Tarung derajat to be proposed for inclusion in SEA Games

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State Minister of Youth and Sport Affairs Adhyaksa Dault has promised to push for the inclusion of homegrown martial art tarung derajat in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, an official said on Tuesday.

"The minister vowed to support and simultaneously campaign for tarung derajat to be put into competition at the SEA Games, and we will work as quickly as possible to send coaches to countries that don't have the sport yet," secretary-general of Tarung Derajat Sports Family (Kodrat) Hermansyah was quoted as saying by Antara news service.

Hermansyah said the sport was growing in popularity in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, and the association had contacted several other countries, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, about establishing tarung derajat associations.

"We are awaiting their response, and hopefully it (the plan) will be realized in 2006," Hermansyah said.

Tarung derajat -- a martial art similar to kick boxing with full body contact -- was established 33 years ago by GH Achmad Dradjat in Bandung, West Java. It was recognized by the National Sports Council in 1997 and became a medal sport at the 2004 National Games in Palembang.

Hermansyah was speaking at the announcement of the national championships, to be held from Dec. 16-Dec. 19 in Jakarta.

He was accompanied by Kodrat's main coach Badai Meganegara, who is the son of the sport's founder and the head of the organizing committee for the nationals.

Badai, who has coached in Malaysia and Brunei, said popularizing the sport outside the country required a joint focus on the development and training of athletes.

He noted the sport's popularity at home, with 247 athletes from 19 provinces competing in the nationals. Athletes will compete in the men's and women's free and artistic categories.

In June, Badai told Kompas daily that Jakarta would be the hub of development efforts for the sport, and added he had refused offers to reside in Malaysia to coach "...because I don't want the Malaysians to get better than us".

Pencak silat, the nation's other martial art, has become popular in other parts of Asia and around the world. Vietnam, whose program is handled by Indonesian coaches, now dominates the sport.