UBD To Play Grudge Match For Bronze

Yaneva and teammates Eka Ardiana
and Wulan Nurhasanah took home
silver with 451 points.

Bandar Seri Begawan - Team Brunei have a chance to clinch another bronze medal at the 15th Asean University Games should they win in the futsal third-place play-off today in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

However Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) would have to give their 100 per cent against Malaysia, who previously thrashed the Sultanate side 4-1 in the preliminary stage.

Though they were hammered in all three matches of the preliminary stage, with only four teams competing in the event UBD were already guaranteed a berth in the semi-final.

Hosts Thailand dealt a 15-0 defeat to Brunei in the semi-final on Monday.

The victory sets up the former on a date with Indonesia in the final at the 700th Anniversary Chiangmai Sports Complex today.

Indonesia defeated Malaysia 2-4 in the other semi-final to pit the latter against UBD in the battle for third spot at the same venue today.

After five days of competition, UBD have notched three bronze medals via pencak silat and karatedo so far.

The Sultanate bagged two of the three medals at the Payap University gymnasium yesterday.

Nurul Aimi Amalidya Zainidi scored 454 points in the women's seni tunggal to add bronze to the Sultanate's medal tally.

Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Thanh Mo (466 points) and Indonesian Yaneva Febriana (459 points) captured the gold and silver medals respectively.

Later in the day, Nurul Aimi made it a double as she took onto the mat again in the women's seni regu with compatriots Faehaanah Sabaraya and Farhanah Hj Abdullah.

The trio amassed 444 points to place in third.

The gold once again went to Thi Thanh Mo, who scored 460 points with countrymen Nguyen Thi Loan and Tran Thi Mai La.

Muhd Suhrawadi Hj Suhadi bagged the Sultanate's first medal after he managed to enter the men's kumite -84 kilogrammes semi-final on Friday.

The 25-year-old, however, failed to progress after Malaysian Roney Roger Sining won 9-1 in the match.

Sutthichi Akhiao edged the latter 7-5 in the final to claim gold for the hosts.

Defeated semi-finalist Le Trung Dung of Vietnam placed as joint-third alongside Muhd Suhrawardi.

Brunei's table tennis representatives were shown the exit door out the tournament after failing to notch a single win to their name.

Abdul Hadi Zulfadli Hj Yahya and Tzu Min Wee were unable to progress past the table tennis men's single preliminary rounds after being dealt three consecutive losses each to their respective opponents.

The duo also lost 3-0 in the men's doubles match against Vietnam at Chiangmai University yesterday.

Other results yesterday include the mixed double's team 3-0 defeat to Malaysia and the men's double team 3-0 lost to Vietnam.

Written by AMIR AMIN
Sourced from http://www.brudirect.com/index.php/2010122235820/Sports-News/ubd-to-play-grudge-match-for-bronze.html

Abdul-Malik Ahmad, Pencak Silat Athlete

American Abdul-Malik Ahmad had never heard of pencak silat when his friend introduced him to the martial art at their local mosque in Washington, DC.

Now he fights in competitions all over the world and plans to promote the sport back home in the United States.

We caught up with Abdul-Malik at the 14th Pencak Silat World Championship in Jakarta last week to find out what it’s like to be the only American in the competition, why he’s hooked on Indonesia’s traditional martial art and how to keep your sarong on in a fight.

How long have you been doing pencak silat?
The actual pencak silat I’ve been doing for about 20 years, since I was 15. I’m 35 now. But the sport aspect of pencak silat, which I’m here to learn, this is my first time.

So I came here and was participating in two divisions: The tanding , the fighting, and tunggal , the single form. So that was fun.

I’m surprised there aren’t more Americans here.
Me too! My goal is to go back and really promote pencak silat more and hopefully, by the next competition, we’ll be able to bring maybe a dozen people from the United States.

What do you like about Jakarta?
Jakarta seems like a very active place — a lot of diversity. People are nice and hardworking. I’m not really into big cities, but I like Jakarta. The weather is great, the food is great. It has a good spirit to it.

