Children, parents roll up sleeves for taekwondo

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 02/22/2008 5:00 AM  |  City

As seven-year-old Syifa tightened the belt around her white taekwondo uniform, she formed a line with a gaggle of other uniformed children along a street outside Bintaro Housing Complex in Tangerang.

Despite the drizzle and windy conditions, Syifa and her classmates excitedly prepared themselves to pay proper respect to the coach in front of them, by together bowing toward him, signaling their preparedness to train.

Following carefully her coach's instructions, and while adults joined a different class alongside, Syifa and her classmates trained with relentless energy and enthusiasm for their coach, taekwondo trainer and expert, Temmy.

Regular training sessions are routine for these taekwondo trainees, who are mostly residents of Bintaro.

Every Friday evening and Sunday morning, children, teenagers and adults who are members of Bintaro Sacti Club gather on the street to train in taekwondo.

But for them, it is more than just learning a Korean martial art.

They take part in the specialized classes not only to learn taekwondo as a self-defense mechanism or to maintain their health and fitness -- the classes also offer an opportunity to socialize with others and boost confidence levels.

Heidy, 38, is mother to Syifa and Iffha, and said she sends her daughters to learn the martial art to help boost her children's self confidence.

"Syifa was shy and afraid of being around new people," Heidy said.

"But since she joined the club a year ago, she is more confident now and not shy of making friends.

"It is also good for her to master a self-defense art," Heidy said.

"Taekwondo also brings some advantages for me.

"I was just accompanying Iffha to train in the club.

"But then I became interested in participating too and have joined in since 2005," she said.

"The training has proven to keep me fresh and healthy.

"Besides, the routine exercises can reduce my body weight and boost my confidence.

"It is also good for my self-defense against any crime."

Another participant, Wisnu, who works in an engineering department of a private company, said she found joining the club had led to her making more friends.

"In this club, I meet people from many different backgrounds. It is good for broadening my networks," Wisnu said.

"The participants and I also like to share stories or problems about work or our kids."

Wisnu's 14-year-old daughter is now also member of the club.

Together, Wisnu, Heidy, their children and other participants said they enjoyed exercising, even when it was raining.

"It's not a big deal for me. It's still fun. It's just light rain, anyway," said Syifa after training.

Taekwondo head coach Temmy Irawan Nasution praised his students' spirit.

"They keep on training enthusiastically even though it is raining," said Temmy, who started teaching in Bintaro in 1993.

"I must give them credit.

"I used to teach at an elementary school in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.

"Then some of the parents who lived in Sector Two of Bintaro, asked me to train their children in Bintaro," he said.

At that time, there was no sports hall in the area, so Temmy and the taekwondo participants commenced training on a street near the office of the Bintaro housing complex.

There were just 10 participants when Temmy started to teach at the housing complex -- a number which dropped down to just one student, before word spread and Temmy's commitment and hard work paid off.

Today he has about 200 students and 18 assistants.

"The parents, who came to accompany and watch their children exercising, became interested as well," he said.

"It's so surprising. But that's good.

"But the training for small children is more fun.

"It is also more about building their mental capacity -- we can't expect children to be fighters at their age.

"Taekwondo is also good to teach them to be more disciplined, more confident and to be able to socialize easily.

"For parents, taekwondo helps maintain their physical condition and fitness levels," he said.

Another participant, Lastri, said the outdoor venue and the low-priced fees were even more reason to join in.

To register to train there is an annual fee of Rp 150,000 (US$16,41), which includes a uniform and belt and the administration fee. Monthly fees are Rp 35,000 per person.

"It is quite cheap compared to other training centers which ask for hundreds of thousands of rupiah for monthly fees," Lastri said.

As the club continues to draw more and more people, Temmy said he hopes to have better facilities in the future.

"We've been training on the pavement for 15 years. So far, the participants are fine with that.

"But I hope that someday we will be able to train at a proper and bigger venue.

"I want to give more to the participants," Temmy said.

Besides training Indonesians, Temmy also provides courses to expatriates and their children.

"Most of my students are Japanese and Korean children, but their parents usually ask me to train them in their apartments," he said. (trw)

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