Top 12 Wins of Team Philippines at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games

1. Mary Joy tabal giving the Philippines its first gold medal in the 2017 SEA Games even though she had some previous conflicts prior to joining the Philippine Team.
2. Eumir Marcial and John Marvin winning boxing with the former having an injured left hand and the latter winning on the fastest win in boxing which was winning in 21 seconds.
3. Filipino triathletes, Niko Huelgas and John Chicano taking home the gold medal and the silver medal which also happened in the distaff or the women's division, Kim Mangrobang winning the gold medal and Claire Adorna taking home the silver medal.
4. Mariya Takahashi, a 16-year old teenager upsetting Surattana Thongsri of Thailand who was the undefeated champion in the women's division under -70 kilogram category. Mariya Takahashi ended the reign of Surattana Thongsri by taking home the gold medal from winning by ippon in 48 seconds.
5. The Mighty Ducks is the name of the Philippine Ice Hockey Team and they won in their SEA Games debut since this was the first time that ice hockey was included in the Southeast Asian Games. They scored 5-4 against Thailand winning the first place and they were just formed two years ago to become the pioneer ice hockey team for the Philippines.
6. Trenton Beram contributing not just one but TWO gold medals for Team Philippines making him the only double-gold medal winner in Kuala Lumpur 2017 SEA Games. He won his first medal when he finished the 200-metre dash in the men's division in 20.84 seconds. He was assigned on a strange lane, lane number 7 which was a difficult lane, assignment the following day after he won and struggled with cramps and still won the men's division of the the 400-metre race and finished in 46.39 seconds.
7. Chezka Centeno and Rubilen Amit, female players for the billiards, winning the gold medal and silver medal in the 9-ball billiards championship match.
8. Kaitlin De Guzman, a 17-year old female gymnast, winning the gold medal in the same event where her mother won in the 1995 Chiang Mai Games. She brought home the gold medal in the uneven bars event and also won a silver medal in the floor exercise and a bronze medal in the balance beam event.
9. Gilas Pilipinas proving their basketball expertise by winning the 18th gold medal for the Philippines with a score of 94-55 against Team Indonesia.
10. John Colin Syquia, an unknown 46-year old equestrian rider, winning the gold medal in the individual showjumping competition at the 3Q Equestrian Center in Rawang, Malaysia. He won together with his mount named "Adventure E" surviving a 36-hour travel from Florida to New York to Amsterdam to Baku giving the Philippines its 23rd gold medal which was also the first gold medal in equestrian event since the 2011 Palembang Biennial. It was his first time to compete in the Southeast Asian Games.
11. Eric Cray, a Fil-Am track and field athlete, giving the Philippines its 8th gold medal by winning the gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles event of the men's division with a time of 50.03 seconds and also winning the silver medal with a time of 10.43 seconds in the 100-metre finals of the men's division an hour after his gold medal win.
12. The trio of Taekwondo jins, Dustin Mella, Rafael Mella, and Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. winning the men's division of the team poomsae event in the Taekwondo competition held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. They won with a score of 8.40 and their victory was the third victory in the same event for the Taekwondo Team Philippines since winning in the 2013 SEA Games. It was also the trio's second straight win and the third win for the Mella brothers.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPegS0XicUQ
http://sports.tv5.com.ph/summitseagames/article/the-top-10-moments-for-team-philippines-at-the-2017-southeast-asian-games

