Cheick Kongo repertoire and trained in Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Savate and Greco-Roman Wrestling at age of 19. At age 23, he studied Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial art, and was coached by Charles Joussot and Franck Ropers, men who brought silat to France. They taught Kongo the Pencak Silat style of Setia Hati Terate. He is also a cousin of rugby star Fulgence Ouedraogo, the French back-rower. Cheick is also a columnist for the French MMA magazine, Top Fight. On June 10, 2001, Kongo began his professional career by knocking out Doog Ward. Kongo then followed up that win with a TKO
Pencak Silat The primary weapon is an indigenous knife called the badik. Other weapons include the "sele" (dagger), "berang" (machete), "cabang" (forked truncheon), and the "mandau" (cleaver). Silat in Sulawesi is closely tied to local animism, and weapons are believed to be imbued with a spirit of their own. Hand and arm movements are designed to be adaptable for use with a knife or with the empty hands. Attacks with the fists or open hands can be modified with a pinching action of the fingers, which has its origin in the pinch-grip of the badik. Bugis styles ("silat Ugi") are based on