What do you dislike about Jakarta?
The bad thing obviously is the traffic. I think it could be a little cleaner, but that’s all big cities. I’ve been to New York, to Cairo, to Dhaka, which is in Bangladesh. I’ve been to several real big hustle-and-bustle cities, and they all have a similar vibe. Jakarta is no different.

What is it like to practice pencak silat in the country where it originated?
Oh, it’s great. That’s why I’m back. It’s authentic. I’ve been doing pencak silat for 20 years in America, but coming over here, you get to see what the art really means to the people.

How did you first get started in pencak silat?
Actually, [in Washington, DC] there’s a local mosque and there was a friend who invited me to go to this silat class. I didn’t really know what silat was, I hadn’t heard of it before. But then I was interested in it and I really enjoyed it. It was a great school and he was a great instructor too. So I just kept with it and when that class finished, I went to the Indonesian embassy in DC and I continued my practice there.

Why do you like pencak silat?
I think pencak silat encompasses so many things. It’s artistic, it has the self-defense side, it has the sport side, it has the spiritual side, it has so many weapons, it has so many aspects you can’t get bored of it. There’s always something new to learn.

So you went straight to the World Championship?
Yes, I went straight to the World Championship [laughs]. But I’ve done what they call open tournaments in the United States.

It’s much different. The rules are: No sweeps or takedowns, just punches and kicks. So I just use the aspects of silat that I know are similar and I leave out the other aspects.

What’s it like to be the only American athlete here?
Well, actually, everyone is very nice here. I got a warm welcome from the South African team because we shared the same silat school. Everybody’s been very nice and I’ve really been enjoying myself.

Do you think pencak silat is growing in popularity in the United States?
No. It’s on my shoulders and all the people in the United States to really push it. Nobody knows about it, and we don’t have any real instructors except for our school. So we’re hoping that maybe the Indonesian community will help us promote it in the United States a little bit more.

And you’re also an instructor?

I am. I’m officially a black belt, or pelatih [trainer] as they say, so I do instruct. I’ve been teaching for about 10 years. We have about 60 students right now in our school. Most are young, around 9 and younger. We’re trying.

Is this your first time in Indonesia?

This is my second time in Indonesia. The first time was in December 2008 for about two weeks. I stayed with a friend of mine just a bit outside of Jakarta. But we practiced in Jakarta at Al Azhar Indonesia University, which was right in the middle of the city.

How did you do in the competition this week?
Oh, I didn’t win. I got beat by Malaysia. Everyone said I did well, but — I had a wardrobe mishap. So my sarong fell off and that’s, like, 20 points. But I enjoyed myself and I took some video and it was a great learning experience. I think next time I can do pretty well.

Written by JENNIFER JETT
Sourced from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/myjakarta/my-jakarta-adbul-malik-ahmad-pencak-silat-athlete/412754

Viet Nam dominates at international martial arts event

HA NOI – Viet Nam has finished top of the medal table at the World Martial Arts Pencak Silat Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia after bagging eight gold, eight silver and three bronze medals.

Vietnamese artists maintained their domination of the competition with 10 athletes making the finals, eight of whom stepped up to the victory podium.

Viet Nam has won four world titles since 2002.

Pencak silat has become one of Viet Nam's strongest events at the Southeast Asian Games, and together with wushu, taekwondo and karate, the sport is considered a "gold mine" for the country in both regional and international tournaments.

At a meeting of the Asian Pencak Silat Federation, the deputy head of the elite sports department of the national sports administration, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, was appointed as general secretary of the federation.

The martial art was a demonstration event at the Asian Games in Busan in 2002, but has yet to be officially included at the Games.

Sourced from http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Sports/206924/Viet-Nam-dominates-at-international-martial-arts-event-.html

Brunei Silat to gold

Khuzaiman Ahmad (inset) won a gold for Brunei while teammate Hj Md Khairul Bahrin Hj Duraman (pic) bagged a bronze for the coutry in Jakarta last week.

