Martial arts in their blood

GREATNESS, it has been said, runs in the blood.

This certainly seems to be the case with Ab Malik Abdullah’s family.

Alongside Rusma Ismail, a steady and supportive matriarch, the couple’s six children have all excelled in the art of karate, specifically kumite where opponents spar head-to-head.

Hailing from Penang, four siblings made the state team while two others went one step further and were recruited into the national contingent to represent the country.

ALSO READ: Ex-national kumite exponent coaches students to be champs

Celebrations rang through the family home in Taman Pekaka last October when Muhammad Arif Afifuddin, the second youngest in the family, clinched Malaysia’s sixth gold medal at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.

It was the latest of many milestones the family has achieved on a karate journey that began over 40 years ago for the parents.

Muhammad Arif Afifuddin (centre) showing his parents and siblings the gold medal he won for the karate men’s below 84kg kumite during the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022, at home in Taman Pekaka, Penang. — Photos: ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

First strike

Ab Malik, 63, had always loved karate but he was well into his 20s before he first had the opportunity to don a gi (traditional karate uniform).

Growing up in Gelang Patah, Johor, the family patriarch said he never had exposure to karate during his schooling days but looked into joining a dojo (martial arts school) when he moved to the country’s capital for work.

“I joined the police force in 1981 and I was sent to Kuala Lumpur. For a policeman, self-defence is important, so I joined a karate club there and took an open class.

“There were about 20 adults and more than 10 kids learning together,” he said.

He was diligent in his training for a few years and progressed through a few ky (coloured belts), before work and family took over most of his time.

Ab Malik retired from the police force after a decade of service and moved to Penang to join the private security sector.

And it was there, in an unlikely space above a wet market, that he passed down his passion for martial arts to his children.

In an outdoor hall above the Batu Lanchang market, the Penang Goshin-Ryu Karate Association congregated twice a week under the leadership of renown karate chief instructor Datuk Patrick Lim Chee Jin.

Muhammad Arif Afifuddin (front), his brother Muhammad Faezuddin, sister Nur Eleena Anis and Ab Malik striking a karate pose at their home.

These centralised training sessions brought together Penang Goshin-Ryu students and instructors from schools and centres all over the state to train together.

Ab Malik’s eldest child Muhammad Ridzuannuddin began classes there in his early teens, followed soon after by Muhammad Faezuddin, who is a year younger.

Penang Goshin-Ryu then opened up a karate class in SMK Datuk Haji Mohammed Nor Ahmad in 2003, where the boys attended, so the children added these co-curriculum classes to their training schedule.

The two youngest in the family – Muhammad Arif Afifuddin and Muhammad Ameer Sirajuddin – went into karate early, following the lead of their older brothers.

The two girls in the bunch, Nur Eleena Anis and Nur Nazarith Sofia, also joined in but with one distinction, both had attained black belt in taekwondo through school classes before signing up.

“Their father is one of the most dedicated parents I have seen.

“He sends them for every training and he would be there for every competition, even if he had to drive for hours,” said Lim, a former Asian Karate Federation (AFK) referee council chairman.

Crossing the border

The family, in fact, has a funny story about driving to competitions.

As each and every child became an elite athlete, they attended competitions all over the country and some beyond.

Nur Eleena Anis, who made the Penang team at 15 years old and the national squad at 19, was chosen to compete at an Asian University Games tournament in Chiang Mai in 2010.

Her father told her he would try to come and support her.

Muhammad Arif Afifuddin (right) in action during a tournament. — Filepic

After Nur Eleena left with the team, Ab Malik bought a road map of Thailand and together with Rusma and their two youngest sons in tow, packed up the car and started the over 1,800km road journey.

“There was no Google Map at that time. I marked what towns I should go by, like Hat Yai and Phatthalung, and we just drove,” Ab Malik said.

The journey took two full days and included an overnight stay in Surat Thani, a few hours of nap at an R&R and several stops at roadblocks along the way.

