Alisya Mellynar, The Flowing Principle of the Gold-Medal Winning Warrior

MARINA EKATARI

Alisya Mellynar

Thanks to her principle of life as flowing like water, Alisya Mellynar, 20, has drifted from a child learning wushu to gold medalist at the Vietnam 2021 Southeast Asian Games.

Alisya’s facial expression was tense. After almost two hours, she had finally came out of the doping test room in Cau Giay Gymnasium in Hanoi on Saturday (14/5/2022). Walking with her SEA Games gold medal hanging around her neck, she spontaneously said, “I couldn’t pee. I just had to wait very long.”

Over a dozen journalists were waiting with a lot of questions for her. Alisya got even more jittery with bewilderment as she was grilled. With an empty gaze, she answered to the best of her ability and smiled befittingly.

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Her awkwardness was only natural. Alisya was a debutant athlete at the Games, the first international multisport event she had participated in. She was not yet accustomed to being in the spotlight. Moreover, she was also caught by surprise as she had joined the competition without any expectation of a medal. “I only wanted to display a clean and trim performance. If I was able to ascend to the podium, thank God,” she said.

Alisya managed to keep flowing amid the crowds of thousands of home spectators in Cau Giay Gymnasium.

Her attitude toward the competition might suggest a kind of acquiescence. However, her laid-back approach was the key to her success. When Indonesia’s senior wushu athletes made mistakes because of their burdensome medal targets, Alisya managed to keep flowing amid the crowds of thousands of home spectators in Cau Giay Gymnasium.

Appearing in the graceful, choreographed event of tai chi chuan, or empty-hand tai chi, Alisya moved in unison with the slow-tempo music that sounded like a song for relaxation. She punched and kicked elegantly to the tune.

Her lithe movements coupled with her upright posture made her look like a stork playing in an uninhabited lake. Alisya moved so gently that time seemingly pausing as she squatted with one leg bent inward. Five seconds felt like much longer when she posed that way.

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Alisya Mellynar

The tempo of music suddenly sped up in some parts from the middle to the end of the performance, Alisya again followed the rhythm with her more energetic acrobatic movements while retaining her grace. She was able to control the power of her kicks and punches to keep the movement flowing. Attracted by her superb feat, the spectators clicked their tongues in amazement.

Alisya can move in the multiverse of her creation as she is capable of merging with music. “The most important thing is to comprehend the music. I have to get along with the music instead of being carried away. The more

I marge with it the better I perform. That’s why I listen to music every day before going to bed and training,” added the athlete.

At a glance, the debutant performed like legendary wushu ace Lindswell Kwok. With her mature skill, Alisya gained a total score of 9.71. This tally was one of the highest scores of all the wushu events in Vietnam. She even defeated defending champion from the Philippines Agatha Wong (9.69) and the two athletes representing the host country.

For Alisya, winning gold is very special. She could follow in the footsteps of Lindswell, her idol since she first started learning wushu at the age of 11. Before departing for Vietnam, this wide-eyed wushu athlete was even given some input by Lindswell.She practiced it all.

From the side it’s a rather bad sight. Ci [sister] Lindswell is erect, very nice,” said the 2018 tai chi chuan junior champion.

“In the final simulation, [Lindswell] came to watch [the performance] in its entirety. After performing I asked for her opinion. She suggested that I should be more open, more erect. I’m inclined to be a bit bent over. From the side it’s a rather bad sight. Ci [sister] Lindswell is erect, very nice,” said the 2018 tai chi chuan junior champion.

Flowing philosophy

Aisya has understood the principle of flowing since childhood, when she first got acquainted with wushu at 11 in Sasana Yasanis in Surabaya, East Java. Alisya never intended to learn wushu, she was only following her cousin. Although she did not like training, the tender-faced athlete continued to exercise three times a week. One of her reasons was because of her parents’ support.

“So, I was training, yes, just training. If I could dodge it, I did . But I noticed my parents seemed to be supporting me. It would have been a pity if I wasn’t serious while they kept accompanying me,” recalled the athlete who also won gold medal at the Papua 2021 National Sports Week (PON).

With the principle of “just going to training”, Alisya trained for about four years in wushu without enthusiasm, until finally in 2016 she decided to quit out of boredom.

Sasana Yasanis trainers asked her to join one last championship, which was PON junior qualification in Bangka Belitung. Alisya had to comply with the request. She won silver medal, an achievement she had not dreamed of.

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Atlet Alisya Mellynar

This changed the course of her life. Alisya was directly summoned to enter the East Java regional training center. Once again, she only wanted to give it a try, but fortunately, she met with many senior athletes and good coaches at the training center. They all were convinced the young athlete had big potential.

“Later I tried to be more determined, more serious. It turned out that I could rise to the podium in national championships. Finally, I became ambitious. Yes, I later learned that when there’s determination I can [achieve],” she added.

After reaching this point, Alisya continued to climb. She emerged as the junior world champion in taiijian (tai chi with arms) and tai chi chuan in Bulgaria in 2018. She was then invited to join the national training center for the first time in 2021. Alisya promptly earned her gold at PON thereafter.

The peak achievement was gained at the SEA Games. She was the only debutant to win a gold medal in Vietnam. Alisya contributed one of a total of two gold medals for wushu for Indonesia, while key wushu athletes such as Edgar Xavier Marvelo failed to seize gold.

Wushu has three different philosophies, which are the north (agility), the south (power) and tai chi (grace). The three symbolize the human character. It was correct when the coaches in Sasana asked Alisya to train tai chi after learning the northern technique first. She and taiji share the same flowing principle.

Alisya’s beautiful journey started with acquiescence. From there, she began to discover her identity. Now she still has a long way to go. Her career can flow farther away as she has moved into the right stream. At the national training center, she is trained by foreign coach Zhang Yue Ning, who has played a major role in honing wushu in Indonesia, including training Lindswell.

Alisya Mellynar

Born: Surabaya, 25 October 2001

Education:

- State Senior High School 2 Surabaya

- Airlangga University

Father: Soenarto, 55

Mother: Yusmelly Makki, 50

Achievements:

- Junior World Champion 2018 in Tai chi chuan, Bulgaria

- Gold medalist at Papua 2021 National Sports Week

- Gold medalist at Vietnam 2021 Sea Games

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)