Masseur combines Thai massage with local style
Masseur combines Thai massage with local style
By K. Basrie --10pts Metrolight
JAKARTA (JP): A key to running a successful business is interpersonal communication.
While Umi Mahyudah, 29, a timid woman from the Kendal region of Central Java, realized this she was unable to put it into action.
She likes to work without words.
As a result, she failed at managing a number of businesses until she moved with her husband from her hometown in early 1990 to the capital city, where she started a massage parlor.
"Like many residents of Kendal, Umi always feels ashamed to speak with people other than her relatives," said her husband, Rudi, 54.
The story of her business dates back to her experience in 1985, when she met a Singaporean businessman who treated a migraine that had plagued her for four-years.
She was a high school student in Kendal at that time, while the businessman, also a grandmaster of the Thai traditional therapeutic massage, was working on a fish farm project in the village.
After a series of treatments spanning three weeks by Sengchai Tantinarasak, a graduate in Thai massage from the Phra Chetupon Buddhist Temple in Bangkok, she was freed from piercing pain of the headache.
Later, Umi and Grandmaster Tantinarasak were married.
In February 1990, Umi asked her husband, nicknamed Rudi, to teach her and her sister, Murtisari, 23, Thai therapeutic massage for her new business.
After an intensive course, the two passed a test conducted at the Wat Po Traditional Thai Medical School of the Phra Chetuphon Buddhist Temple in June, 1991.
In February of last year, they completed a special course in Bangkok and were certified by the Traditional Thai Massage Conservation Association at Awut temple as qualified instructors of Thai therapeutic massage.
"During our short stay there, we communicated only with body language," Umi noted.
A month later, she set up a foundation called Yayasan Pijit Berdiploma Indonesia (Indonesian Certified Massage Foundation), which educates would be masseuses and gives massages to people suffering from illnesses caused by heavy stress.
The foundation is headed by Umi, while Murtisari is its secretary.
Recruits
Temporarily located on Jl. Persada Raya 50, Menteng Dalam, Central Jakarta, the foundation has recruited 11 staff, most from Central Java, and has served hundreds of patients, including public figures like government critic Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin.
The centers literature states that Thai therapeutic massage stops stress and related ailments like chronic headaches, stomach aches, insomnia, depression, impotence, frigidity and back pains.
In Jakarta, there are hundreds of massage parlors, including those adopting the initial of Thai massage on their signboards. As elsewhere in the world, many of these are fronts for brothels.
Umi says that her clinic is serious about massage and that no other "services" are provided there.
A 30-year-old woman said: "I've only had a massage twice before in my life, to help recover my chronic headaches and menstruation problem. But, I always had a bad feeling after the massage. This time, I think that I'm at the right place."
The treatment at the clinic is conducted in at least two hours in a bid to help the blood circulation run properly.
Currently, the foundation charges Rp 25,000 (US$11.60) per hour of massage. However, extra charges are collected from customers who ask to be served at their homes.
According to Reuters a two-hour Thai massage in Beijing, China, costs $176.
As business is brisk Umi plans to modify the Thai massage with the many Indonesian massage styles, including those from Java, Sunda, Madura, Bugis and Sumatra.
"We also try to adopt massages from our own country and hand down the massage therapy to as many local people as we can, that's why we named it Yayasan Pijit Berdiploma Indonesia," she said.
Rudy remarked: "I realized that I'm quite old now and, therefore, decided to hand down all my skills and knowledge to Umi as well as to other interested Indonesian people who later could help promote the Indonesian massage worldwide."
To meet this goal, the foundation has started to educate and recruit masseuses to-be for free.
The students are required to take a one-month long course and at least three years of practice at Umi's clinic. They are paid and given accommodations and meals.
A total of 88 masseuses, most of them from the low-income families, are expected to complete their course this year.
At the current location in Menteng Dalam, Umi sometimes has to turn customers away due to limited space and staff.
In the long term, Umi plans to set up an exclusive health spa for the rich.