Drajat developed the techniques through his experience as a street fighter in the 1960s Bandung. Tarung Derajat is officially recognized as a national sport and used as a basic training by Indonesian Army. "Aku Ramah Bukan Berarti Takut, Aku Tunduk Bukan Berarti Takluk", which translates to "I'm friendly does not mean fearful, I'm reserved does not mean surrender" in English. "BOX!" is the greetin
g of the friendship. The art has some influences from Karate and Silat. Tarung Derajat emphasizes punching and kicking, but is not limited to these, as grappling and sweeping are also included in its training method. As a stand-up martial art, Tarung Derajat was nicknamed as "Indonesian Kickboxing" and often compared to Kyokushin Karate, due to several similarities. A practitioner of TD is called petarung, which translates to "fighter" in English. Since the 1990s, Tarung Drajat has been refined for sport. In 1998, the Tarung Derajat organization officially became a member of KONI. Since then, Tarung Derajat has a spot in Pekan Olahraga Nasional, a national multi-sport competition held every four years. Tarung Derajat main association or KODRAT now has sub-organizations in 22 provinces in Indonesia. Starting on year 2011, Malaysia already develop a team of Tarung Derajat and joining Sea Games 2011 at Jakarta,Indonesia as a first official participation for Tarun Derajat event.
