Picture: Light-Heavyweight Imad Al Howayeck celebrates victory at the 2015 IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA in Las Vegas In a great step for the academic and grass roots development of Lebanese MMA; The Arts, Sciences and Technology University in Lebanon (AUL) will introduce mixed martial arts as a regular academic course for students from as early as Spring of 2016. The course will be lead by MMA Lebanon’s Wissam Abi Nader, who also serves on the IMMAF Board of Directors, and is head coach of Tristar Gym Lebanon. Dr. Marc Zabbal, President of the AUL University in Kaslik, recently presented a trophy to Mr. Abi Nader, thanking him for all dedicated efforts and time invested in Lebanon’s youth: “Introducing Mixed Martial Arts in the American University in Lebanon is crucial to show that our sport has all the tools to fit the educational values promoted by the academic world,” Mr. Abi Nader explained. “In this innovative course, students from all the backgrounds will learn the fundamentals of MMA in a very safe and progressive environment. They will be graded on their performance in theoretical (history, rules, technique explanation) and practical (technique demonstration, light sparring) exams.” [caption id="attachment_7497" align="alignnone" width="648"]
Picture: Dr. Marc Zabbal (left) alongside Mr. Wissam Abi Nader (right)[/caption] 
]]>