12 Trivia Facts About Steven Seagal

1. Is the first foreigner ever to own and operate an Aikido dojo in Japan. Known as "Master Take Shigemichi", he was the chief instructor at the Aikido Tenshin Dojo in the city of Osaka.
2. Is an Aikido master - 7th Dan.
3. His first seven films were all starring roles, ending with Executive Decision (1996).
4. Broke Sean Connery's wrist when he was teaching him martial arts during the filming of Never Say Never Again (1983).
5. His love of guitar and appreciation of rasta music led him to study with a teacher in Jamaica, where he owns a vacation home.
6. Owns a very large collection of guitars and samurai swords.
7. All of his main leading role movies have been rated R except for Half Past Dead (2002) which was the only Seagal film to be PG-13.
8. He and Jackie Chan are friends and Chan offered him the role of the villain in Rush Hour 3 (2007), but Seagal turned it down.
9. Was asked to play a cameo in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables (2010), but had to turn it down because of his fallout relationship with producer Avi Lerner. However, Seagal joined in another big ensemble film, Machete (2010).
10. Steven Seagal received Russian citizenship on 3 November 2016.
11. Married second wife Adrienne Larussa before his divorce from first wife Miyako Fujitani was finalized (they married in Japan). He eventually had the marriage to Larussa annulled when he began dating third wife Kelly LeBrock, who became pregnant with the couple's first child.
12. Steven Seagal acquired Serbian citizenship on 10 January 2016.

References:
 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000219/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Seagal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_10
http://stevenseagal.com/

12 Trivia Facts About Frank Dux

1. Frank Dux was born on 6 April 1956 in Toronto, Canada.
2. The son of Holocaust survivors, he immigrated to the United States in 1963 growing up impoverished in the California San Fernando Valley.
3. Dux established his own school of Ninjutsu in 1975, called "Dux Ryu Ninjutsu".
4. An article about his purported exploits, which appeared in Black Belt in 1980, was the eventual inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
5. His last name is pronounced "Dukes".
6. Dux states that he was introduced to and trained in Koga Yamabushi Ninjutsu by Senzo Tanaka.
7. Dux's martial art style, Dux Ryu Ninjitsu, is not a koryu (15th century feudal form of Ninjutsu), but is still claimed to be "based on its Koga Ninja root principles of adaptability and consistent change".
8. Hanshi Frank Dux, AKA “Shi Chang Gui” (his Shaolin name), is described by some as Trevanian’s real life “Shibumi,” whose martial arts feats form the basis of the cult classic film, “Bloodsport.”
9. Frank Dux currently is the only foreign national to teach Special Tactics at Mexico City Police Institute, now using his proprietary application technology called DUX FASST (Focus-Action-Skill-Strategy Tactics).
10. The 1996 HarperCollins book, The Secret Man: An American Warrior’s Uncensored Story, featured on a Geraldo Rivera Live telecast, unveils Frank Dux as one of the world’s finest covert operatives.
11. He actively participates in combating human trafficking activities on an international scale and served as a keynote speaker for the 2010 annual Federal Law Enforcement Association National Conference.
12. Former United States Karate Alliance & Professional Karate Association World Champion Victor Moore, described Frank Dux as “the most memorable fighter” he ever fought, the man he could never beat for which he gave him the title “Ultimate Fight Champion” used in promoting Bloodsport from which the UFC gets its name, says Gracie family member and UFC founder, Higan Machado, in a 2002 corporate fund raising documentary.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dux

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quest_(film)

http://www.frankwdux.com/

http://officialfrankdux.com/

http://officialfrankdux.com/who-is-frank-dux/

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/bloodsport.php

http://uproxx.com/movies/bloodsport-jean-claude-van-damme-frank-dux/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/johannacox/an-interview-with-the-man-who-inspired-and-paid-for-some-of?utm_term=.gt2QoGX3Qq#.nrvb5GJoby

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245235/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxdpXIJ8zyE

