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 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

The 12th Southeast Asian games were held in Singapore from 28 May - 6 June 1983. Scheduled to be hosted by Brunei in accordance to the renewed alphabetical rotation of hosting duties, the 1983 SEA games were offered to be hosted by Singapore as Brunei prepared for its forthcoming independence from the United Kingdom.

Position	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	Indonesia	64	67	54	185
2.	Philippines	49	48	53	150
3.	Thailand	49	40	38	127
4.	Singapore	38	38	58	134
5.	Burma	18	15	17	50
6.	Malaysia	16	25	40	81
7.	BruneiTemplate:Ref 1	0	0	5	5
8.	People's Republic of Kampuchea	0	0	0	0

Labels: BruneiTemplate, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand

The 11th Southeast Asian Games were held in Manila, Philippines from December 6, 1981 to December 15, 1981. This was the first time that the Philippines hosted the Games since its first participation in 1977. The event was officially opened by President Ferdinand Marcos and the cauldron was lit by Benjamin Silva-Netto. The colorful opening ceremony was held in the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. A new football stadium and indoor arena was built in Pasig named the University of Life Track & Field and Arena or the ULTRA, now called the PhilSports Arena. The adjacent apartments were used as the athlete's quarters and was converted into a BLISS housing project of First Lady Imelda Marcos.

Position	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Indonesia	85	73	56	214
2	Thailand	62	45	41	148
3	Philippines	55	55	77	187
4	Malaysia	16	27	31	74
5	Burma	15	19	27	61
6	Singapore	12	26	33	71
7	BruneiTemplate:Ref 1	0	0	0	0

Form: http://www.olympic.org.my/web/gamesrecords/sea/sea_history.htm

Labels: BruneiTemplate, Burma, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore

The 8th and last Southeast Asian Peninsular games were held in Bangkok, Thailand from 9 December - 16 December 1975. South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, which only sent token squads made up of military personnel to previous games, declined to participate due to internal political problems.

Position	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Thailand	80	45	39	164
2	Singapore	38	42	49	129
3	Burma	28	35	33	96
4	Malaysia	27	49	51	127

Labels: Burma, Malaysia, Seagames, Singapore, sport, Thailand, प्लेयर