Riyadh Combat’s founder on why martial arts makes better humans

Heard of Riyadh Combat? You might want to listen closely. Nothing fills a nation with pride like watching one of your own win an Olympic medal. So when Saudi’s Tarek Hamdi took home silver at the Tokyo Olympics, none other than His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense congratulated the athlete. The win sparked a trend in people wanting to turn their hands (and feet) to martial arts. But for some, the sport was already a passion. Take Hani Bukhari, CEO and co-founder of Riyadh Combat, and enthusiastic advocate of hand-to-hand sports in the capital.

Bukhari is a two time gold medallist in the World Jiu-Jistu Championship, and his co-founder at the centre is a jiu-jitsu, muay Thai and kickboxing champion. But just five years ago, Bukhari had trouble just training due to Riyadh’s lack of martial arts centres.

“I was interested in taking martial arts classes with my partner in Riyadh, but all we found were old fashioned centres teaching kids traditional arts, such as judo, karate and taekwondo. Instead of getting upset about it, we decided to do something.”

What followed was Riyadh Combat, which launched in 2016. It offers sessions in a more varied assortment of martial arts practices – jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing and muay Thai – and in doing so has carved out a niche for itself. And such is its popularity, Bukhari says the studio receives almost daily requests to open new branches.

“Within a few months of opening, we had an influx of registrations that exceeded capacity, so we opened a second branch and then a third. Success kept coming – we now have plans to establish ten branches in two years in Riyadh,” he explains. A new branch will soon open
in Jeddah.

Bukhari credits Saudi Vision 2030 with supporting martial arts in the country.

“I remember not so long ago jiu-jitsu was frowned upon, now we have a national federation and we run tournaments.”

If you’re more likely to win a black belt in chillaxing rather than wrestling, don’t be put off – Hélio Gracie, one of the founders of jiu-jitsu, was teaching in his 90s.

“In my opinion, martial arts should be mandatory for everybody. It can impact your personality in a positive way, help develop character and self-confidence in adults and kids.” Recently, the centre has seen a rise in the number of women training, no doubt inspired on by another athlete: Tahani Alqahtani, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics and 2021 World Judo Championships.

Even though Alqahtani lost out on a medal, Bukhari believes that a knock back or two is a good life lesson. “Martial arts teaches kids to set goals and work to achieve them. Most importantly, it teaches you how to accept defeat and learn from it.

“In my opinion, players should be defeated, and motivated train more. They should be considering that the problem isn’t the system, but maybe they’re not ready and committed enough, and need to train more – work on their techniques and movements.”

Fancy becoming your best self? Martial arts at Riyadh Combat might be a savvy place to start…

Khalid Ibn Al Walid Street, Al Hamra, instagram.com/ry.combat (056 071 1891).