The Head Coach of Kickboxing Association in Ogun State, Olufunke Ogunsuyi, was found dead in a Kwara hotel room on Saturday, July 31.
The female kickboxing head coach, popularly called ‘Big Fish’ was participating in the Kwara Zonal and Invitational Kickboxing Championship organised by the State Government, where she officiated in the competition and also fielded two athletes.
According to report, search for Ogunsuyi began after she failed to appear at the stadium at 12 noon when all the other officials were supposed to converge for the commencement of the final ceremony of the competition.
Several calls put to her mobile phone were not picked or returned. The organisers and other officials then went to her hotel where her lifeless body was discovered after the door was broken into.
Ogunsuyi hailed from Ijebu-Ode, she was a former kickboxing champion and graduate of Physical and Health Education (PHE) and Sports Psychology.
What You Should Know About The Sport ‘Kickboxing’
Kickboxing is a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate mixed with boxing. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defence, general fitness, or as a contact sport.
Before the introduction of kickboxing in Nigeria, the sports has existed for a quite a long time and was believed to have been existence since 1950 when Tatsuo Yamada a Japanese Karateka developed an outline of the sport that comprises Karate and Muay Thai.
It was later examined in the 1960s when a competition was fixed which made way for rule modifications to take place.
Kickboxing is known as a group of stand up warfare sports that is based on punching and kicking.
It is a sport that originated from karate mixes with boxing. It is mainly serving as general fitness, contact sport or as a self-defense sport.
In kickboxing, kicks, as well as punches, is required to give to a legal spot target with absolute determination, speed and focus to develop a strong contact. Competitors in kickboxing put on gloves in their hands to throw a punch and use bare feet to kick.
The rules guiding the kickboxing says that the player can make use of kicks, strikes and punches to hit above the waist of the opposing player and also using knees and elbows are not allowed. In some kickboxing competitions, the use of shins is not allowed.
During a kickboxing competition, the fight is been done in a ring with the referee that will be in charge of the fighter safety and he will also make sure he abides by the rules of the game while the judges take note of the legal techniques and also points on the electronic scoring system.
Kickboxing has grown to be a popular sport in almost all parts of the world and is quite increasing in Nigeria in terms of awareness and popularity in order to compete with its counterpart – Boxing.
In Nigeria, the sports/game is being governed by professional bodies such as Kick-Boxing Federation of Nigeria and Kickboxing Association of Nigeria.
The Nigerian kickboxing team participated in the 5th African Kickboxing Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon and won three gold, Nine Silver and four bronze medals which made them to be placed third on the table behind Algeria and the host Cameroon that finished first and second respectively. The championship was held from 23 April to 29 April, 2018.