Bandar Seri Begawan - The national pencak silat team claimed their best finish ever at a world tournament last week - taking home one gold and three bronze medals at the 14th World Pencak Silat Championships in Jakarta.

Khuzaiman Ahmad clinched the sole gold medal for the Sultanate after winning the men's tanding Class E (65-70 kilogrammes) event. The victory also earned him the "Best Male Athlete" award at the tournament held from Dec 12-17 at Padepokan Pencak Silat Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta.

In August, Khuzaiman became the first Bruneian to beat a Vietnamese in an international tanding (match sparring) event, the 21-year-old national silat exponent downing Nguyen Duy Chien in the semi-finals of the men's Class E match en route to his gold medal-performance at the 2nd Southeast Asian Silat Championships 2010. The Bruneian beat Malaysia's Mohd Al Jufferi Jamari 3-2 in the final at the Thanh Hoa Gymnasium, Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, to finish first in the event.

Khuzaiman's gold in Vietnam was the country's second at the tournament - Nurul Aimi Amalina Zainidi winning the other in the women's tunggal (single) event.

Meanwhile, the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold-medallist Hj Md Khairul Bahrin Hj Duraman bagged a bronze in the men's pencak silat tunggal. Hj Md Khairul Bahrin last December won Brunei's only gold medal at the Laos SEA Games.

Norleyermah Raya, who won a bronze medal in the previous edition in Kuantan, Pahang, returned with another bronze in the women's pencak silat tunggal.

Compatriots Abd Malik Hj Ladi, Abd Rahman Hj Asli and Juffri Hj Junaidi added to the tally with a bronze in the men's regu, repeating their achievement at the 2nd SEA Silat Championship 2010 held from Aug 5-10 in Vietnam.

The medal haul, aided by Khuzaiman's gold, put Brunei fourth in the biennial competition which was participated by a total of 32 countries.

Hosts Indonesia emerged as the overall champions. Vietnam and Malaysia placed second and third respectively.

"This is our best result ever at the tournament. Khuzaiman's feat, to be honoured as the 'Best Male Athlete', is a first for the country," said team manager Pg Hj Abd Karim Pg Hj Metassan in an interview yesterday. The silat team returned from the Indonesian capital yesterday morning.

Fifteen experienced silat exponents, who have oil proven themselves capable of rising to the challenge at international competitions, represented the Sultanate at the world championships.

Written by AMIR AMIN

Brunei struggling in Thailand

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Sultanate's representative at the 15th Asean University Games, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), are still seeking for their first win in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

After three days of competition, the contingent have yet to notch a single win in three sports contested.

With only four teams competing in futsal, UBD were hammered in all three matches of the preliminary stage, losing to Indonesia (7-0), Thailand (12-2) and Malaysia (4-1).

The same story of failure repeated itself in karatedo, held at the North Chiangmai University Stadium gymnasium.

In the women's individual kata, Brunei lost 3-0 to Laos before being shown the exit door in the semifinal against neighbours Malaysia by the same scoreline.

Meanwhile, the men lost their only match to Laos 3-0. While the men's kumite -84 kilogrammes exponent was ousted out 1-9 against Malaysia in the semi-final.

In table tennis, the men's team failed to secure a single win against opponents Singapore (0-3), Laos (0-3) and Thailand (0-3).

UBD's pencak silat team, who won bronze in the men's regu during the previous edition back in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, will make their debut in the tournament tomorrow.

Sourced from http://www.brudirect.com/index.php/2010121835573/Sports-News/ubd-struggling-in-thailand.html

Pencak Silat Links Indonesia to Athletes Around the World

Harriet Zuidland of the Netherlands, right, fights Tran Thi Luyen of Vietnam during her finals match at the Pencak Silat World Championships on Friday. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

 
Jakarta. The common way of introducing Indonesian culture to foreigners is serving them the delicious nasi goreng or sop buntut.

Or sharing with them stories of how beautiful Bali is or how majestic the Borobodur temples are.

Dutch national Patrick Pronk took quite a different approach in discovering Indonesia.

