. >> reporter: kamrul's father gives him hands-on advice. 65-year-old husin is also a delong. >> translatormrul was watching the shows until very late at night, even when he was small. i'm so proud of his success. >> reporter: families from generations pass down knowledge and techniques. once there were 300 delongs in the province where kamrul grew up. now just a dozen or so remain. kamrul wants to preserve the tradition, so two years ago, he began teaching local children. he invites children over 3 years of age to take part. he writes unique rhythms on a piece of paper, so everybody can understand. then just as his father did with him, he takes the children by hand and teaches them step by step. >> translator: there are a range of puppets and the fighting scenes are exciting. >> reporter: kamrul is also exploring new possibilities for the puppet theater. in august he took part in a joint show in kuala lumpur. kamrul found a lot of similarities between the two types of theater. the performers overcame the language barrier and put on a professional and captivating show. >> to make it more un