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.