Muaythai hits Singapore in a big way over the next few months, as prominent muaythai fighters from around the world gather here to punch, kick, elbow and knee their way to the top.

First up is the inaugural International Muaythai Championships 2007- an event sanctioned by the World Muaythai Council (WMC), the international authoritative body for the martial art. And the public was given a taste recently of what to expect with a series of exhibition matches at a media briefing at the Atrium@Orchard (video: muaythai fight) earlier this month.

"It's certainly a very exciting competition sport," said Mr Stephan Fox, vice-president of WMC, who was here for the briefing. "Muay thai is the only martial art in the world where you actually have special fight music running through the fight.

"It is a unique martial art, with eight weapons - the knees, the kicks, the elbows, the punches. Muaythai is, with no doubt, one of the most realistic self defences (video: self-defence) there is as it goes through all the 3 (attack) distances - long, mid and close range."

And whether or not you want to compete, it is a great way to get in shape too, as Mr Kim Khan Zaki, or Zach, found out. Attracted by the "cool shorts" muaythai fighters wore, he started training in muaythai when he was 17 to shed some kilos from his 93-kg frame (video: interview with Zach).

Now, seven years later, Zach cuts a lean, mean figure at 1.82m and 75kg and is touted as Singapore's most promising muaythai fighter. His record stands at 16 fights, 11 wins with seven by knockout.

Outside of training and fighting, Zach uses muaythai as a personal trainer to whip people into shape.

"I train my clients in Thai boxing, but more for fitness," said Zach. It is great for fitness as it is both anaerobically and aerobically demanding, he explained.

"You have a lot of pushing and pulling. When you punch, you have to push out, and you have to pull your hand back, so it is a two-way action.

"Also, there's a lot of cardio in it. So for 3 minutes, we're making you hit, kick and punch using all your strength. Doing that is very, very tiring. An hour with me is already a lot of training."

And Zach himself will have to put in a lot of training in the coming weeks, for he will be taking part in The Contender Asia - what Zach calls his shot at fame and fortune.

The next big muaythai event that Singaporeans can look forward to this year, it will be shot entirely here. It is the Asian spin to the hit American reality TV series The Contender, with muaythai the sport of choice instead of boxing. According to Riaz Mehta, Contender Asia's producer, the series will begin filming next month and will air in December.

In the show, Zach will be living together and battling it out with 15 other top undiscovered muay thai fighters from around the world for US$250,000 in cash and prizes and household fame.

And one person looking forward to all this action is MediaCorp artiste and former wushu world champion Vincent Ng.

"Different martial arts have different origins and spirtual aspects,so what attracts me about muaythai is, of course, the spirtual part, the rituals (video: rituals) they do before a competition," said Mr Ng.

"Also, as a martial artist, getting to know and understand other martial arts will help my wushu and maybe my career as an artiste." he added.

"Who knows? One day I might be acting as a muaythai fighter!"

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Tickets for the championships are on sale at all Sistic outlets at 20, $60 and $80.

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