MELTING POT ICE: (JP/Engelina Inez Wibowo)

At least there's one mall in Jakarta that offers something different. Deep in the bowels of West Jakarta's Taman Angrek Mall, lies a true contradiction -- an ice rink in the middle of Indonesia's sweltering capital.

Skating is fun. You can glide, change direction at full speed and even annoy your friends by covering them in snow ground from the ice by your silver bladed skates. It's even a good place to feel famous, as scores of shoppers stop to watch from a balcony above.

However, every Sunday evening from 7:30 to 9:30, Indonesians and expatriates, young and old, bring more to the equation: big wooden sticks, armor plating, steel toe caps and a flat round rubber puck that can travel up to 180 kilometers per hour and smash through two inches of reinforced glass.

On Sundays, each ice hockey team is allowed five players including a goalkeeper, and because there are usually sufficient numbers to make four teams, two sets of teams rotate every 10 minutes. In professional ice hockey, due to the exhaustive nature of the game, players hit the ice for just two or three minutes at a time before being replaced.

Even at Taman Angrekk, the pace is thrilling. With the speed of the puck, and the ability to glide on ice, players rarely stop to hold up the puck as they might the ball in soccer. Often the puck is "dumped" into the opposition end, where it races behind the goal, forcing all eight field players to chase it down.

However, one only has to watch South Korean Kang, a computer technician and former South Korean University hockey player and member of the Korean ice Hockey Federation, to appreciate that the puck can be caressed as well as beaten. In one move, he guides the puck through his legs, slides it from his left foot, and before the goalkeeper's eyes have returned to his stick again, the puck has slid past. If Christiano Ronaldo had been born an Eskimo, this would be his trick.

Expert stick handling is a luxury the advanced players utilize, but all players must be able to skate proficiently. Canadian Dylan Wiebe, 23, a former "triple A" player and currently an English teacher in Kelapa Gading, said the importance of skating could not be underestimated; "Skating is the biggest thing you need to learn in hockey. They have skating programs here, I'm not sure what they concentrate on, but skating is the biggest thing you need to focus on."

And watching the game unfold at its impressive pace, although some are faster and more agile on their skates than others, one rarely sees any of the players fall.

Ryan, 24, an Indonesian and one of the less experienced regulars, said skating was a learning curve, "I cannot say that I am already a good skater right now, I'm still learning, we never stop learning about skating. I started playing a couple of months after learning to skate, one or two months."

Perrins, 27, a member of team Indonesia who grew up in Singapore and went to university in Seattle, said learning to swim in the deep end was the best approach, "Basically there are two different lines (teams). In the first line usually everybody knows how to play and the second line is for the beginners. But sometimes we will mix them."

Dylan, a former right wing forward for Canada's Portage Terriers, said playing with advanced players offered the beginners a unique opportunity to improve their games, "That's the only way they're going to be able to learn. They'll learn how to skate faster and shoot better, defend properly."

The range in ability on Sunday is about as diverse as you will see in any sport in Jakarta. With former semi-amateur, university and ASEAN Federation players mixing it with beginners and, in one case, first-timers, one would expect frustration and intimidation to run amok. However, with the expert players separated onto different teams, they fully involve their teammates, and often help out in defense where knowing how to skate backwards is crucial.

The wider the gulf in class, the more privileged the younger players become, receiving pin point passes, scoring opportunities and lessons in expert stick handling from their peers, albeit sometimes at the expensive of their own dignity. Those made to appear statue-like by skillful skating will know what to expect the second time, which, in hockey, usually comes within 30 seconds.

Although the puck is not meant to come in contact with any human appendage, one need merely look at the players' bloated equipment to realize hockey is a contact sport. The puck used on Sundays is made from plastic, and is lighter and more difficult to control than a regulation NHL rubber puck. However, injury in Hockey can come at any time or from any direction, from falling over, checking (being hit by another player), or through contact with a stick or the puck.

Rink manager Robert of Sky Rink, the company that built the rink, said safety was of the highest priority. "Sky Rink always thinks 'Safety First'. For hockey, normally they have to wear the following: A helmet with a mask or visor; shin pads; elbow pads and a body protector. But it's their risk if they don't comply with this."

So what does happen when the puck and an unarmored human come face to face? Ryan recalled one such experience, "Somebody hit the puck and it flew into my head. I had 15 stitches. I had to go to the hospital. But that's part of hockey. It's not a problem for me," he said, adding that there were no regulations for pads on Sundays and that players took responsibility for themselves.

Perrins underlined the importance of preventing head injuries. "A helmet is a must, elbow and shin pads are a must, even on Sunday everything is a must. You cannot wear it but if you get concussion, that's not anybody's responsibility but yours."

