Viewing posts from : April 2017

S4C’s Y Ffeit will showcase the best of Welsh boxing and MMA.

A new series showcasing the best boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts in Wales is to be shown by Welsh broadcaster S4C.

Y Ffeit will be a six-part series showing highlights from the nation’s biggest professional and amateur fights nights every Wednesday night, from March 29.

The show will be hosted from a different location each week, and feature fighters from across Wales and the United Kingdom. The first episode, on Wednesday, 29 March will bring the best from an evening of boxing from Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre.

The following week’s episode will come from the Furnace Theatre in Llanelli, which will host an evening of MMA bouts. The series will then alternate between the two different disciplines. There will also be English subtitles.

Each week, the Y Ffeit team will bring a series of items looking at the development of both boxing and MMA in Wales, and profile some of the most exciting talents and biggest characters within both combat sports, including Welsh men and women who have made an impact on the world stage.

The series will also feature post-fight ringside interviews with the fighters and guests attending the events.

Sue Butler, Sport Content Commissioner for S4C, said: “Boxing has always had a strong following in Wales and MMA is a sport rapidly growing in popularity.

“Y Ffeit will focus on what’s happening in both sports across Wales. We see it as a showcase for promising Welsh talent and look forward to some gripping contests’”

Boxing Promoter Jamie Sanigar said: “This is a massive boost for Welsh boxing enabling up and coming Welsh talent to feature on S4C. We have plans in place for some great Welsh title fights and International fights giving Welsh boxers the opportunity to reach the top and build fan bases across Wales.”

James Wallis, owner of MMA promotion company Adrenalin Fight Nights, said: “MMA has become very popular in Wales over the last 12 months and especially after the recent wins by Welsh UFC fighters Brett Johns and Jack Marshman in November 2016 and the recent signed fighter John Phillips.

“We are very excited to be part of the new S4C series especially as it will make the sport more accessible to everyone to enjoy on terrestrial television.”

For more information about the upcoming series, follow @YFfeit_S4C.

Brett Johns was a schoolboy lacking in self-confidence, spending nearly every lunchtime in the library searching YouTube for videos of his hero, the MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter Brad Pickett.

But 25 year-old Brett, from Pontarddulais near Swansea, will achieve his dream at the O2 in London on March 18.

As the documentary Brett Johns – Yr Ymladdwr (The Fighter) on Wednesday 15 March on S4C will show, his journey from a four year-old training at his stepfather’s local gym to where he is now – on the verge of the UFC – has not been easy.

The programme follows Brett during the most recent part of his career as he takes to the competitive world of the MMA nationally and internationally, with big fights in Titan FC in America, in the hope of reaching the dizzy heights of the UFC and ultimately, fulfilling a lifetime ambition.

“This fight in London is a bit of a personal one for me. It’s one ticked off the bucket list. I’ve gone from the boy who was 16 watching Brad Pickett on the computer in school to having the opportunity to fight on the same card as him.

“I started judo at four years old with my stepfather at Pontarddulais Judo Club. I did judo all the way up to the age of sixteen. I still do judo but probably not as often as I should. I basically went to my local BJJ gym when I was sixteen just to better my skills on the floor, submissions and stuff. I saw the MMA and I’ve never looked back since.”

Brett is one of a select few Welshmen to have succeeded in the MMA world, which he attributes to mental and physical reasons.

“I’ve been fighting now for over eight years, it’s been a tough journey for me. You’ve got to pick the right fights and you have to keep winning to keep the ball rolling. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. It’s having the right team behind you as well, that’s the big thing. I’m very lucky to train with the Chris Rees Academy in Swansea.

“I know that Jack Marshman has a very good gym up in Abertillery with Richard Shaw and also John Phillips, who trains out in Ireland with Connor McGregor’s camp. It’s having the right team behind you that can really help you through in this game.”

But having a supportive team is only half the battle. The preparation work before each fight, as Brett explains, requires physical and mental application every day for up to two months.

“For a fight, we have things called camps. The camps can be between six and eight weeks. It’s an intense part of your camp where you’re training three times a day, six days a week. It’s tough. You pick up a lot of injuries along the way. You walk through the injuries and at the end of the camp, you get to use your skills.”

This documentary is the perfect taster for the new series, Y Ffeit from 29 March on S4C, which will broadcast highlights programmes from three boxing and three MMA events during a series of six weekly one-hour programmes.

CYMRAEG

Mae Brett Johns yn cyfaddef ei fod e’n fachgen ysgol digon ddihyder, yn treulio bron bob awr ginio yn y llyfrgell ar YouTube yn gwylio fideos o’i arwr, yr ymladdwr MMA (crefftau ymladd cymysg) Brad Pickett.

Ac yntau’n 25 oed erbyn hyn, fe fydd Brett, sy’n hanu o Bontarddulais ger Abertawe, yn gwireddu breuddwyd yn yr O2 yn Llundain ar Fawrth 18.

