Bokator skills exhibition for an event at Sokha Hotel on July 11. SUPPLIED
The Cambodian and Indonesian sports organisations on July 14 signed a memorandum of undrstanding (MoU) regarding the two nations’ traditional martial arts of bokator and pencak silat.
The agreement aims to put both countries in the strongest position to win medals in the two martial arts when Cambodia historically hosts the SEA Games for the first time next year.
Secretary-general of the Cambodian SEA Games Organizing Committee (CAMSOC) Vath Chamroeun held discussions with delegates from the International Pencak Silat Federation and representatives of the Indonesian Embassy at the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC).
Chamroeun, who is also secretary-general of the NOCC, said the cooperation between the two ASEAN nations is providing mutual benefits.
“Indonesia and Cambodia have agreed to develop the two national identity sports in a mutually beneficial way. We have been accepted by Indonesia to train there, and there are plans to form an Indonesian bokator federation.
“Indonesia will set up a foundation to promote bokator in their country, and they will organise competitions in accordance with the principles of the SEA Games Charter, while we are introducing the Indonesian martial art back into the SEA Games,” Chamroeun told The Post.
The exchange will see Cambodia send 30 athletes to Indonesia to train until near the start of the 2023 SEA Games to strengthen the techniques of the athletes and the organisation of officials.
The Kingdom will also send bokator instructors to train Indonesian athletes to win medals at the 2023 SEA Games.
“Pencak silat has developed over a long time [the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association was founded in 1948], so we will receive a lot of benefits after they agreed to accept our traditional national martial art, and promote and develop it.
“We will also benefit because this is expanding the potential for Cambodian bokator further into Southeast Asia in the build-up to the 2023 SEA Games.
“In the exchange, we have put in some important technical points – we have to provide them the highest level of techniques in our martial art so that they will produce winners when participating in the competition next year.
“And they will bring us over to train with their high level coaches so that we are in good shape to win medals in pencak silat at the Cambodia Games,” Chamroeun said.
The opening ceremony of the meeting between the Council of ASEAN Para Sports Federation and the Council of Southeast Asian Games Federation was held on July 11 and attended by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Hun Sen told the relevant parties, particularly CAMSOC, that they must focus on the technical levels of bokator and pencak silat, which was approved by Prabowo Subianto, the president of the International Pencak Silat Federation and Indonesian minister of defence.
Chamroeun said: “This is a positive result for supporting a smooth training process after the signing of a memorandum of understanding last month between Cambodia and the president of the International Pencak Silat Federation.”
Following Hun Sen’s urging, a meeting of the SEA Games Federation Council on July 13 included pencak silat at the 2023 edition alongside 29 other sports.
Bokator, arnis of the Philippines, jujitsu, kickboxing, ITF taekwondo and wrestling are included in the martial arts events, with the organisation based on the conditions and rules of the respective sports.
Six countries will participate in the bokator competition at the 32nd SEA Games – the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and hosts Cambodia.
“As the hosts and the masters of this martial art, we must look for excellence and win more medals than the visiting countries in the bokator tournament,” Chamroeun said.