Those familiar with the American and Canadian-run National Hockey League (NHL) will know that frequent fighting, line brawls (sometimes involving all teams members, coaches and fans), violent checking and horrendous injuries are both normal and, one would assume from the leniency of the penalties and suspensions, encouraged.

However, rink manager Robert was adamant violence was forbidden at Taman Angrekk, "Body checking is not allowed to avoid injury and fighting between players. We suspend those players involved."

But neither strict regulations nor the ice can cool down raging tempers all the time, and fights have been known to occasionally break out. However, why the sport seems to attract raging emotions, and where violence should fit into Sunday's recreational "rat hockey" remains somewhat of a mystery among the players.

"Fighting (in the NHL) is allowed. You get locked down and a penalty, but you're still in there. But in Indonesia, they're not ready enough for something like that. But that's the point of hockey. If you want to play, then play rough," said Ryan.

Perrins said the NHL was partly to blame, "There's no fighting, just a little bit of rough play here and there, but afterward, everything is OK. It's just an influence from the NHL. When they play, they get on fire ... they just get angry. We're basically all friends; if we do something on ice, we settle it on ice. When we are not playing ... maybe we will be angry but after that we are friends again. No fighting? There's a little bit of fighting."

Jusuf, 30, from Surabaya, who learned to play while living as a permanent resident in Canada, and who along with Perrins and a group of 12 Indonesian players is trying to establish Team Indonesia as a force in the region, said a reputation for fighting would only further diminish ice hockey's potential in the country.

"In Indonesia, fighting is not good for publicity. Any kind of sport has fighting, or unsportsmanlike misconduct, and that won't be tolerated in any games at all. I do not encourage (that), because there are rules, and if you break them you will get kicked off."

Thirteen-year-old Indonesian Clayton, a student at Regina Pacis School, who has been playing for three years and is not afraid to mix with the more experienced players, finds enjoyment in the sport's rough and tumble, "when we play, like with him (my friend), I hit him and he fell and he just laughed. That's the game."

If equipment is so important, especially for beginners, how much does it cost and where is it available? The general consensus among the players was very expensive, and from overseas. However, Clayton, who was first compelled to play hockey after watching an episode of "The World's Most Amazing Videos" that showed an NHL player nearly losing his eye in a stick incident, said he recommended new players buy or borrow old equipment from senior players.

Jusuf, who imports his equipment from Canada and the United States, said acquiring equipment was one of the biggest obstacles facing the sport in Indonesia, "I broke my stick last week and I won't be able to get my new stick for another month or two. I could get it next week but it would cost a lot of money. I'm going to have to wait for some friends coming over from the states to bring it."

Ryan agreed good equipment was costly, "If you want to buy the full gear, all good quality, I would say Rp 15 to 20 million, including skates."

He said there were three Indonesian amateur teams in Jakarta, Odyssey, Nitro and Thunder, each with its own custom made shirt and full starting line. There is also an expatriate team, the Jakarta Corruption.

Jusuf, also a player for the Jakarta Corruption, said the team had traveled to Singapore in March this year to compete in a tournament, "We came in fourth. On June 14th I think there's going to be another, where expats from Singapore will come down and play us."

With a maximum 10 players on the ice at any time, offering recreational skating time to the public, where 30 or more skaters can enjoy the rink at the same time, is more lucrative. However, with only two hours a week available for ice hockey, and the cost of equipment so high, many hockey enthusiasts have called for more ice time.

"We asked for (more time on the) weekends. But usually weekends is when they (Sky Rink) make the most. We wanted to play after shopping hours but the building management doesn't allow it. Everything is closed and everyone has to leave due to security reasons," Perrins said.

Moreover, Robert said the rink was never intended to be used for ice hockey, "our rink (barrier) is made of breakable glass and is not suitable for a hard puck. So what we are using is a plastic orange puck."

Adding to the problem, errors during the rink's planning and construction have resulted in melted edges, "the puck gets stuck and dips into there, so it's difficult to play proper hockey in the corners. That's usually where most hockey is played, in the corners, where they just battle it out," Dylan said, adding that the rink was also 20 to 30 feet short of regulation length. "But the ice is not bad, considering the temperature (outside). They just need to fix the edges."

American Matthew Wheeler, athletic director at STB ACS Jakarta International School, and a former Singapore league player who organizes a by-invitation-only practice time on Tuesday nights for advanced players, said "Most of us are just appreciative of having the opportunity to play."

Apart from offering an exhilarating workout, an opportunity to meet new friends, join a team and even travel to neighboring countries, Jusuf said ice hockey offered lessons in everyday life, "It teaches you to think quick, gives you good reflexes and trains you to make quick judgment, split second decisions. Not just in passing, or stick handling, but in everything you do in life."

All ice hockey takes place during shopping hours, and mall customers are invited to come and watch the action. For beginners under the age of 10 wishing to learn, there is hockey practice from seven until eight on Sunday mornings.

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