He got into the martial arts of pencak silat.

“Pencak silat means almost everything to me,” he said.

“When I don’t practice, I don’t know what to do.

“I just sit at home.”

Pronk’s passion for the game led him to Jakarta last week, when he competed in his maiden World Pencak Silat Championships.

He was one of only two Europeans to land a berth in the final, before he lost 5-0 to Indonesian pesilat Sapto Purnomo in the men’s D class (60 to 65 kilograms).

A second Dutch pesilat, Harriet Zuidland, bagged the silver in the women’s 70-75kg.

“I’m happy because I got into the final, but I’m not happy because I didn’t fight my best,” Pronk said.

“I was thinking too much. I almost knew that I was going to meet an Indonesian in the final.”

Pronk got into pencak silat in 2005, when his father took him to the martial arts club Bongkot Friesland in the city of Leeuwarden.

While most of his friends were into football, Pronk said pencak silat appealed to him almost immediately.

“I just love the culture in pencak silat, the people I meet. They’re generally nice and supportive. It’s not just fighting, it’s the style that goes with it.”

Pronk has competed in a number of European events, and his most notable accomplishment so far is his third-place finish in the European championship. He, however, wants more exposure.

“At this moment, the competition in Europe is not very big. We only have five tournaments in Europe the whole year,” he said.

“We’ve been trying to set up more events in the Netherlands. I hope the Netherlands can be the center of pencak silat development in Europe.”

Pencak silat was introduced in Europe in the 1960s by Henri de Thomis, who brought the pencak silat style of Bongkot Harimau to the Netherlands.

Raoul de Thomis, Henri’s son, said that promoting the sport was challenging.

“Kids nowadays are more interested in Internet games. They’re not much into sports anymore,” Raoul said.

To find new talent, Pronk and his fellow Netherlands-based athletes go from school to school to educate the youth about pencak silat, adding it’s not unusual for them to be asked by kids, “What is pencak silat?”

“Of course, it’s not as big as football in the Netherlands,” Pronk said.

“It’s not even as big as kickboxing, because the Dutch are good at kickboxing.”

Even though he considers pencak silat as just a hobby, Pronk, who works as a nurse, says he is focused on improving his skills by training two hours every night five days a week.

“I want to become a world champion, and I’ll try again [at the next world championships] two years from now,” said Pronk, who hopes to one day study under an Indonesian master.

Prabowo Subianto, the recently elected president of the International Pencaksilat Federation (Persilat), said the sport has a solid following in 45 countries.

“It’s such an honor for Indonesia to know that other nations are willing to learn our culture through the sport,” Prabowo said with pride.

“They even want us to send more coaches to these places. Persilat will answer this challenge by holding more coaching clinics in the future.”

Written by AMI AFRIATNI & JENNIFER JETT
Sourced from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/sports/pencak-silat-links-indonesia-to-athletes-around-the-world/41259

Indonesia victorious at pencak silat championships

Hosts Indonesia were crowned overall champions at the 14th Pencak Silat World Championships in Jakarta, carting a total of 10 gold, five silver and six bronze medals on Sunday.

2007 overall winners Vietnam trailed in second with eight gold, eight silver and three bronze medals, while Malaysia came third with four gold, six silver and six bronze.

Indonesian Pencak Silat Association head Prabowo Subianto said he was proud that his team became overall champions as planned.

“We failed to get the title in previous championships,” he said. “But this time we made it. I really hope this victory could be a good start for Indonesia to regain its glory in martial arts.”

Prabowo is also the newly appointed president for the international pencak silat organization Persilat.

In the previous championships in 2007, Indonesia finished fourth.

Prabowo said the 2010 championships were the largest pencak silat event with a total of 30 participating countries.

In Friday’s final, Indonesia’s Pranoto, Dian Kristanto and Sapto Purnomo in the men’s tanding (fight), and Rosmayani in the women’s tanding all won gold.

Indonesia failed to meet its initial goal of six gold medals. Vietnam picked up eight gold medals from its 10 fighters.

