Freestyle Fighting at Lirboyo
The tradition of Pencak Dor, a freestyle martial arts competition, grew in an Islamic boarding school, or pesantren. At first the competition was meant as a way for students at Pesantren Lirboyo, Kediri, East Java to practice martial arts. Today, Pencak Dor is a prestigious festival for martial artists from various clubs and schools in East Java. The competition offers no reward, save for a warm dish of goat curry for both the winner and the defeated at the end of a fight.
Tempo
June 28, 2018
BADRUL Huda Zainal Abidin's home near the Lirboyo Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Kediri, East Java, seemed to be in a bustle. Students of the school walked back and forth carrying bamboo and rope to the school's yard, 500 meters away from the man's home. Gus Bidin-the honorific name he is known with by his students-sat in his living room, observing his wards at work.
Throughout the third week of April, the school's staff and student body bus
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