Every Sunday, the fields opposite the 46 Brigade Army Base
in Kensington, Johannesburg are transformed into a community fitness boot camp.
Hosted by 46 KSCA (Kensington Spots Club and Academy), Fighting Fit Kensington is
a complete workout divided into fifteen 1 minute exercises. The community
workout takes place every Sunday from 10-11am and is free to the public. This
is a great initiative for the Kensington community, both physically and
socially.
El Grande – Ultimate Power Challenge
The El Grande Tyre
Once a month, Fighting Fit Kensington’s traditional workout
is extended and athletes are able to test themselves against the mammoth El
Grande Tyre. The El Grande Tyre weighs 700kg and the challenge is to push the
tyre over an 80m course in the fastest possible time. The top 3 athletes from
each monthly event qualify for an annual final and a chance to win prizes up to
the value of R10,000.
EFC at El Grande
The El Grande events are frequented by some of the EFC’s top fighters and a great energy surrounds the event. EFC Africa fighter Wade Henderson was at the El Grande event on Sunday, no doubt training for EFC 13: Henderson vs James Le Roux
EFC's Wade Henderson tackles the El Grande Challenge
The EFC also uses the event to present theirMMA title holderswith official championship rings. This also gives the public a chance to interact with their favourite champions, take pictures or get autographs signed.
EFC Championship Ring
Jeremy Smith at El Grande
The latest El Grande event, held on March 25th 2012, was attended by EFC Africa Middleweight Champion Jeremy “Pitbull” Smith, who was presented with the championship ring that he earned at EFC Africa 12.
Jeremy Pitbull Smith presented with his EFC Ring
Dirk Steenekamp, Jeremy Smith, Cairo Howarth and Pietro Cignoli in front of the El Grande Tyre
Jeremy Smith takes photographs with fans at El Grande
With just 72 hours to go until EFC Africa 12, things are definitely heating up. Today the EFC announced a schedule of mainstream mass media appearances for the coming days, with the focus squarely on the headline fight between Garreth McLellan and Jeremy Smith. Be sure not to miss these publicity events to keep in the loop of what is happening in the fighters camps leading up to fight night.
EFC 12 TV Publicity Schedule eTV (e News channel 403) 28 February 2012 - 19:30
eTV will feature a segment on EFC AFRICA President Cairo
Howarth and EFC 12 Middleweight challenger Jeremy Smith
Top Billing (SABC 3) 28 February 2012 - 20:00
South Africa's favourite magazine show will feature a segment on Garreth McLellan as he prepares to defend his EFC Africa Middleweight title.
eTV 29 February 2012 - 07:00
Wake up to EFC AFRICA President Cairo Howarth and Garreth McLellan featured on eTV's sunrise at 7 program.
EFC 12 Radio Publicity Schedule UJfm 95.4 28 February 2012- 18:30
Middleweight champion Garreth "Soldierboy" McLellan and challenger Jeremy "Pitbull" Smith will both be featured on UJfm ahead of their EFC 12 clash.
I recently stumbled upon “Cage Men”, a 3 part no-holds-barred
documentary on South Africa's exploding cage-fighting scene. Created by Speller
Macleod productions and The Unleashed, this series briefly looks at South
African MMA from a host of different perspectives, educating the audience about
MMA in SA and allowing us to formulate our own, more informed, opinion on one
of the fastest growing sports in both South Africa and the world.
Although just shy of twenty minutes across all 3
episodes, Cage Men, covers some of the following controversial topics:
Why are fans and fighters so passionate about the sport
Are MMA fighters athletes or savages
The safety and consequences of the sport
The implications of MMA on our communities
We also get up close and personal with some of the biggest
names in MMA, including:
Former EFC Heavyweight champion Norman
“Chef” Wessels
EFC Welterweight fighter Wade “G.O.A.T”
Henderson
Ex-EFC Welterweight fighter Ozzy
“Daddy” de Paiva
EFC Welterweight fighter Remo
Ralph
Crazy Monkey Defence system
creator Rodney King
Cage Men summarises the MMA scene in SA quite nicely and is
definitely worth a watch for anyone who has an opinion about MMA. It is also
great to see something based on the South African community. With the
sensitivity of the topics raised, it could easily have spanned many more
episodes and I look forward to any additional productions which may be created
in the future.
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