Martial Arts Cocktail Anyone? – Somesh Kamra

Combine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Wrestling, Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo, and Judo…with a pleasing personality, n Voila! You get a perfect concoction of fitness, toughness, and good looks or in two words SOMESH KAMRA!
A perfect Mixed Martial Arts cocktail! Don’t get what we say?? Read on…

Now that’s quite a bhaari combination. When you meet a man with a pleasant smile like Somesh, you can’t but wonder what has he go to do with all this? He should probably be doing films and he goes on to laugh and say, “I did work in films as Assistant Director in Ghajini! Even did a scene with Hrithik in Guzaarish!”
But immediately gets talking to us about his passion in sports and fitness, and instantly we could see why? You can see the enthusiasm and passion in his body language!
Formally graduating in Mass Media from Jai Hind College gave him his first step into the Hindi film industry with Ghajini. Somesh assisted the director in the 18 month long project that turned out to be one of the biggest monetary grosser of that time. It was a good working experience, but his heart stayed with Sports.
From a young age, Somesh was always a sports enthusiast and emphasized on keeping fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He played professional cricket for 5 years during his schooling days. At that time, Sports apparently wasn’t a career option and people played it as a hobby… or pass time.

“I browsed through tv channels and stumbled upon a show called Pride FC on Star Sports. This was back sometime in 2005. It looked like WWF but was real fighting. It almost looked like street fighting. I could see athletes punching, kicking, elbowing, kneeing… it seemed unreal how tough these guys really are! I was immediately hooked to it”, says Somesh. “On doing research on this sport, I realised it was called Mixed Martial Arts or MMA. Nobody in India taught it professionally at that time. So I hooked up with a buddy, Vishal, who’s father owned a gym at the Army Camp in Deolali and asked if I could come and train there with the Army guys. That’s how I began my journey through this wonderful sport”, Somesh continues.

Somesh Kamra who saw potential in a young sport called Mixed Martial Arts and decided to take the general fitness of Indians to a whole new medium through this Sport. Being a Mumbaikar, Somesh obviously wanted to start his Training model from his home city.
Somesh contacted one of the largest MMA organizations in the world, M-1 Global and they gladly hosted him at their headquarters in Russia. This was in 2009. Somesh practiced, learnt and developed his skills in managing and running the Sport in a developed sporting nation. He toured America with M-1 Global in 2010 to organize a tournament. This gave Somesh an overall perspective of managing athletes, handling training and organizing events. He started MMA India in 2011 and has successfully created a niche for MMA training in India.
Somesh always felt Sports, Wellness and Entertainment as a combination makes an extremely lucrative business option. So apart from being ‘Real’, unlike the movies, Sports is something that is happening in front of your eyes. Similar to the IPL. Its real, its quick, its entertaining. These 3 aspects also apply to Mixed Martial Arts.

We asked him, what is Mixed Martial Arts or MMA? He went on to explain to us…
As the name suggests, MMA is a mixture of various forms of martial art. Usually this blend consists of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing and Wrestling. These different disciplines are perfected and put into competition by the combatant.

Popular Disciplines of MMA
•Stand-up: Various forms of Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and forms of full contact karate are trained to improve footwork, kicking, kneeing and punching.
•Clinch: Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo, and Judo are trained to improve clinching, takedowns and throws.
•Ground: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling, Judo, and Sambo are trained to improve submission holds, and defense against them. These styles are also trained to improve and maintain ground control.
Cardiovascular conditioning, speed drills, strength training and flexibility are also important aspects of an MMA practitioners’ training.
While MMA was initially practiced almost exclusively by competitive fighters, this is no longer the case. As the sport has become more mainstream and more widely taught, it has become accessible to wider range of practitioners of all ages. MMA is safe for anyone, of any age, with varying levels of competitiveness, fitness or self defense.

MMA India
MMA India was launched in April 2011 with the vision to train and promote this new form of sport and fitness. By bringing together International levels of training and affiliations MMA India has established India’s first, legitimate organization for this sport. MMA India has been certified by Sports Authority of India and has an international governing council affiliation.

Company Mission
To promote the art and provide world class training of mixed martial arts to students in India. MMA India will recognize your individual attributes and customize training needs that adapt to your physical and mental state. At MMA India, we aim to teach you the most practical and effective method for keeping fit, being tough and looking good.
For a company that has not been funded as yet and started with a paid up capital of USD 2000/-, MMA India has stood on its feet with a determined team and come a long way. He proudly exclaims and we AGREE! Bravo Gen NEXT!

 

About The Founder – SOMESH KAMRA
Somesh Kamra is a professional mixed martial artist specializing in Muay Thai. Somesh has designed many effective training programs for MMA India, other martial arts schools and the Police Academy. His knowledge of hand to hand combat is unbeaten and has been a success story for many students. Somesh Kamra is educated from the University of Golds Gym in the field of physical fitness that includes strength training, plyometrics and cardio vascular training for muscular conditioning. To know more about Somesh, visit www.facebook.com/MixedMartialArtsIndia
Kicking bu#!$ literally…  Now that’s a Kick A#$ way to make a living in Mumbai…Keep Living your Passion, Somesh!