Dian said he was proud to contribute to the Indonesian team’s overall win.

“This is my comeback performance after a two-year break from a ligament injury in my right leg.
And today I did well,” he said, referring to an injury he sustained at the inaugural Asian Beach Games in Bali in 2008.

“It was actually a challenge to fight [defending champions] Vietnam. Now I’m happy with this win,” he added.

Dian admitted the Vietnamese were hard to beat because they had little to lose at the event. “They went all out, which is why they got this far,” he added.

Dian thanked the home fans for their support during the bouts, saying it boosted the fighters’ morale.
“I think home supporters are now very appreciative. And it really affected us.”

He said he hoped Indonesia would grow in strength at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in the country next year and in the 2012 world championships.

On Wednesday, the Indonesian team clinched all six gold medals in the men’s singles seni (demonstration), women’s singles demonstration, men’s doubles demonstration, women’s doubles demonstration, men’s groups demonstration and women’s groups demonstration.

The only representative from Europe, the Netherlands, lauded host Indonesia for organizing the tournament.

“Despite Indonesia leading [the tournament], I really think pencak silat in Vietnam has been well developed. The team has been performed really well in the championships,” Dutch team coach Raoul de Thomis said.

Written by NIKEN PRATHIVI
Sourced from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/12/18/ri-victorious-pencak-silat-c%E2%80%99ships.html

Action must complement vision and ideas, youths told

Warriors: Ahmad (left) with silat master Mustapa Kamal Shariff during the launch ceremony.

Youths must be more pro-active and move fast nowadays in order not to be left behind, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

He said the youths, being the generation who would shape the country’s future must not only have vision or ideas but also action.

“Without concrete actions, whatever you plan will not materialise,” he said when launching the 1Borneo Gayong Martial Arts Programme at the Kuching Waterfront yesterday.

“The future of the country depends on the youths who carry the responsibility to ensure the success of the nation,” he added.

He also urged the youths to be knowledgeable and disciplined which they could acquire from practising martial arts.

Written by CALVIN YEO
Photo by ZULAZAHAR SHEBLEE
Sourced from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/17/sarawak/7637822&sec=sarawak

Indonesia Fights Its Way to Regain Pencak Silat Crown

A young athlete demonstrates his self-defense skills at the finals of the Pencak Silat World Championship 2010 in Jakarta on Friday. Indonesia broke Vietnam’s decade-long hold on the sport by emerging with the most gold medals. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)

JAKARTA - After being in the shadow of Vietnam in the last three years, Indonesia has finally regained its place at the top of the martial art it gave the world.

The hosts emerged the overall champions at the conclusion of the 14th World Pencak Silat Championships in Jakarta, on Friday, bagging 10 gold medals, five silvers and six bronzes.

Vietnam finished second with eight golds, eight silvers, and three bronzes, followed by Malaysia (4-4-6) and Brunei (1-0-3).

Vietnam was the overall winner of the 2007 world championships and also took the most golds at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

At Jakarta’s Padepokan Pencak Silat complex, Indonesia swept all six golds in the artistic events (seni), with the other four coming from combat events (tarung).

Prabowo Subianto, president of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Federation (IPSI), praised the athletes for their achievement.

“I hope this will mark the reawakening of our own martial arts, which has been dominated for some time by Vietnam,” said Prabowo, who on Thursday was elected president of the International Pencak Silat Federation (Persilat).

“Our next target is to help the country win the overall championship at the Southeast Asian Games next year,” he added.

In the 2009 SEA Games, Indonesia managed to win only two golds, while Vietnam had six and Malaysia four.

Among the gold medalists in this week’s tarung events were Pranoto and Dian Kristanto.

Pranoto, who used to compete in the men’s H class (80-85 kilograms), was fielded in the J class (90-95kg), where he beat Malaysia’s Nik Mohd. Noor Rashdan 5-0.

“When I arrived at Padepokan to join the training camp, I was overweight,” Pranoto said. “Since it was impossible for me to reduce weight quickly, my coach decided to field me in a heavier weight class.”

