Tarung derajat fights for recognition

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tarung derajat, which began as a young man's attempt to hold his own in street fights, is gaining increasing recognition as one of the country's homegrown martial arts four decades later.

The three-day 10th national championships will conclude on Sunday at the Volleyball Hall Compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta, and it was announced earlier this week that efforts will be made for the sport's inclusion in the biennial Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Head of the national championship organizing committee Badai Meganagara Dradjat, the oldest son of the sport's founder Ahmad Dradjat, says his father began to develop the martial art in 1968 after being beaten up in his hometown Bandung.

"My father was a very talented soccer player, but he had a very skinny physique. When his team won a match, the opponent often wouldn't accept defeat and then challenged him to a fight," he said.

"One time, several days after winning a soccer match, he was badly beaten up by people in the market after his opponents shouted out that he was a thief."

Knowing that he would have to protect himself, Ahmad joined martial arts clubs, but felt he was given little attention by them, Badai said.

He decided to develop his own survival skills.

"First, he built up his body into a muscular one to protect his organs from attack. He also trained himself to jump high to be able to kick taller opponents."

His hard work led to the creation of particular kicking and punching techniques, which he tried out when challenged to street fights.

"My father learned from the street fights. When he lost, he developed new techniques until finally he could win bouts."

As Ahmad started winning fights, his friends became interested in learning the sport. By 1972, it had a name: tarung, meaning fight, and derajat for honor.

Rules have been developed over the years for the sport, which is often compared to Thai kickboxing and consists of three-round bouts. Fighters wear boxing gloves and attacks are restricted to the torso from hip to head, with three to four points provided for a strike to the head.

Punches to the torso score from one to two points, but fighters are penalized for blows below the hips or excessive retreating during the round. Two penalties for below-the-belt blows result in disqualification, while three penalties for retreating from the fight in a round will lead to a decision in the opponent's favor.

In 1997, the sport was accepted into the fold of the National Sports Council, and made its debut at the 2004 National Games. The sport is handled nationwide by the Tarung Derajat Sport Family (Kodrat), with 23 provincial chapters (Papua, South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan are among the regions yet to establish chapters).

State Minister of Youth and Sport Affairs Adhyaksa Dault has endorsed a plan for the promotion of the sport in the region for its inclusion in the SEA Games, where it would join the other national martial art, pencak silat.

So far, the only overseas branch is the Kodrat chapter in Perak, Malaysia, which was established last year.

Badai, who has coached in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, said earlier this year that the risk of promoting the sport abroad was that Indonesia may eventually lose out in competition to other countries. It has happened in pencak silat, now dominated by Vietnam after Indonesian coaches were hired to train the country's athletes.

"I think it is better to strengthen our organization at home first before establishing branches abroad," he said.