Brother-and-sister duo Zius and Leyla Brand have set off to compete in the Uzbekistan WAKO World Cup as part of the SA National team.
Their coach Shihan Ruehan van Romburgh of Legacy Martial Arts Academy is confident that his two students will bring medals home from this international event, held from 24 to 29 September.
“Both Leyla and Zius are currently ranked number 1 in South Africa in their respective categories,” he pointed out. “They have grown so much in the last few years and we believe they will achieve great heights.”
Zius (9) will compete in the point fighting children boys division (33 kg and -36 kg) while Leyla (13) will be competing in the category point fighting older cadet girls -37 kg and 42 kg en continuous fighting (-37 kg). Nearly 2 000 participants from across the world will compete in this competition. The two recently received their SA colours at a special ceremony attended by their family members, friends, coach and teammates.
This follows on their fellow LMAA team mates’ Aidan Brummer (15) and Lyle Asary’s recent participation at the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (Wako) Youth World Championship held from 23 August to 1 September in Budapest, Hungary. Aiden (15), a three-times SA champion in point fighting, competed in the u-63 kg Older Cadet Boys point fighting, kick light and team events.
Lyle (16), who ended in second place at the SA Championships in point fighting, competed in the Junior Boys u-74 kg category in point fighting and the team event.
“Both Lyle and Aidan fell out just before the quarter-finals, but we are proud of them as they both ended 17th in their respective categories and their teams ended ninth in the team events for Junior and Older Cadets respectively,” Van Romburgh reported.
The LMAA kickboxers are hard at work preparing for the Western Cape Championships where they will fight to qualify for a spot in the SA Championships that will be held later this year. Ten Legacy kickboxers will also compete in the African Continental Championships held in Benoni in December.
