Kempo athletes who achieve top three positions in the 2025 Kudus National Martial Arts Games will be the top priority to participate in the national training center (pelatnas) selection for the world championships in Japan.
"Later, the first to third place finishers in the Kudus National Martial Arts Games will be prioritized for selection to the World Championships and the 80th anniversary of Shorinji Kempo in Nagoya in 2027," said Deputy Chairman II of the Indonesian Shorinji Kempo Brotherhood (PB Perkemi) Beni Sukawanto at the Djarum Arena Kudus, Sunday.
According to Beni, the implementation of the Kudus Self-Defense PON is an important momentum to directly monitor the potential of national athletes, because this event is the closest to the national training selection agenda compared to having to wait for the PON in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
PB Perkemi is currently preparing for a six-month training camp leading up to the World Championships and the 80th anniversary celebration of Shorinji Kempo in Nagoya. The top three athletes from the national top three will be prioritized to strengthen the main Indonesian team.
"In terms of performance, Indonesia is currently one of the world's major powers in kempo. We consistently rank in the top two globally, with only Japan yet to be surpassed in the overall international rankings," Beni said.
The largest international event, the International Taikai, regularly attracts hundreds of participants from various countries. In almost every edition, Indonesia consistently finishes second, behind Japan.
PB Perkemi (Indonesian Association of Indonesian Martial Arts) currently has over 200,000 active members across Indonesia, with coaching across 25 provinces. The quality of participants at this year's Kudus National Martial Arts Games (PON) was deemed to have improved significantly.
"The athletes' spirit was extraordinary, the sportsmanship was high, and the refereeing was very fair. We were satisfied to see an honest and competitive match," said Beni.
