MAX Massiah fully believes in the saying, “What the mind of man can conceive and believe he can achieve.” He’s seen it happen in his life where he was able to achieve his goal of becoming a professional martial artist on his own.

At 11 years old, the now 62-year-old began training in Karate. He wanted to be like Bruce Lee and become a Black Belt, so when he enlisted in the para-military National Service in 1975 in the interior, he never stopped training. By training, it meant mostly doing his own thing; being creative.

“I was noted as being probably the only ‘Pioneer’ on Kimbia who had a pair of Nunchuks, though enjoying and preferring training in privacy,” Massiah explained recently. For years, he trained in private but his ‘secret’ of being a martial artist eventually came out in 2014.

Today, about 50 years after he initially started training, he is the founder of a rapidly growing and registered system called Maxido. “I have not only earned Black belts in three styles (2nd Dan Shotokan, 3rd Dan Mixed Martial Arts, 9th Dan MAXIDO), but ordained with ranks of Grandmaster, Sifu, and Soke (Teacher of Teachers), and produced nine Black belts,” he shared.

Massiah has trained over 300 students in Guyana, USA, Ghana, and Cuba, and 63 members of Guyana’s Special Forces. “I have begun to train the Army…I am the recipient of 7X Hall of Fame, 4X Hall of Honor, 2X Expo Kung-Fu & Karate Masters of Martial Arts, 1 Hall of Champion Inductions, and other accolades – including the Grandmaster of the Year award by the Universal Martial Arts Hall-Of-Fame (India) from GM Shi Heng Chang.”

Massiah is especially grateful to the late Sensei Danny, his first teacher, and Professor Christopher Francis who witnessed his skills and nominated him for his first Hall-Of-Fame award in 2015. The last person who taught him during the latter years is the late Grandmaster Stephen Michael Monasingh.

The father of 10 has always wanted to become a martial artist and actor. He has done dozens of stage performances including Mori Jvon Comedy Jam, Link Show, Watch De Ride, and Uncensored. He also had roles in five movies namely Rainbow Raani, The Convert, Protection Game, Ankoko, and The Martialist.

Massiah is also a stage and screenwriter, a commercial sign artist (he produced the current sign on the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court), and a Saxophonist known as SAXMAX. Furthermore, he is the host and producer of the popular weekly live TV Sports program called Maximum Sports Combat and Strength on NCN.

Maxido

Maxido Adult Self-Defence System was specifically formulated for the elderly, females, business owners, professionals, security personnel, and law enforcement officers. Students are not taught to “fight” by throwing punches and kicks.

“Maxido is pure self-defense. Practitioners only respond when an attempt is made to physically harm them with their bare hands or weapons, with the defence response strictly focusing on limb dislocation and bone breakage in under four seconds. It is easily adaptable by students with no strength or size, based upon technique of application,” Massiah explained.

“The motto of Maxido – Pain application for bullies – totally describes the system of shoulders and elbows being wrenched out of their sockets, and wrist and arms broken. It is especially suited for small-built females in defence against an aggressor armed with a cutlass, stick, knife, or bare-handed attack,” he continued.

“In becoming a Maxido practitioner, an automatic shield of armor is adorned, as the confidence level becomes evident in the persons characterisation, therein eliminating and significantly reducing the attraction by would-be attackers,” Massiah further related.

According to him, the females in Maxido are all very proud and have all exuded an air of confidence. Sharing just one experience, he said there is a particular female who weighs 115 pounds, and is barely over feet who confessed to being abused both physically and sexually.

At the end of acquiring her second level (Orange belt), the student related how she is 100 per cent comfortable with defending herself effectively if ever threatened in such a situation again. She also admitted that her current companion, who used to be verbally abusive, has fully ceased from that attitude due to being aware of her physically defensive capabilities.

“The Senior Instructor of Maxido, well-known photographer and film-maker Kojo McPherson…will testify it was that very female who inspired him to join Maxido. When he first visited the Dojo, she was in training and I told him to be physically aggressive to her. Within a few seconds he was pleading with her to let go of the painful position she placed him in. He immediately decided to be a student, lamenting the fact of such a petite woman having him under full control. All Maxido females will actually boast of the complete change of confidence and the absence of fear of physical abuse,” Massiah said.