BATU PAHAT: Two years ago, his innocent intention was to learn silat as an art of self-defence, hence it never even crossed his mind that he could emerge a champion in a competition.
Now at 23, Tarmizi Asmin emerged as the Best Martial Arts exponent in the men’s category at the Institute of Higher Education (IPT) 2023 Open Martial Arts Championships, and humbly claimed that he was merely a newcomer to the sport.
According to him, he had absolutely no martial arts background and only took it up after continuing his studies at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), for the sake of self-defence.
“This is the first non-university competition that I have entered and I did not expect to get first place in the Putra A class (45-50kg), thereby earning the title of Best Fighter in the Putra Category (in any style of martial arts).
“With this first success, it has fuelled my enthusiasm to participate in more silat competitions. I now find that silat is not only for self-defence but also for self-discipline,“ he told Bernama today.
Present to inaugurate the tournament held at the Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), was the chief assistant senior secretary (sports section high performance unit) at the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) strategic planning division, Tony Azman Hassan.
Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Nurul Fara Kartika Dasiman, 19, from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) said apart from diligent training, her parents were also factors in her success.
“I learned martial arts not just to participate in competitions but I see my silat role as a young defender of the culture that symbolises a Malay nation,“ she said.
Meanwhile, Tony Azman said on behalf of the IPT that the tournament was organised to select Malaysia’s representatives to next year’s Asean University Games held in Indonesia.
“We will select martial arts exponents from here to represent the country, and apart from silat, we will also hold several other sports tournaments to prepare for the Asean University Games which will be held in June 2024,“ he said.
Meanwhile, the three-day open martial arts tournament that started on Thursday (Nov 16) involves a field of 100 exponents from 19 local IPT teams, under the auspices of the Malaysian National Silat Federation (Pesaka). - Bernama
