Free fights entertains, but protests abound

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jandi Werson Purba is a 24-year-old second brigadier police officer. He is also an athlete specializing in wrestling and has taken part in many national tournaments.

Although he has not won a tournament yet, the third place status he has won many times requires only a little more effort before he can turn it into a gold, which would usually guarantee a place on the national team.

As an athlete dreaming of a run at the 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam, Jandi takes a few hours out of his week to hone his skills.

However, for the past three months, Jandi, from North Sumatra, has increased his training to seven days a week as he has gotten involved in the TPI-Fighting Championship (TPI-FC), an ultimate fighting contest aired on Saturday night on private television channel TPI. Ultimate fighting means there are no rules in the game, except that contestants cannot aim for the eyes or groin.

"I used to train only three days out of the week, for two hours each time. Now I have added an extra hour onto each of the remaining four days," he told The Jakarta Post in Tangerang, Banten, while on duty recently.

Besides locks and takedowns, both an offensive and defensive tactic used in wrestling, Jandi has also sharpened his punches and kicks.

Watching the contest, people who call it cruel may hold their breath in horror. The two fighters go at each other in the ring, clamoring for blood, punching, kicking, bending and snapping at one another. Rarely is a win decided on points. A win quite often results from an opponent agonizingly screaming in submission out of sheer pain.

But many wait for this final scene. "This is a real fight," said Sayuti, a student, from Jakarta. He compared it to another fight on another TV channel, which, he said, was theatrical.

TPI-FC is not a new contest devoted to ultimate fighting. Indonesian TV viewers have become familiar with the full-body contact fighting through what they call the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride Fighting Championship (PFC), both running on the same channel.

But unlike those two contests, TPI-FC matches participants who are local fighters, which may make viewers more interested.

Thirty participants, who come from various martial arts, are featured in the fight and are split into three weight divisions: lightweight, under 65 kilograms, middleweight, 65 to 80 kg, and heavyweight, over 80 kg.

Despite its rising popularity among TV viewers, the organizers have encountered criticism. One was from the country's sports authority, which claimed the contest violated the true essence of sports.

"With fighters from different disciplines being pitted against one another, the result can give a misperception about martial arts," Arie Soedewo, the vice-chairman of the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI), said at a media conference.

"People can make a blind conclusion that a certain martial art is superior to another when its exponent wins," he said.

Media Watch slammed the contest as a "glorification of violence".

"The spectacle is arranged in such a way that violence looks glorious," Ade Armando, Media Watch director, told The Post.

Ade said that by allowing the program to continue signified TPI's insensitivity toward the negative impact it would have on society.

A moderate view was provided by sports psychologist Joe Rumeser, who compared the program to a knife.

"A knife can help you cook and do anything useful. But it can also be used to kill," he said.

"The question is how they can make the program benefit sports development," he said, adding that sports organizations involved in the program should be encouraged to do better.

TPI was quick to respond in an attempt to quell the criticism.

"Fighters come to the contest as an individual. They are not supposed to represent certain disciplines or sports organizations. They are only allowed to claim they come from a martial arts club," Agus Syafrudin, the marketing manager, said.

The fighters are supposed to master more than one discipline. "This is a mixed martial art showdown, not the kind that is between two opponents in the same discipline," he said.

Agus also said candidates should follow strict rules, including undergoing strict medical screening before there are eligible for a match on the show.

In an attempt to appease critics, organizers have grouped the martial arts into five categories, depending on the disciplines' uniqueness: submission, grappling, kicking, punching and exotic.

Falling into the submission category are judo and jujitsu. Grappling groups wrestling and aikido. Kicking sees tae kwon do and kick-boxing. Punching includes boxing and karate, while exotic means the traditional martial art of silat.

Despite the high risk, TPI-FC fighters do not seem taken aback.

"We have got 120 applicants signed up for the second series starting in October," Mara Bangun, the sports producer, said.

Jandi has become a true champion in wrestling. He said it was his curiosity that first influenced him to take up the challenge. Since he has made it to the finals, he said that he was even more curious to prove that with wrestling he could defeat fighters from other disciplines.

"As fighters become exhausted, the fight will be on the ground. At this stage, wrestling will prevail," Jandi, who eventually lost to Linson Simanjuntak in the final match on Saturday, said.

Roy George Tangka, a 46-year-old middleweight judo fighter, gave a different reason for doing ultimate fighting.

"It's all about money," the former national champion said.

A winner could take home as much as Rp 8.5 million (US$944) in prize money.

Roy's fight for winning the money was stopped in the semifinals. But he is determined to try again.

"I'm coming back. Two months will be enough to prepare for it. I hope I can win in 2003," he said.