As a long-time martial arts practitioner and instructor, I was filled with pride to see Team Singapore doing well in silat and Brazilian ju-jitsu at SEA Games 2023 (Singapore women’s artistic silat team win historic gold, May 7; and First gold medal for Singapore as Noah Lim comes out top in ju-jitsu, May 6).

I see so much potential in Singapore for martial arts to flourish and become a way of life for more people, whether for fitness or self-defence. 

The spirit of martial arts is about perseverance and grit. I hope the Brazilian ju-jitsu and silat proponents’ stellar performance at the Cambodia SEA Games is just the first of many more distinctions to come from our martial arts fraternity.  

Muhammad Rusydi Omar