lifestyle WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

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A picture shows the restoration of a vintage Volkswagen Kombi bus (van, transporter or Vintage Volkswagen Kombi bus (van, transporter or camper) are parked in a garage after being completely restored by mechanics of the "T1 specialist" camper) and of a Fiat500 by the ‘T1 specialist’ team at the garage Nucci in Florence. company. — AFP photos Italians help VW campers get back their va-va-voom

ow many enthusiasts does it take to restore side. Their distinctive VW hood emblems-which vans instead, fondly remembering his first client: "a a fleet of rust-riddled Volkswagen camper enjoyed a period of fame as rapper pendants famous biscuit manufacturer". He eventually dedi- Hvans? Ask the Italians. At the back of a hang- thanks to the Beastie Boys-glint as new. cated himself full time to the van business with er in the heart of Florence, two VW fans have dedi- Nucci's help. cated their lives to restoring these iconic vans from A childhood passion the Swinging Sixties, importing them from South Customers can be picky: One purist wants the Symbol of freedom America before fixing them up and selling them rust on the bodywork kept, even down to craters Restoration takes around six months and costs on. Some are over 50 years old, but once they are that look like bullet holes. Another wants the origi- between 10,000 to 50,000 euros ($10,600 to patched up by Mauro Altamore and his mechanic nal motor replaced with a Porsche engine. $53,000), largely because picking up parts, which Giacomo Nucci, they are expected to chug on for Altamore, who came up with the idea for restoring are out of production, is not always easy. But these another half a century at least. the vans, says clients come not just from Italy but vehicles, which remain hugely popular, can often "With good maintenance, these vans are inde- from all over Europe. Inside the company's office command prices which are much higher, with a structible. We have to overhaul a good part of the are dozens of ceramic models of the "Peace and 1955 model going under the hammer in Germany mechanics, but keep the original engines," Nucci Love" campers he has collected down the years. His for around 200,000 euros ($235,000) in November told AFP as he showed off a van that looked like it passion started in childhood when he used to col- 2014. Manufactured in Germany until 1979, and in had rolled off an assembly line, despite its age. lect models of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, whose Brazil until 2013, the classic campers continue to From Ferrari to Fiat, Italy is a car crazy country, but rear engine and axles were later used in production fascinate people well beyond the "free love" hippy Nucci firmly believes there is nothing better than a of the camper vans. generation and have become a symbol of freedom. VW camper. He's been sprucing up these classic When he was 18, he set his heart on buying one "You turn the key and off you go," Altamore says vans for collectors for over seven years and these but his father refused to pay for it, denouncing the with a grin. "The windshield opening says it all: it days boasts an increasing number of businesses little car as a petrol guzzler. So he got a camper was like riding a motorbike. You would set off, stop and advertising companies among his customers. instead and can now no longer remember how where you want, you could even sleep inside. "I Fashion companies ask for "made to measure" many of the old clappers he has bought and reckon more than a few children have been born vans for photo shoots or catalogues, he says point- restored. About a decade ago, while in Brazil work- inside... and many have been conceived!"— AFP ing to a row of shiny red, blue and cream coloured ing in the clothing import and export business, A mechanic of the "T1 specialist" team works on the restoration of a vintage Volkswagen vans, as well as one with a slogan stamped on the Altamore decided to switch his business focus to Kombi bus (van, transporter or camper). Ancient Indonesian martial arts seeks global spotlight ome fight with machetes three-feet long, others breathing techniques and is meant to help the body Broto. UNESCO draws up a list of "Intangible Cultural are armed with daggers curved like the claws of withstand strong blows. "It makes me confident Heritage" around the world that is in need of protec- Sbig cats, while other combatants rely on only enough to do anything," said participant Indra Surya tion. Gaining entry into the Asian Games, the biggest their minds. This is the world of "", or Pringga, 28, adding that the martial art had helped multi-sport event in the world after the Olympics, was 's martial arts, which are now battling for him re-gain strength and recuperate after a serious easy because Indonesia, as hosts, could nominate the greater global recognition-having secured a place in lung infection. Coach Rudi Trianto said the students sport for inclusion themselves. the Asian Games, the government is now hoping for were taught that pencak silat is first and foremost Officials concede getting pencak silat into the Olympic glory. They are held dear by many about self-defense. Olympics will be far tougher. To become an Olympic Two fighters battling at the first ever pro-fight of the Indonesian martial Indonesians because of historical links with the coun- "We teach our students how to fall so they know event, a sport must first be recognized by the art of ‘pencak silat’ in . try's struggle for independence when anti-colonial how to bounce back in life," he said. "We don't teach International Olympic Committee and then a long, groups used the martial arts to take on the archipel- them to be arrogant or to have a killer instinct." The costly campaign is necessary before a final decision is ago's then Dutch rulers in the 20th century. basic energy style featured in hit Indonesian action taken. Still, proponents of the sport are upbeat and But despite being practiced for centuries across film "The Raid" and its sequel, which starred pencak want pencak silat to be central to a drive to promote Southeast Asia, pencak silat has struggled to receive silat fighters Yayan Ruhian and . Indonesia globally, comparing it to the success of the same international recognition as other Asian South Korean entertainment exports which have martial arts, such as karate and taekwondo. The 'Cultural diplomacy' helped familiarize the world with Korean culture. "It is Indonesian government is seeking to change that. The version that will feature in the Asian Games is just like when South Korea was trying to promote K- Pencak silat will feature for the first time in the Asian likely to be one of the traditional fighting styles. "It pop," said Broto. "We should make pencak silat part of Games when they come to Indonesia in 2018. Officials will pave the way for us to reach our two main goals- cultural diplomacy." — AP then want to take it to the Olympics, and hope it competing in the Olympics and for pencak silat to be could one day be recognized by UNESCO. "Pencak recognized as part of Indonesia's national heritage by silat has it all-the sport, the art, the spiritual side," said UNESCO," said sports ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Erizal Chaniago, secretary general of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association. "That is what makes it unique and special when compared to martial arts from other countries."

'Tiger-claw' style Pencak silat is an umbrella term for a family of about 800 related Indonesian martial art forms. They Two fighters battling at the first ever pro-fight of the Indonesian martial are linked by their emphasis on defense rather than art of ‘pencak silat’ in Jakarta. attack, and are characterized by fluid, dance-like movements. Some styles use full-body combat involv- ing strikes and grappling, others focus on fighting with weapons, while some involve performing moves as a kind of dance sh