“I had a bicycle on the roof of the car. I had actually planned to cycle a bit but it turned out, the bicycle had another advantage.

“When we were stopped at roadblocks, I would tell the Thai police that I was rushing for a race in Chiang Mai. They would wave us through.

“As it turned out, the bicycle never came down even once during the trip,” said Ab Malik, adding that the family arrived in time to see Nur Eleena Anis fight.

“I was quite worried as well. I had no way of contacting them, so I didn’t know where they were,” said Nur Eleena Anis.

“And they didn’t know which hotel I was staying at,” she added.

The now 32-year-old credits martial arts for helping her develop confidence and her family for the continuous support both on and off the tatami (mat).

“My father would iron all our gi for our training sessions. There was a time when four of us (siblings) were in the state team together.

“Then one would leave for studies and a younger one would join. The boys and girls trained together and we’d fight each other. We trained six days a week, often twice a day,” recalled Nur Eleena Anis.

She added that on her days off, her father would take them for runs and hold the targets for them to train by themselves.

Road to gold

Nur Eleena Anis competed for Malaysia until the age of 25 and later returned to the National Sports Council (MSN) to see her younger brother Muhammad Arif Afifuddin make the national squad.

“I was already out of the team by then but I went back to watch his selection,” she said.

Muhammad Arif Afifuddin was only 16 at the time and had to finish his last year of schooling at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) in preparation for SPM examinations.

Coming from a tight-knit family made the transition less than easy.

Asked if he ever wanted to come home, he replied: “Every day! But I thought, my sister did it. Why can’t I? That helped,” he joked.

The 23-year-old has graduated with a degree in sports science from National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) where he attended as a civilian, but is still training in BJSS.

He became the darling of the nation in October when he bagged a surprise gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in men’s kumite below 84kg category.

His parents, who attended every tournament they could, were unexpectedly home during the competition as Rusma was unwell during the time.

“Actually, I was not expecting much from this competition as I had an injury,” said Muhammad Arif Afifuddin.

“I was kicked in the ribs about two weeks earlier, so I wasn’t sure if I could perform my best.

“Even if they wanted to come (to the Games), I would have said no,” he said candidly.

Nevertheless, he ascended through the field, beating Sandi Firmansah of Indonesia in the quarter-finals and Baek Jun-hyeok of South Korea in the semis.

He met Daniyar Yuldashev of Kazakhstan in the gold medal match on Oct 7, which his parents and eldest sister watched live together in Penang.

Ab Malik said he was usually calm, but that night he was so scared that he felt he was going to have a heart attack.

“I had to get up and jalan-jalan (walk around) when he was still fighting.

“I was thinking to myself, what happens if my kid wins and I die?” he said.

To the cheers of the nation and in front of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who could hardly stay in her seat at the Linping Sports Centre Gymnasium, Muhammad Arif Afifuddin pulled out not only a win but a decisive one, leading the match to a 10-4 conclusion.

Ab Malik and his daughter were in tears while Rusma, 62, proved to be the steadiest spectator in the house.

“I couldn’t cry, I was recording the win on the handphone!” said Rusma.

For Muhammad Arif Afifuddin, the unexpected victory plus a powerful hit to the head with 15 seconds left on the clock, made the entire episode feel like a dream.

“I placed my medal and prize money beside my pillow when I got back to the hotel that night.

“The next morning, I realised it was not a dream when I saw the medal,” he said.

Returning to Malaysia had been sweet for the exponent, with Nur Eleena Anis joking that being around him was like “walking around with a celebrity” as people often stopped him to ask to pose for photos with them and to sign autographs.

Muhammad Arif Afifuddin now wants to push harder for glory, looking for a medal at the biannual World Karate Championships.

For Ab Malik, his sights have lately been trained on one of his grandsons, a child of his second son, who seems to show a particular interest in the sport.