JAB is a name that will break misconceptions and current opinions of what Mixed Martial Arts is to all those in Lebanon. It is a colossal joint venture between very significant individuals from the world of MMA who have helped to develop all of the big names of our favorite MMA fighters.
– THE ‘JAB’ CREW –
John Haddad, Aly Makhzoum, and Mohammad Ali ‘Basha’ (Team JAB) have joined forces to create a new team and gym that is to break away from the chaos, the negative and opposition driven sport within the country. Set to open in August in Ramlit Al Bayda, this immense collaboration is led by the Functional Patterns team out of Level 8 whose purpose is conditioning and biomechanics headed by Master Trainer John Haddad, Olivier Chiniara, Racha Hajj, and Gabriel Saravia. The Martial Arts trainers include none other than the infamous Makhzoum brothers Aly and Ahmad, Omar Halaby, Abed Halaby, Hisham Abdallah and Sandy Nader as well as the first black belt to reside in Lebanon, the American BJJ blackbelt and Functional Patterns specialist Stevie Linton, who will be training our local talent.
The epic team of fighters who make up this almost unreal venture include incredibly talented and noble athletes who have already made their mark in the MMA fighting scene around the region not only with their skill set, but with their individual characters as well. Mohammed Fakhreddine, Ramy Hamed, Joeshwa Mortada, and Andrew Tarraf are all on board and ready to take the Lebanese world of MMA to the high standards of integrity and respect this sport deserves and demands.
This exciting and fascinating venture will have many more associations and individuals to join the journey that this team is about to begin. The announcement is to prepare the country for what is to come, it will knock out the old and bring in an elevates new generation of organisation, of fighters and trainers as well as the overall health of the MMA industry in Lebanon.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a combination of multiple disciplines put together. Each and every discipline has its creation and development stemming throughout the times, back to ancient philosophies of a way of thought and living, a healthy disciplined and respectful life.In Lebanon, it has become a game of politics and less about all that is involved in creating and developing a fighter and the talents they may have.
“In the recent times people have neglected the basis of these sports and the values behind them. The sport of MMA, like some of the sports, have become, to some, just a money making industry based on brutal instinctual training.” – Aly Makhzoum
All the components that make up MMA as a whole hold a philosophy and spiritual binding of improving the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of a person. For the rigorous hours put into training, fighters must have the proper guidance’s, training and environment to bring out the best in the athlete. The ability to be a human weapon is not something to be placed into the wrong hands, for the wrong reasons.
John Haddad had this to say when asked about his new found project: “JAB stands to be one set apart from all that has come before it in this country. It is based not on the standard of training of mere brute force, aggressive and misguided corrupted goals that go beyond the knowledge of the fighters. With the talent, integrity and respect we the owners and trainers of this gym uphold, nothing other than well rounded goodness is to come from this gym’s environment. We are about developing the fighter’s growth as human beings, their physical conditioning, their strengths and weaknesses both as assets, good sportsmanship and bring to light these proper role models for all those who are inspired to participate in this sport.”
MMA is not merely a competitive sport, it is a means of fitness, knowledge, confidence, and a path to develop a person’s character and life long bonds.
“When you train, you put your trust in your trainers and in your teammates, and we are creating an environment where that can truly happen” Aly Makhzoum says when hitting on the point that fighters should be able to share good energy while having fun while putting in the intensely hard gruesome hours of training, with genuine virtuous guidance based on each unique individual.
Mohammad Ali “Basha”, the younger of the owners with a background as a martial arts practitioner and adventurous entrepreneur says “My background in the sport is what brought me into this collaboration. The team is made up of superior striking coaches and conditioning gurus, with well-balanced ideals to not only train fighters but to protect their best interest as well. I think the mindset of this team and what it stands for will be the first Lebanese team to produce a UFC caliber fighter.”
This new gym emphasizes that it is not just the professional fighters who are to receive the best of all they have to give. “It’s not just the professional, but the amateur fighters who will all have the full focus and attention of each of us trainers and owners” – Aly Makhzoum
JAB seems to have its basis deeply rooted in developing the correct balance of tough training, proper techniques, the tuning of the mind body connection and most of all the respect, knowledge, and confidence that this sport instills in its participants.
“ It doesn’t matter where you come from, which gym you were associated with, here is where the highest achievement of potential of each fighter will be directed through this constructive and professional gym.” – Aly Makhzoum
