Malaysian brothers: Martial arts changed our lives, helped us overcome bullies


Photos By GLENN GUAN

A’mmarul says that his life changed after he took up martial arts, and he became more disciplined, healthier and had a better self-esteem.

If you see the tall and athletic A’mmarul Shafiq Ubaidillah today, you would never imagine that he was bullied when he was in school for being – in his own words – “skinny, nerdy-looking and bespectacled”.

“In fact, I’m one of those who went into bodybuilding and martial arts because I was a victim of bullies,” he shares, adding that he was attacked and picked on in school because of his mixed race and unusual looks. A’mmarul’s father is Malay-Thai while his mother is Filipino.

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