The fifth annual staging of the Caribbean Classic Celebrity Golf Invitational (CCGI) tournament and charity event will once again feature the hottest emerging sport on the international scene, Muay Thai.

On Friday, June 26, during the three-day event slated from June 24-27, the national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai, will be the day's main feature at the Aqueduct.

similar to boxing

Jamaica's Clifton Brown will be in action at the fifth annual staging of the Caribbean Classic Celebrity Golf Invitational tournament and charity event in Montego Bay, from June 24-27. - Contributed photos

Clifton Brown, a Jamaican who has lived in Thailand, is confirmed to attend and participate in the sport. Referred to as the 'The Art of Eight Limbs', Muay Thai is also known as Thai kick-boxing. It is a hard martial art practised in large parts of the world, for example in Southern Asian countries.

Varying significantly from the ancient art 'muay boran', traditional Muay Thai practised today uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing. Muay Thai is non-stop action and one mistake and you will be knocked out. The hands, shins, elbows and knees, called the eight weapons, are all used extensively by the practitioner of Muay Thai, called 'nak muay'. As opposed to 'two points' (fists in Western boxing and four points (fists and feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts, the 'nak muay' is able to execute strikes using 'eight points of contact'.

Last year, Jamaica-born Brown returned home to fight in the Champions of Champions I event, and says he got more than an honourable welcome to the island. The visit was very emotional. He remembers local media reporting that the few thousand persons at the stadium described it as "being awesome", signifying how well Muay Thai was received in Jamaica.

Brown was initiated into fighting by his older brother, who often practised the quick moves of kung fu and karate on him while they were growing up. Brown's natural survival skills, coupled with his love for the characters in fighter video games such as Street Fighter, spawned the attraction to Muay Thai and his desire to practise the sport. When he met his trainer Suchart at age 16, he knew he had found his calling. According to Brown, "Muay Thai is an art that has been practised for 2000 years."

unarmed combat

He adds: "Originally it was used as a form of unarmed combat for the Royal Thai Army. It became an official ring sport in the 1920s with the current format. Distin-guishing himself from other fighters, he claims, is his approach and motivation and the "work he puts in before a fight".

"Muay Thai," says Brown, has been a part of the lives of his two daughters, ages seven and four, since birth. According to Brown, "They also see the trophies and the belts and they are proud, they tell their friends, and in a way, they feel that dad is invincible."

Brown is now training extremely hard for the Champions of Champions II to be held at the Aqueduct, Rose Hall, during the week of events taking place during CCGI in Jamaica. He believes, "Every single day, always aim to be better than yesterday." In seclusion in Thailand, he works out mentally and physically.

computer literacy

The CCGI tournament and charity event slated for Montego Bay is being hosted by the RISARC/CCGI Foundation, and is the brainchild of Jamaica-born Richard Stephenson. Stephenson aims to supply all Jamaican primary schools with computers and/or computer labs, realising his vision of ushering Jamaican, and then Caribbean youth into first- world computer literacy.

Currently the president of RISARC, a leading healthcare consulting and software solutions firm, Stephenson's goal is to improve the livelihood of natives in his homeland. His direct vision, realised through the CCGI Foundation, is that of providing the educational tools and equipment necessary to enable Jamaica's children to become computer literate at an early age and gain "access to the outside world".

The foundation is focused on earning funds from organised tournaments and other charity events to bridge the technology gap for Caribbean children with limited resources ultimately building them into tomorrow's leaders.