Lebanese MuayThai Federation History
In the same way that Mr. Sami Kiblawi introduced the sport of kickboxing to Lebanon in 1979, he was also a pioneer in introducing the sport of Muay Thai to Lebanon in 1995. He furthered this by inviting Grand Master Woody, the commissioner of the International Federation of the sport, to Lebanon. Grand Master Woody conducted the first training course, in which several Lebanese and Arab trainers participated. At the end of 1995, based on Grand Master Woody's recommendation, Sami Kiblawi was appointed as the representative of the International Federation in Lebanon and the Arab region. He began conducting courses to spread this sport in Arab countries.
After a series of championships and international participations, the Lebanese Muay Thai Federation organized the first Arab Championship in July 2004, during which a general assembly was called to establish the Arab Muay Thai Federation. The assembly unanimously elected Mr. Faisal Assayegh, the president of the Lebanese Muay Thai Federation, as the president of the Arab Federation, and Master Sami Kiblawi as the Secretary-General. The establishment and elections were supervised by the Arab Sports Federation, represented by Mr. Farouk Seriya and Mohieddin Zaghoul, in addition to a representative from the Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr. Raymond Toma. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the President of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, Brigadier General Suhail Khoury, the Assistant Secretary-General of the World Taekwondo Federation, Colonel Newport, and the Supreme Commissioner of the World Federation, Grand Master Woody. Also present at the session was Dr. Ennio Falsoni, President of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO).
The number of participating countries in the first General Assembly was limited to seven countries: Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon. These countries also formed the nucleus of the executive bureau, which held its first meeting and adopted several technical recommendations.
