Article
The team behind TeamSG: Biomechanist
Series
Off the record
1 January 2022
They feel every victory and every heartbreak. International competitions mean just as much to those in the background supporting Singapore’s sports stars, whether as a coach, sport scientist or dietitian. This is part of a series of features on the Team behind Team Singapore.
Dr Luqman gearing up national silat athlete Sheik Farhan for an assessment of his silat performance.
Every step of the way
Most days, Dr Luqman Aziz (sport biomechanist at Singapore Sport Institute) is preoccupied with Singapore’s Pencak Silat team, who he helps prepare for all upcoming events. Biomechanists study the movement of living things, and as a sport biomechanist, Dr Luqman strives to enhance athlete performance and reduce injury risk. He does this by analysing their movement according to their body structure, strength and skill. Then, he devises training suggestions and works with coaches to implement them.
He is involved heavily in a six-year research roadmap for the sport, which can pave the way the team trains. His latest muse is “visual perception motor skill”, which in silat terms translates to how an athlete perceives the opponent’s attack and responds effectively.
For the Tokyo Olympic Games, he helped the fencing team conduct performance analysis, offering statistics for the team as well as presenting fresh takes on opponents and their tactics.
To go through the journey with the athletes is not easy. (You experience) a different type of awe as so much passion is being put in.— Dr Luqman Aziz, biomechanist at Singapore Sport Institute
“You cannot limit yourself to being a biomechanist,” says Dr Luqman. “You have to be a sport scientist, a coach, and a friend.”
He recalls walking — even running — the journey with a silat athlete who had to trim his weight over nine months to make a lower weight class. Dr Luqman would accompany him on gruelling runs, be his spotter in the gym, eat almost the same meals and also joined him in the sauna prior to weigh-in day. “Everything was spot on,” he says.
Even though the athlete eventually lost in his new weight class, Dr Luqman was inspired to work even harder and support the athletes better.
Dr Luqman helping silat athlete Sheik Farhan with some warm-up techniques.
He is learning life lessons himself through such experiences — for instance, in the athletes’ will “to live to fight another day, and come back stronger”.
He is determined to support any athlete all the way and believes Sport Singapore will provide the same backing. He says: “If you have an interest in sports, don’t give up hope. We have the infrastructure and pathway to guide Singaporeans to sporting success. By all means, train your hardest!”
Look out for the other parts of this series on the Team behind Team Singapore - sport dietitian, national para-archery coach, or to find out more on different sports subsectors in Singapore, and how to get more involved in sports.