are some of the highlights:

* The higher the ratio of particles called apoproteins that carry LDL ("bad") cholesterol to apoproteins that carry HDL ("good") cholesterol, the higher your risk of heart attack.

* Smoking ranked second among the risk factors. The researchers found that the risk rises with one cigarette; increases by 40 percent if you smoke one to five cigarettes a day; is four times higher than normal if you smoke a pack a day and nine times higher than normal if you smoke two or more packs a day.

* Psychological stress doubled the risk of heart attack and is a greater threat when it is continuous either at home or at work. This was the most surprising finding - researchers didn't expect stress to rank as high as it did among the risk factors.

* Poor intake of fruits and vegetables came next, followed by lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle.

* Drinking alcohol (in moderation) appears to lower the risk, as previous studies have also shown.


(Results were published in the September 11, 2004 issue of The Lancet).

Pete McCall, MS, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, creating and delivering fitness education programs to uphold ACE’s mission of enriching quality of life through safe and effective exercise and physical activity. He has a Masters in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from California University of Pennsylvania and is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer. Pete holds additional certifications and advanced specializations through the NSCA (CSCS), and NASM (CPT, IFS, and PES) and serves on the content review committee for PT on the Net.


“Fitness is about training to have the strength and energy to do what you want to do when you want to do it.”


Pete and his more talented wife, Monica, are very good friends of mine from Washington D.C. We all started in the fitness industry around the same time at the Dupont_Washington Sports Club. Pete will be presenting at the Asia Fitness Convention in Bangkok being held from the 27 - 29 November 2009. Quite frankly, Pete is one of the best professionals I know to discuss the technical details of sports science with.


If you are an inspiring fitness ambassador or just a workout junky, this is a great opportunity get some direction from some of the best heavy-weights in the fitness business. Malaysia is not over-whelmed with opportunities like this one, so I strongly encourage those that are interested in fitness to take advantage of the moment.


Here is the link for more details:
http://www.getfitasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en

What's Up in Kuching?

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to the east side of Malaysia for the first time to conduct a fitness management training course for the newly appointed department heads at the Level Up Fitness Center in Kuching. The Level Up Fitness team is lead by Kenny Sia (executive director/club owner), Shirley Rati Supit (operational executive), Cherlyn Leong (fitness centre manager), Syamsol Ana (fitness manager), and Druz Shahnarul Sait (sales and marketing executive). This facility boasts all new state-of-the-art fitness equipment mostly manufactured by Cybex and Life Fitness. The ground floor serves as the entry way and also houses the center’s reception area, juice bar, and strength training equipment. On the first floor members can sweat in style viewing programming on flat screen monitors while exercising on all new treadmills, steppers, arc trainers, or upright and recumbent bikes. This level is also where the locker rooms are located. Those that like to 'move it' in group exercise classes can take advantage of the Les Mills choreographed classes that will be offered in the center’s aerobic room located on the second floor_ with a nice view overlooking the city center.

Level Up Fitness Center is unique in that it is the only club of its kind in Kuching that offers 1-year contract memberships for both individuals and corporate, as well as being the first fitness center to offer Les Mills classes. The club’s owner, Kenny Sia, is positioning the club to fill a void in the Kuching community, which he believes is providing a high standard reasonable cost fitness center. Having met and spoken to Kenny, I can say for sure that he is sincerely committed to delivering on his promise.

The club is scheduled for its grand opening on 30 November, 2009. For updates and information visit the following website: http://www.levelupfitness.com/.

Shadow Boxing

Shadow boxing is the practice of moving and punching against an imaginary opponent. It is a practical and useful technique for developing coordination, footwork, timing, good punching form and stamina.

Shadow boxing can be performed either at the beginning of a boxing routine as a warm-up, or near the conclusion as a cool-down. Either way one can use the opportunity to reinforce boxing skills they are trying to develop and perfect.


One of the keys to shadowing boxing is to remain relaxed and agile. Rigid movement is cumbersome and causes fatigue prematurely. Also, there is no need to punch at full throttle. The focus should be on execution and form. Save the smash-and-bash for mitt and bag work.

Beginner practitioners should concentrate on the basics:

• Jabbing, followed by jab-cross combinations.
• Vertical movement (step-touch or step-drag forward and backwards).
• Horizontal movement (step-touch or step-drag right and left).
• Keep the back heel off the floor, so that you can move quickly and easily.
• Don't ball the fist up too tight or hunch-up the shoulders.
• Throw punches loose like a whip.
• Look to move the head and body after completing a single punch or punch combination to practice avoiding counter punches. You should imagine that your would be foe is throwing punches back at you.

Left click to view video demonstration