BAGUIO CITY – The Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas (SKP) is expected to apply the new rules of kickboxing in its upcoming tournaments it will join and host.
“The new rules will be used in upcoming events of kickboxing. It should have been used in the Juniors World Championship this November but the tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” Bryan Scott Olod, chairperson of ring sports of the SKP, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Friday.
Olod, who founded the Kafagway Mixed Martial Arts based in Benguet said the new rules would be applied in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) to be held in Vietnam late next year where kickboxing is one of the 36 events.
It will also be used in the Asian Indoor Games but then the date has yet to be set by the Olympic Council of Asia which has yet to convene, Olod said.
“Definitely, it will be next year,” said Olod, also a teacher at Sablan (Benguet) National High School.
Last July 12, Olod joined the World Association of Kickboxing Organization (WAKO) International Federation Ring Sports Refereeing Seminar / Webinar along with two other Filipinos including a fellow coach from La Trinidad, Benguet.
Olod, Noriel Acquiso of La Trinidad based, and Roselyn Hung of Cagayan de Oro who is the chairperson of SKP’s Mat Sports of Kickboxing and SKP technical head, were part of the webinar representing the SKP.
They were endorsed by the national sports association’s chairman Senator Francis Tolentino and Secretary General Wharton Chan.
“We discussed updates on WAKO technical rules specifically in ring sports, as well as discussions of WAKO programs during this pandemic,” Olod said.
The webinar, conducted by WAKO president Roy Baker of London, England, was attended by more than 100 technical officials from all over the world.
Olod is the only Filipino licensed as an international technical official for kickboxing and has assisted Northern Luzon Kickboxing Area Governor Mark Sangiao of the famed Team Lakay in training Cordillera athletes.
In the SEAG last year, three Cordillerans won gold – Gina Iniong, Jean Claude Saclag, and Jerry Olsim. Cordillerans also came home with two silver and a bronze medals courtesy of Jomar Balangui, Renz Daquel and Karol Maguide. (PNA)
