Faces of Kansas City: Local Boxer Following in Mother’s Footsteps

Faces of Kansas City: Local Boxer Following in Mother’s Footsteps

by | Aug 16, 2012 | Media

by Laura McCallister and Brad Stephens | August 16, 2012 – KCTV5:  To put it mildly, the U.S. Men’s Olympic boxing team failed miserably in London. For the first time in the history of the men’s team, not a single boxer medalled. But maybe, just maybe a young Overland Park, KS, boxer will turn the tide when Brazil hosts the summer games in 2016. It’s definitely a family affair when 21-year-old Matthew Anani is in a boxing ring. His mother, Sumya Anani is his trainer. So too is her long-time partner, Barry Becker, whom Matthew affectionately calls “dad. “The hardest part is being family. They’re not only my mom and dad, my coaches. I work for Barry laying carpet. It’s a weird, sticky situation, but it makes us all closer because of boxing,” amateur boxer Matthew Anani said. And although Matthew Anani only has a handful of amateur fights to his credit, he is already a two-time amateur champ. “My first fight was in the Kansas City Golden Gloves tournament. I had back-to-back-to-back fights. I won all three of those. I was considered the Kansas City Middleweight Golden Gloves Champion,” he said. For those who are wondering how Matthew’s mom knows so much about the sport, it’s because she was once the most feared woman in the ring and a four-time world boxing champion. KCTV5’s Brad Stephens shared her story in a June 2010 “Faces of Kansas City” segment explaining how she now devotes her passion to teaching yoga and spirituality. Sumya Anani said she never pushed her son to box and was blown away when he finally decided to take... read more
Your Body…Your Home

Your Body…Your Home

by | Mar 1, 2012 | Media, Yoga

by Sumya Anani | March/April 2012 – YOGA CHICAGO: Your body is your earth. It’s time to come home. The practice of yoga developed as the yoga masters studied life all around them. They observed the movement of the sun, the trees, and animals in their natural surroundings. This is how and why ahimsa, nonviolence toward all life, evolved as the first yama (observance) of yoga. All life is sacred. Read the full article... read more
Peaceful Warriors

Peaceful Warriors

by | Feb 2, 2012 | Media

by Rustin Dodd | February 2, 2012 – KANSAS CITY STAR, 913 News: Sumya Anani is a contradiction — a therapist, a student of spirituality and a fighter. Now her son is on a similar path. Read the full article here... read more
Aerial Yoga Offers Unique Fitness Options for New Year’s Resolutions

Aerial Yoga Offers Unique Fitness Options for New Year’s Resolutions

by | Dec 30, 2011 | Learning2Fly, Media

by Stephanie Liebergen | December 30, 2011 – KSHB CHANNEL 41 NEWS: If you one of your New Year’s resolutions includes weight loss, consider trying something new to reach your goals. At Learning2Fly in Mission, Kan., you can take classes in aerial yoga. They offer a variety of non-traditional fitness classes using props like fabric hammocks and hula hoops. MISSION, Kan. – If you one of your New Year’s resolutions includes weight loss, consider trying something new to reach your goals. At Learning2Fly in Mission, Kan., you can take classes in aerial yoga. They offer a variety of non-traditional fitness classes using props like fabric hammocks and hula hoops. Owner Sumya Anani says their unique ways definitely make exercise more fun. “People get bored of the treadmill, and they want to try something new. We’re always looking for the next thing, and this is such a way to empower you, not just physically but mentally. You start doing things you never thought you could do,” Anani said. There are a variety of class types for all age and fitness levels. Anani says some people can start see results and improved fitness after just a couple classes. To learn more or see a class schedule, go to iamlearning2fly.com or visit their Facebook page . Read the full article... read more
Discover Women’s Boxing: Here We Go Again

Discover Women’s Boxing: Here We Go Again

by | Oct 31, 2011 | Media

by Bernie McCoy | October 31, 2011 – WOMEN’S BOXING ARCHIVE NETWORK: I thought about Anani, who may have been the best of all professional boxers, when I was reading…I recall Sumya Anani relating about an hour she spent with a national newspaper reporter and her reaction to later reading the story which used only one of…Read the full article... read more
Women of Knockout

Women of Knockout

by | Oct 4, 2011 | Media

by Ion Cortez | October 4, 2011- AMOG: Laila Ali, Jackie Frazier-Lyde, Lucia Rijker, Ada Vélez, Ivonne Caples, Bonnie Canino and Sumya Anani, all world champions, jumping into the scene…Read the full article... read more
Be a Butterfly at Learning2Fly

Be a Butterfly at Learning2Fly

by | May 25, 2011 | Learning2Fly, Media

by Chuck Kurtz | May 25, 2011 – THE SUN NEWSPAPER: For Sumya Anani, a four-time world champion boxer, trainer, and now owner of an aerial studio, everyone’s a butterfly. In fact, the butterfly is the logo of her latest venture: Learning2Fly, the first aerial fitness, circus arts and yoga center in the Kansas City area. Read the full article... read more