Fel y bydd y rhaglen ddogfen Brett Johns – Yr Ymladdwr ar nos Fercher 15 Mawrth ar S4C yn dangos, dydy taith Brett, o fachgen pedair oed yn ymarfer gyda’i lystad Andrew Burt yn y gampfa leol i’r fan lle mae e nawr – ar gyrion yr UFC – ddim wedi bod yn un hawdd.

Bydd y rhaglen hon yn dilyn Brett drwy ei yrfa ddiweddar wrth iddo ymladd yn y byd cystadleuol o MMA ar y lefelau cenedlaethol a rhyngwladol gyda gornestau mawr yn Titan FC yn yr UDA yn y gobaith o godi i uchelfannau’r UFC ac yn gwireddu breuddwyd oes.

“Mae’r ffeit yma yn Llundain yn un personol i fi. Bob amser cinio, o’n i’n mynd ar YouTube a gwneud searches am Brad Pickett a’r UFC. Fast forward wyth mlynedd, a fi ar ei gerdyn olaf e. Fi wedi mynd o fod yn 16 oed yn yr ysgol yn gwylio fe ar y cyfrifiadur i nawr, lle fi ar yr un cerdyn â fe ar yr un noson,” meddai Brett.

“Dechreuais i gyda jiwdo pryd o’n i’n bedair, a fi wedi gwneud blynyddoedd o jiwdo. Ond o’n i eisiau rhywbeth arall. O’n i wedi mynd i’r gym BJJ [Brazilian jiu-jitsu] lleol, y Chris Rees Academy, i wella sgiliau fi ar y llawr, fel submissions, a dyna le o’n i wedi gweld yr MMA gyntaf. O’n i jyst wedi syrthio mewn cariad gyda’r gamp wedyn.”

Mae Brett yn un o griw dethol iawn o Gymry sydd wedi llwyddo yn y byd MMA ac mae rhesymau corfforol a meddyliol am hynny, meddai.

“I fod yn onest, mae e wedi bod yn galed iawn i fi. Mae rhaid i ti gael y ffitrwydd, mae rhaid i ti ennill y rhan fwya’ o’r amser. Mae e mor galed yn yr MMA. Rhaid i ti gael y tîm cywir y tu ôl i ti, a fi jyst yn lwcus bo fi’n ymarfer gyda Chris Rees yn Abertawe.

“Mae Jack Marshman yn ymarfer gyda Richard Shaw yn Abertyleri. Mae John Phillips yn mynd i le mae Conor McGregor yn ymarfer, felly mae cael y timau cywir tu ôl i ti a’r coaches iawn yn bwysig.”

Ond hanner y frwydr yn unig yw cael tîm cefnogol. Fel yr eglura, mae’r gwaith paratoi cyn pob ffeit yn galw am ymroddiad corfforol a meddyliol bob dydd am hyd at ddeufis.

“Fi’n cael camp bob ffeit, tua chwech i wyth wythnos o ymarfer. Mae’r ymarfer yn intense, tair gwaith y dydd, chwe diwrnod yr wythnos. Mae e’n galed iawn. Ti’n cael lot o anafiadau yn y gamp yma, ond rhaid i ti gerdded trwyddo fe.”

Mae’r rhaglen yn rhagflas perffaith i gyfres Y Ffeit sy’n dechrau ar S4C ar 29 Mawrth, a fydd yn rhaglenni un awr yn dangos uchafbwyntiau tair digwyddiad bocsio a thair digwyddiad MMA dros chwe wythnos.

The Producers at the Welsh Production Company Tanabi Films are celebrating today following winning the Best Feature Film award for their first feature film ‘By Any Name’ based on the best-selling novel by Katherine John. The news of the award broke last night that the British thriller took the top award from a plethora of entries at the Stars Hollywood International Film Festival.

The Director of ‘By Any Name’ Euros Jones-Evans said, “We are extremely proud of winning this award for our first feature film. This is our second award in the US in the last month, as ‘By Any Name’ also won Best Feature Film award at the Yosemite International Film Festival and we are thrilled with the response of the judges on the international festival circuit to ‘By Any Name’. We have had incredible support from all our local partners in Wales and are extremely grateful to the entire cast and crew, especially the leading actor Cengiz Dervis, who plays ‘John West’ and leading actress Samira Mohamed Ali who plays ‘Dr Elizabeth Santer’ for their dedication, hard work and faith in bringing this independent film to the screen.”

By Any Name’s author Katherine John, who is an Amazon chosen author and profiled online internationally was overwhelmed when the news broke this morning that the Tanabi film of ‘By Any Name’ had won this prestigious award. ‘I scripted my book with the support of the director and it was an enormous privilege to work with Euros and the entire dedicated team of actors and crew assembled by Tanabi who worked tirelessly to bring this independent film to the screen. I am delighted and honored that ‘By Any Name’ has won this prestigious award at such a distinguished festival in Hollywood. It is truly a recognition of the commitment of everyone involved in bringing the story and characters alive and a showcase for the best ‘set” of all. The breath-taking scenery of Wales.’

‘By Any Name’ has won four awards to date and recently qualified to enter BAFTA Wales 2017.

You can follow the adventure on Twitter @ByAnyNameMovie, @TanabiFilms and on Facebook.