Dian defeated Diep Ngoc Vu Minh of Vietnam 5-0 to top the men’s A class (45-50kg) despite not having seen action since injuring his right leg at the inaugural Asian Beach Games that were held in 2008.

“I was groggy and not quite sure if I can make it or not. I’ve only been practicing all this time, but now I’ve done it. I’m so satisfied and I’ve gained more confident,” the 26-year-old said, adding that his next target was suiting up for the SEA Games.

The other two tarung gold medals came from Sapto Purnomo and Rosmayani.

Sapto bagged his gold medal after beating Patrick Pronk of the Netherlands 5-0 in the men’s class D (60-65kg) final.

Rosmayani defeated Malaysian Malini Binti Muhammad 5-0 to win the gold in the women’s class C (55-60kg).

Written by AMI AFRIATNI & JENNIFER JETT
Sourced from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/sports/indonesia-fights-its-way-to-regain-pencak-silat-crown/412384

Nine Indonesian into final in world pencak silat championship

Nine athletes of host Indonesia secured final spots at the 14th pencak silat world championships after a tight semifinal Wednesday, a media reported here on Thursday.

The Championships has started since Sunday in Jakarta and will end on Friday.

"We also aim for golds in the arts event," Indonesian team manager Edi Prabowo was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying here. Indonesia had 15 fighters in the semifinals round. However, six of them failed to progress to the finals.

Separately, team Thailand withdrew from the championship because it felt it was being treated unfairly by referees when it faced Malaysia in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

The championship is participated by athletes from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

Sourced from http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/7233992.html

Indonesian fan attack Vietnamese sports official

An Indonesian fan suddenly drop-kicked the chief of the Vietnamese Pencak Silat delegation at a game between a Vietnamese and Indonesian pencak Silat player on December 16.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, chief of the Vietnamese delegation to the World Pencak Silat Championship in Jakarta, didn’t agree with the referee’s decision to record a point for the host player because he broke the rules. Ngoc Anh stood near the playground and he ran to the referee to protest the referee’s decision.

Suddenly, an Indonesian fan appeared and a drop-kicked the Vietnamese official. When the fan felt down. A Vietnamese Pencak Silat coach rushed into to defend Ngoc Anh.

Some members of the Indonesian delegation and some audience members joined the battle, creating a scene of chaos at the game. Referees and security guards intervened to stabilize the situation.

After the incident, Ngoc Anh said that that the organizing board and the Indonesian Pencak Silat Federation offered an apology to the Vietnamese delegation.

The tournament closed on December 19 and Vietnam took the first place. The team defended its championship title with eight gold medals, especially one gold gained from the seni event, which is the strength of host Indonesia .

The WPSC, opened on Dec. 12, drew the participation of 425 athletes from 32 countries worldwide.

Sourced from http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/sports/2950/indonesian-fans-attack-vietnamese-sports-official.html

MSU Martial artist

"My involvement in Kelab Seni Silat Gayung Fatani (KSSGF) at the Management & Science University (MSU) was initially only to develop my interest in martial arts but it has taken me far," said Mohd Hairulnizam Ibrahim, 26, on the beginning of his involvement in martial arts.

He was then a student of Biomedical Sciences at MSU and was one of the earliest members in KSSGF, MSU. "I was impressed with its sense of movement and the beauty of its dance movements, as each movement of the hand has its own meaning," he said. He is now a lecturer in the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences at MSU in addition to acting as an instructor for the Pertubuhan Seni Gayung Fatani Malaysia (PSGFM).

Proud moment - Hairulnizam is second from right.

Besides being active in KSSGF, Hairulnizam was in the Student Representative Council at MSU. "Participation in extra-curricular activities helped me better focus on learning and help polished my soft skills," he added.

He said the most memorable time of his involvement in martial arts was when he was selected together with five PSGFM coaches to represent Malaysia in March in the Festival des Arts Martial Bercy, in Paris, which involved 32 types of martial arts from around the world.

