TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) – A total of 22 teams composed of 155 athletes from Regions 1, 2, and the Cordillera showed their fighting prowess in the Northern Luzon Regional Kickboxing Championship on April 20-24, 2025 at the Kalinga Sports Center.
“Isu ti first nga naangay nga regional championship ti maysa nga national sports association dituy Kalinga,” said Tournament Director Bryan S. Olod, referring to the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas which is the national governing body for kickboxing in the country.
The Northern Luzon Regional Kickboxing Championship served as a qualifier for the national championship to be held in Tagaytay in September this year.
It also aims to promote kickboxing which has been included as an exhibition sport in the Palarong Pambansa this year.
Many young up-and-coming combat sports athletes from Northern Luzon participated in the regional championship including Kalinga’s very own Alexander Tagure Jr. who is a Palarong Pambansa and Batang Pinoy Wushu Sanda gold medalist. He also recently won two gold medals in the Northern International Jiu-jitsu Open Championships.
The competition encompassed five age brackets, namely; children, seniors, juniors, younger cadets, older cadets and featured kickboxing bouts in Kick Light and Point Fighting styles.
Olod invited young people to watch and get into kickboxing as a sport or a hobby to avoid falling into bad vices.
“Nu kayat da sumali kickboxing, why not. It’s open for everyone,” he said.
Kalinga was chosen as the venue for the event for its reputation of producing combat sports champions like national and international titleholders Jean Claude Saclag and Hergie Bacyadan., according to Olod. (IOS-PIA CAR, Kalinga)