National Muay Thai Day

1. March 17th is better known as Muay Thai day to commemorate the extraordinary accomplishment of Nai Khanom Tom, the Thai Martial Arts Festival and Wai Khru Muay Thai Ceremony is staged annually on March 17. 
2. Muay Thai is the National sport of Thailand but this celebration is not just about Muay Thai but a celebration of the accomplishment of Nai Khanom Tom and celebrated as Boxer's Day, National Muay Boran Day. Muay Thai Day, or National Muay Thai Day”
3. Muay boran, and therefore Muay Thai, was originally called by more generic names such as Toi muay or simply muay. 
4. There are several old styles that were developed in various regions of Thailand that are now lumped into the term Muay Boran (literally "Ancient Boxing"), such as "Muay Chaiya," "Muay Thasao," "Muay Lopburi," and "Muay Korat." But regardless on which regional variant it was, both have been driven to near-extinction due to the popularity of the stand up only ring sport we now know as "Muay Thai" (or, "Thai Boxing").
5. At the time of the fall of the ancient Siam capital of Ayutthaya in 1767, the invading Burmese troops rounded up a group of Thais and took them as prisoners. Among them were a large number of Thai boxers, including Nai Khanom Tom.
6. At one point, in 1774, King Hsinbyushin wanted to see how Muay Boran would compare to Burmese Lethwei, or Burmese Boxing. 
7. Nai Khanom Tom, a famous fighter at the time, was selected to fight against a Burmese champion and while in the ring, Nai Khanom Tom did a traditional Wai Kru pre-fight dance, to pay his respects to his teachers and ancestors, as well as the spectators, dancing around his opponent.
8. After the ritual of the Wai Kru (the Burmese thought that was some sort of Thai black magic) Nai Khanom Tom fought the Burmese boxing champion and won by Knock Out but the referee claimed the win to be invalid because he was distracted by the music and might be some kind of sorcery. The king then sent other 9 fighters, one by one without time breaks between fights. They were all put on the ground by the hands (and knees and elbows) of Nai Khanom Tom.
9. Impressed by these abilities, King Mangra said: “Every part of the Siamese is blessed with venom. Even with his bare hands, he can fell nine or ten opponents. But his Lord was incompetent and lost the country to the enemy. If he had been any good, there was no way the City of Ayutthaya would ever have fallen“. Then he granted freedom to Nai Khanom Tom and all Siamese (Thais).
10. King Mangra granted Nai Khanomtom freedom along with either riches or two beautiful Burmese wives. Nai Khanomtom chose the wives as he said that money was easier to find. He then departed with his wives for Siam. Other variations of this story had him also winning the release of his fellow Thai prisoners. 
11. Muay Thai is referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" or the "Science of Eight Limbs", because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) in boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in other more regulated combat sports, such as kickboxing and savate. 



Nai Khanom Tom

12. A practitioner of muay Thai is known as a nak muay. Western practitioners are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang, meaning "foreign boxer."

Sources:

http://www.training-ground.com/2011/03/march-17-world-muay-thai-day/

http://www.krabi.uk/thailand-celebrates-national-muay-thai-day/

http://www.martialartsthailand.com/nai-khanom-tom-father-of-muay-thai/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_boran

http://www.thaizer.com/festivals/national-muay-thai-day/

http://www.thaifestivalblogs.com/national-muay-thai-day-on-17-march/

http://www.tigermuaythai.com/national-muay-thai-day

Ronda Rousey's Firsts

1. First Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women's Bantamweight Champion as well as the last Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. 
   
2. First U.S. woman to earn an Olympic medal in judo at the Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008 since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.
3. First female U.S. judoka in nearly 10 years to win an A-Level tournament as she went 5-0 to claim gold at the Birmingham World Cup in Great Britain.
4. First U.S. athlete ever to win two Junior World Judo Championship medals. 
   
5. First female fighter to sign with the UFC, in November 2012
6. First female UFC Champion
7. First Olympic medalist to hold a UFC title
8. First feature film role was the 2014 film The Expendables 3. 
   
9. First One-punch knockout win in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history versus Bethe Correia at UFC 190
10. First female athlete to guest host ESPN's SportsCenter on October 2015
11. First woman featured on the cover of Australian Men's Fitness, appearing on their November 2015 edition.
12. First loss of Rousey's MMA career was when she suffered a major upset when she failed to defend her supposed-to-be seventh bantamweight title during her fight with Holly Holm who knocked her out at 0:59 of the second round at UFC 193 on 14 November 2015 but she was still awarded a Fight of the Night bonus award.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronda_Rousey

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/15/holly-holm-stuns-ronda-rousey-for-ufc-womens-bantamweight-title

http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Ronda-Rousey

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/5-moments-that-made-ronda-rousey-the-most-dominant-fighter-in-ufc