MSU emphasises academic performance and active participation in extra-curricular activities for the development of graduates who are competent, and have the soft skills that will add value to their marketability.

Sourced from http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=55120

Ten countries absent from pencak silat championships

Ten countries have confirmed that they will not be competing in the 14th Pencak Silat World Championships, which will be held from Sunday to next Friday at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta.

“The 10 countries in absence are Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Turkey, Yemen, Austria, Italy and Mozambique,” Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) secretary Erizal Chaniago said Saturday, as quoted by Antara.

The 10 countries cited various reasons for their withdrawal from the event, but the main reason was insufficient transportation budgets, he said.

Despite the recent confirmation, the event will still feature about 400 fighters from 30 countries, including Indonesia.

Athletes from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam began arriving in the capital on Friday, Enrico said.

IPSI development chief Tafsil Rimsal said that participants from Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand began training sessions Saturday morning.

As the host country, Indonesia will be represented by 29 athletes at the event. Most members of
the Indonesian team have been training for the world championships and the 2011 Southeast Asian Games.

“The event is a perfect opportunity for our top athletes to sharpen their fighting morale against international fighters,” said Tafsil, adding that he had cautioned the athletes to never underestimate their opponents.

“I’m hoping for the best for Indonesia, becoming overall champions, if possible,” he said.

IPSI chairman Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that despite Indonesia’s hopes of becoming overall champions, their chances could be slimmer than when the event was last hosted here in 2000.

As countries such as Vietnam begin to master the sport, Indonesian fighters have been sliding down the rankings in international competitions. At the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos, Indonesian pencak silat fighters only bagged two gold medals, while Vietnam pocketed six.

Pencak silat has been featured at the SEA Games since 1987.

Sourced from: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/12/12/ten-countries-absent-pencak-silat-c%E2%80%99ships.html

Pencak silat dying at home

Despite the fact that the sport now has roots in 40 countries around the world, pencak silat, a traditional martial art, is dying a slow death in its homeland: Indonesia.

Eddie Marzoeki Nalapraya, known as the country’s father of pencak silat development, expressed hope that the government would provide financial support to rejuvenate the neglected discipline.

“It is about time we received support as we’ve been building padepokan [pencak silat facilities] for the past 30 years without any assistance from the government,” Eddie said at a media conference to announce the 14th Pencak Silat World Championship to be hosted from Dec. 12 to 17 at Padepokan Pencak Silat Indonesia in East Jakarta.

There are hundreds of pencak silat schools scattered around the archipelago, but less than 30 padepokan are qualified to hold training sessions.

“Supporting pencak silat means both developing the sport and also preserving our culture,” Eddie said, adding that he was concerned about the Korean government’s involvement in developing taekwondo in Indonesia.

“The Korean government and Korean companies are involved in building a taekwondo hall at an Islamic boarding school in Sawangan [West Java]. They even hired a Korean taekwondo coach,” he said.

Eddie retired as chairman position of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) in 2003, after 22 years at the helm. Although not an athlete himself, Eddie was the founder of PERSILAT — the International Pencak Silat Federation —in 1981. It now has 40 countries as members.

Through the federation, Eddie popularized pencak silat at the international level by sending pencak silat coaches to teach in places such as Vietnam, Iran, Yemen, Turkey and Russia.

As countries such as Vietnam begin to master the sport, Indonesian fighters are starting to perform poorly in international competitions. At the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos, Indonesian pencak silat fighters bagged only two gold medals, while Vietnam pocketed six. Pencak silat has featured at the SEA Games since 1987.

IPSI chairman Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that despite Indonesia’s hopes of becoming overall champions at the upcoming World Championship, their chances would be slimmer than in 2000, when the event was last hosted here.

Indonesia will have 28 fighters in the championships, which will feature a total of 425 athletes from 32 countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, India, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

“We still wish be overall champions, but it is not a rigid target as other countries are also highly motivated [to win this event],” Prabowo said.

By AGNES WINARTI
Sourced from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/12/01/pencak-silat-dying-home.html