Murimi’s chance at salvation

06 Jun, 2021 - 00:06 0 Views
Murimi’s chance at salvation

The Sunday Mail

Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor

AS the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt lives across the globe, Genius Murimi is one of those people that simply refuses to let the fallout from the virus get the better of him.

In the days since getting the greenlight to resume training, the kickboxing stalwart’s daily routine revolves around sharpening both his mind and body. When he is not at work, Murimi is either in the gym or on the road working on his strength and conditioning. The game of chess is what he uses to sharpen the mind.

“I follow a very tight training schedule, which starts as early as three or four in the morning with a five-kilometre run.

“Depending on my times, I then move to the gym and can spend anything between two or three hours before heading off to work.

“Mental strength is just important as cardio (cardiovascular exercise), and here I use chess as a tool to get those brain cells pumping.

“It’s actually a funny story, as I was a chess player first, before I ventured into martial arts.

“I still play every chance I get.

“Training daily and practicing your craft helps the body, but one needs to also work on their mental strength.”

The reason behind his strict training regime can be viewed in two ways.

At the heart of it all is that he hopes to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Isreal Adesanya, and use kickboxing to become a world-renowned fighter.

Adesanya, who has his roots in kickboxing, is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the UFC middleweight champion. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory Middleweight Championship title challenger and is currently ranked fourth in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings. An opportunity has arisen for the 31-year-old to get his first taste of the international waters, having received an invitation to grace the inaugural edition of the Russian Grand Prix of Arab Boxing.  The tournament, slated for July 27 to August 12, is expected to attract some of the top fighters from Russia, the Middle East and Africa. It is also the brainchild of the International Arab Boxing Federation. The tournament could possibly become the fight of his life.

“Being invited to such a big tournament is a great honour, and I could not believe it when I heard the news.

“This is possibly the biggest tournament of my career and one that could open a lot of doors for me.

“I am definitely going to go up against some of the top fighters in the world, but I don’t intend to go there to merely make up the numbers.

“The goal is win.

“I want to win for my country, my friends and family and, more importantly, for myself,” Murimi said.

To date, he just has a handful of tournament wins and medals.

Among them are the Desert Storm 1 and 2 Tournaments, where he bagged three gold medals from the 2018 and 2019 editions. He also has a couple of medals from the Max Side Night Tournament, where he won three more gold.

Both tournaments are high on the Namibian kickboxing calendar.

Locally, Murimi has a bronze and a silver medal from Zimbabwe Kickboxing Association’s Independence Day Trophy. Glory is just the tip of the iceberg. The athlete is the standard definition of a self-made man. He ekes his living from his hardware company based in Budiriro and a gym which he also runs and owns. The gym is part of a larger complex, Ultra kickboxing Academy, where he hones his craft daily. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both institutions were affected. “Covid-19 has been hard; it has had a huge impact in all our lives,” said the First-Dan black belt holder.

“Professionally, we suffered the biggest blow.

“Kickboxing is a contact sport, and when the virus came, we could not train, go to the gym and stuff.

“We had to find creative ways to train at home.

“It was tough for me as I am a fitness freak. I have spent half my life in the gym,” he said.

Now that some semblance of sanity looks to have returned, there is hope for the 31-year-old.

A good outing in Moscow at the Russian Grand Prix of Arab Boxing could even lead to a bigger and better life.

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