Coach confident karatekas ready to fight at SEA Games
JAKARTA (JP): Karate coach Willem Mantiri is upbeat that Indonesian fighters will have good results at the Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in September.
"All karatekas are here to give their best as their official duty to represent this country. They must remember that Indonesian citizens are financing their training," Willem told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
"Therefore they must give their absolute best in the competition as we have been grooming them with strong discipline and hard work."
The Indonesian Karate Federation (Forki) will field 11 karatekas in the men's division and eight karatekas for the women's side in the Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 Games.
When asked on the chances that the karatekas would have in Kuala Lumpur, Willem was optimistic that Indonesia would get good results.
"Our karatekas are still the best in the Southeast Asia region. We have reached a good performance level in Asia and internationally. We must maintain our accomplishments.
"How can we attain good results at the Asian Games or Olympics if we don't deal with the obstacles at the SEA Games. We should not be deterred by other countries' preparation, especially by host Malaysia's claim to have primed itself to grab most of the golds at stake."
Malaysia has been reported to have set a target of 14 of the 19 golds available, while Forki has targeted seven golds.
"Let them set a high target but they won't get them that easily. We have prepared our karatekas to excel at all the categories because we don't have any other option," said Willem.
"Karate is determined by the juries and judges. Sometimes they are very subjective and favor the host country.
"That's why our karatekas have to surpass their opponents. Even spectators will notice if the judges or juries do not award them fairly."
Willem also said all karatekas had been prepared to adapt to the new regulations, especially in the kumite events.
"We are drilling them more on evasive and feint techniques as well as using their legs more often. Our karatekas tend to use their tsuki (punch) instead of their geri (kick)."
"I'll give them special training to improve their harai (sweep) which is useful in feinting as well as initiating attacks. It will allow them to use combined techniques to earn points.
"Since an attack is the best defense, all karatekas must try to earn points earlier in the match than their opponents. Then they just have to wait for their opponents to make mistakes and launch counterattacks," he added.
The karatekas are scheduled to have a trial session on June 23 and June 24 with runners-up from the National Games (PON) and National Championships. (nvn)