More than 100 martial artists gave a demonstration to a curious crowd at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the National University of Laos on Saturday.

The demonstrators, from the junior and senior categories of various martial arts, comprised 50 judo fighters, and 40 male and 21 female practitioners of aikido. They came from Vietnam , Cambodia , Singapore , Thailand and Laos and performed alongside karatedo teams. They received training for this event from Japanese experts.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phongsavat Boupha, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Bouangeun Xaphouvong, Japanese Ambassador to Laos Masaaki Miyashita, presidents of the judo aikido and karatedo federations and senior officials watched the performance along with students.

“It is my great pleasure that the Embassy of Japan is hosting this martial arts demonstration here today. I would like to welcome all guests and thank them for coming to this event,” Mr Miyashita said.

Judo is a traditional Japanese martial art dating back to ancient times along with sumo wrestling. It is renowned for its solid manual movements, without the use of any protective gear or equipment. After the Second World War, it gained an international reputation and was practised by millions of people all over the world. For some time it was included in the Olympic Games.

Karatedo is believed to have its origins in Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan . Again, it doesn't involve the use of any instruments, but there is more emphasis on striking and kicking.

The birth of aikido is relatively recent, dating back to around the 1920s. This martial art is primarily used for self-defence, rather than for attack. It also attaches great importance to harmony between the body and the mind. These martial arts are not simply physical sports, but also emphasise the importance of discipline and self-control.

Some of the players who demonstrated their skills and expertise on Saturday had won SEA Games' medals.

“I am confident that many more of them will obtain medals in the coming SEA Games in Vientiane later this year,” Mr Miyashita said.

He said the Japanese government was continuously contributing to the development of martial arts in Laos by organising annual events and building the Lao-Japan Budo Centre in Vientiane .

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Lao judo and karatedo federations and the Lao Aikido Club for their valuable collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in organising today's event,” he added.

“It's particularly important to mark this event as part of the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 programme. I hope you enjoy beautiful and powerful performances by Lao martial artists.”

The national judo team will compete at a judo competition to be held in Thailand on April 4. Teams will also take part in the first Asean Martial Arts competition to be held in Thailand at the end of April.

Judo events in the 25th SEA Games will include eight men's categories (55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and over 100kg), while the eight women's categories are in the 45, 48, 52, 57, 63, 70, 78 and over 78kg weight divisions.

Karatedo events will consist of male combatants in seven categories (55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg) and women fighters in four (48, 53, 60 and over 60kg).

At the 24th SEA Games held in Thailand last year, the Lao judo team won two gold, one silver and three bronze medals, while the karatedo team won a bronze medal.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Labels: 2009, Brunei, Cambodia Vietnam, indonesia singapore, Judo, Karatedo, Laotian, Malaysia, martial arts, Myanmar, Philippines, team, Thailand Vietnam, vientiane game

The 15th Southeast Asian games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 August - 31 August 1989. It was officially opened by 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah. Although Cambodia did not participate, Laos returned to compete for the first time under the new federation name in this edition of the games. A unified Vietnam first participated in the SEA games in 1989 as well।

Position	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Indonesia	102	78	71	251
2	Malaysia	67	58	75	200
3	Thailand	62	63	66	191
4	Singapore	32	38	47	117
5	Philippines	26	37	64	127
6	Myanmar	10	14	20	44
7	Vietnam	3	11	5	19
8	Brunei	1	2	24	27
9	Laos	0	1	0	1

Labels: Bronze, Brunei, Laos, Silver, Vietnam

The 14th Southeast Asian Games were held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 9 December - 20 December 1987.

Position	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Indonesia	183	136	84	407
2	Thailand	63	57	67	188
3	Philippines	59	78	69	206
4	Malaysia	35	41	67	144
5	Singapore	19	38	64	121
6	Burma	13	15	21	50
7	Brunei	1	5	17	24
8	People's Republic of Kampuchea	0	1	9	10

Labels: Brunei, Indonesia, Kampuchea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

The 13th Southeast Asian Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand from 8 December - 17 December 1985.

Position	Country:	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	Thailand	92	66	59	217
2.	Indonesia	62	73	76	211
3.	Philippines	43	54	32	129
4.	Malaysia	26	28	32	86
5.	Singapore	16	11	23	50
6.	Burma	13	19	34	66
7.	Brunei	0	0	3	3
8.	People's Republic of Kampuchea	0	0	0	0

Labels: Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, इन्डोनेसिया, कम्पुचेया