'No stopping Tarung Derajat'

BANDUNG, Indonesia - The city known as the Paris of Indonesia and shopper’s paradise is now the home of a new sport trying to get into the Southeast Asian Games this year. In his country’s third-largest city, home of over 400 factory outlets of all the biggest name brands in the world, a squat, muscular man has become a cultural icon and founder of the martial art that has taken the country by storm.

In 1968, Achmad Drajat – then a scrawny adolescent – was beaten black and blue by bigger kids. It left such an impression on him that he vowed it would never happen again. Creating his own form of martial art, Drajat, now known as Sang Guru or “Supreme Teacher” is something of a celebrity with thousands upon thousands of followers. He is both feared and revered up to the highest level of government, and treated like a stern father by his disciples.

Raring Derajat is a complex fighting form that resembles street fighting. Some of its more distinctive training methods include being held upside down on your head, and Sang Guru stomping with one foot or jumping onto the abdomens and extremities of students. There is grappling, throwing and striking, often in training areas without rubber mats on the floor to protect the athletes. In the demonstration video, Drajat is shown breaking clay roofing tiles on the abdomen of his young sons with a sledge hammer. Now, Tarung Derajat is also being taught in the Indonesian military, and has received support from Cabinet ministers.

From May 5 to 8, a congress of compact, six-man delegations from Thailand, Vietnam, East Timor, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Brunei Darussalam and the host country gathered in Drajat’s huge home and training center (equivalent to a city block) to hold the Declaration of The International Federation of Tarung Derajat. The top officials of the sport from each county previously held a caucus in Bangkok, Thailand on March 19 to lay down basic principles and the outline of their rules and regulations. The Philippine delegation then and now was led by retired former PNP Chief Lucas Managuelod, who is currently the president of the Muaythai Association of the Philippines. Both sports share a history in the region.

“Tarung Derajat has a universal value to make a peaceful world,” Drajat told the gathering. “It is not for one person or one country, but for the world.”

The first order of the new federation was to ratify the election of Santiphab Intrapat as its first president. Santiphab, a very influential sports official in Thailand, was elected interim president at the confab in Bangkok. He guaranteed financial and technical support for the member countries as the sport pushes for recognition by the SEA Games Federation and eventually the International Olympic Committee.

Next, the body approved the logo for the sport, a fist with pronounced knuckles grasping a lightning bolt, surrounded by a bowl holding the five basic movements and principles of the sport. Drajat said it symbolized the never-ending search for knowledge, and the interconnectedness of all things.

“We are all the same born in this world,” said the respected teacher. “We are all separated by the sea. The attitude of humanity is not evil.”

Now, the federation is in a race against time, because they intend to hold a first event as a dry run to being an exhibition sport in the SEA Games. This means that the federation must either send coaches to each member country, or fly in the potential athletes to Bandung for a crash course in the sport. Santiphab guaranteed the support of the federation in getting teams ready for the August meet. After that, the federation will conduct a review and organize in earnest for the SEA Games in Indonesia,

Other sports protested the inclusion of Tarung Derajat, saying it was an unwelcome addition and burden to the host country. Some sports have been eliminated from this year’s calendars, while others like boxing have placed limitations on the number of events a country may field entries. Still, Indonesia will exercise its privilege as host country to add its own homegrown sport.

The main question now is how the sport will sustain itself, and build credibility in so short a time. It definitely receives support from very high government officials in many of the ASEAN countries, including the Minister of Forestry and Minister of Youth and Sports here, but what about other countries? Also, the overlap with Muaythai groups in the region may cause some complications as Tarung Derajat progresses. Still, so far, the allocation of resources to this fledgling sport is impressive. If only our own national sport of arnis is received with much attention.

* * *

The Enersel Forte National Youth Arnis Festival will be held at the SM Megamall activity center this weekend, May 14 and 15. It is open to all youth age groups. The event is also sponsored by Smart, Harbour Centre, Stix and Chris Sports.