Even  now,  tarung derajat  appears  to  be   in good  hands right now.

Intrapat is now inviting Southeast Asian nations  to  take  part in the  pre-SEA Games   tarung  dejarat competitions in Bangkok  sometime in August. 

The  Thai millionaire, who vowed  financial  assistance to  member-countries,   said this will  enable  tarung  derajat  federations to give their  fighters  enough exposure before the actual SEA Games in  Jakarta.

In the 11th  SEA Games scheduled  on Nov 11-25, tarung  dejarat is expected to make  a  splash  as a demonstration sport, especially among  Indonesian fans.

Back  home,  tarung derajat is stil in its  infancy stage with  no less  than  Managuelod and Dumuk  laying   the  groundwork for the  establishment  of  local   national federation  to  be affiliated with the  IFTD.

Managuelod, also the president of  the Muaythai Associaiton of the Philippines (MAP), is  planning   to tap muay  athletes and other interested martial  arts practitioners  to form the  first-ever  batch of  tarung  derajat  fighters in the country.

Based on  the  guarantee  made  by  Intrapat during the IFTD   Congress, the  Philippines is entitled  to  bring in talented  and experienced  tarung  derajat   experts to Manila   to teach the   Filipinos about the  basic  principles of the sport.

Local tarung derajat  practitioners  will  also be  invited  to go to  Bandung and  train alongside the thousands of  disciples now under the watchful eyes of  Sang  Guru himself.

It will not be long  before Filipinos  get  to know this  newest  but  exciting  Indonesian martial art  sport of  tarung derajat.

And  it  will  not be also long before  the  IFTD  knocks on the  door of  the  SEA Games  Federation  and later  the  International Olympiic Committee (IOC)    for the recognition  it  deserves.

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The choice of Bandung  as a venue  for  the international declaration of the  tarung derajat  federation  is  also  perfect as  far as the  delegates from  eight Southeast  Asian   nations  are  concerned.

A  former Dutch colony and now the capital of West Java province,  Bandung  is  located  about   180  kilometers  southeast of Jakarta. 

It is the  third largest  Indonesian c  ity  which  is  located on an ancient   volcano known as Mount Sunda.

As  a city  surrounded by volcanic  mountains,  Bandung  also  serves as a popular weekend  destination  for tourists  who  enjoy the  cool weather  and   the  wide  array of shopping possibilities  in   more   than 400  factory  outlets selling branded   European items at  unbelievably low  prices.

Bandung  residents  also take  pride in  having a rich stock of  Dutch   colonial architecture  dating  back from the time of  Henri  Maclaine-Pont, who  realized how important to  combine  each architectural style with  the culture of local people.

Among the  popular destinations include   the Instiut  Technologi Bandung,  Gedung  Sate,  and Gedung  Merdeka.

The  Filipinos who attended the  IFTD Congress  describes Bandung  as similar  Tagaytay City for its  cool weather  pegged  at an average of   23  celcius  throughtout  the year.

“It’s perfect. I can’t say enough with  this  kind of weather, which  actually reminds me of  our very own  Tagaytay  City” said  Dumuk.

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