TekpiWorks Seminar 2008

I considered keeping this post to myself, chiefly because I was jealous that anyone other than me would know it. However I feel, the greater good must be allowed to happen.

For the last several years, a mentor of mine, ustaz Abdul Hakim Abdul Rashid, a well-respected silat lover from Gurun, Kedah has constantly taunted me with his discovery of a great silat master up north. His famed line of "Mai Gurun" (come to Gurun!) always makes me envious of those who actually do take up his offer.

However, a recent sms from him just before Aidilfitri was the greatest taunt of all.

"Selamat Hari Raya. Mai Gurun. Guru tua nak perturun mainan 24 jenis senjata. Age 85. Anak saudara Yahya Said. Ada mainan 4 jenis tekpi. Guru P.Ramlee. Ada bukti dan saksi. Ada 12 jenis ikatan tanjak. Ada simpan mainan dan tekpi Panglima Nayan. Sundang Dato Maharaja Lela. Cindai dan lain-lain. Low profile. Mai le sebelum dia mati."

"Happy Aidilftri. Come to Gurun! An old master wants to impart 24 weaponplays. He's 85 years old. Nephew of Yahya Said. Learn 4 methods of tekpi play. He is P.Ramlee's teacher. There are evidence and witnesses to this. Learn 12 ways of tying your headgear. He possesses the method and tekpi of Panglima Nayan and the Sundang of Dato Maharaja Lela, cindai and others. He's very low profile. Come visit before he dies."

Everyone knows my affinity for anything related to Mahaguru Yahya Said's (more fondly remembered as Pak Yah) arts, even those slightly related to it, including Silat Kuntau Tekpi.

Add that to the fact that ustaz Hakim mentions that this old master, guru Jaafar, once asked Pak Yah to teach him Silat Kalimah, but all Pak Yah did was give him an exercise to perform, which apparently allowed him to extrapolate the whole of Silat Kalimah on his own. Interesting? Very! Now you know why I wanted to keep this all to myself.

But then ustaz Hakim's sms which came late last night forced me to change my mind.

"Assalamualaikum. Minta tolong. War-warkan iaitu Pertubuhan Seni Silat Harimau Bentara Garang dengan kerjasama guru tua Pak Jaafar menganjurkan Seminar Mainan Tekpi. Pada 29-30 November 2008. Fees RM200. Pak Jaafar ialah anak saudara pada Pak Yahya Said."

"Assalamualaikum. I require your assistance. Please advertise that Pertubuhan Seni Silat Harimau Bentara Garang with the cooperation of Guru Tua Pak Jaafar is organising a TekpiWorks Seminar on the 29th and 30th November 2008. The fees are RM200. Pak Jaafar is the nephew of Pak Yahya Said."

For more information, please sms me at +6016 3085 789 (Nadzrin) or email webmaster@silatmelayu.com.

Martial Arts expert shows off his moves

An internationally acclaimed martial arts guru showed off his skills at the Beachcomber Inn in Brean.

Unarmed knife defence expert and blade awareness instructor Maul Mornie from the Brunei school of martial arts visited the resort to hold a seminar with local people.

The art, which is known as 'Silat Suffian Bela Diri', teaches people how to protect themselves from knife attacks and instructs solid techniques for self defence and combat.

Frank Ellul, a teacher at St Johns School in Highbridge said: “Having Maul Mornie here is a bit like having Bruce Lee in Burnham. He is internationally known.”

Written by David Hemming
Sourced from http://www.burnhamandhighbridgeweeklynews.co.uk/news/villagenews/3799252.Martial_Arts_expert_shows_off_his_moves/

Virtual Silat Cometh

Ever since silat became popular with the internet generation, there has been a group of them who have been largely marginalised. Realising this, two forces representing the old and the new in silat have got together to fulfill this groups needs: Silat Gaming.

For those of us unfamiliar with the concept and only refer to the genre as 'video games', martial arts gaming has been popular ever since Street Fighter broke onto the scene in the last two decades.

Since then, there has been an increase in other gaming genres like strategy games Counter Strike and first person shooters like Doom and racing game Need for Speed (although the lines blur between them once in a while) while martial arts games take a back seat.

However, Azlan Ghanie, advisor of DGames Asia, a Dutch-based gaming company that has set down roots in Malaysia, believes that Silat can revitalise the genre, and this December will see whether his prediction rings true.

"The online and DVD version of our silat-referenced and Malaysian-based games will begin operations this December and will be marketed across Europe in April. I ask for the prayers and hopes of all pesilat that we succeed in introducing Malaysia and Silat to the world," he said in a statement today.

On behalf of everyone at Silat Melayu: The Blog and SMC, we wish DGames all the best!

Further reading: http://silat-melayu.blogspot.com/2008/03/silat-finally-comes-to-gaming.html

From bad boy to prominent national pencak silat hero

Diyan Kristianto could not hide his sheer disappointment when his gold hopes at the first Asian Beach Games crumbled.

"I'm very disappointed, but what can I say?"he said.

Diyan failed to continue his semifinal match against Bruneian Amirul Ahat after he suffered an injury. He was diagnosed with a torn ligament to the back of his left knee.

The debacle dealt a blow for the 23-year-old who was looking to add another laurel to his achievements. He came to the competitions the favorite following his win at last year's Southeast Asian Games and July's National Games.

Both sporting events are testimonies of his achievement attributable to his commitment, for which he has sacrificed his study.

Registered as a student of Sebelas Maret State University in Solo from 2005, Diyan has not found the time to return to study due to training camps and competitions.

"I hardly had time to begin my studies after enrollment because I was a called to a national training camp," said Diyan during the early stages of the pencak silat competition at the Games.
"I haven't had a break yet to go back to campus and attend class."

He said he would have returned to university except he didn't want to sacrifice his sport. "I have to sacrifice one or the other. I have sacrificed everything, including time with my family.

Therefore, in pencak silat I don't want to be half-hearted. I will hurt if I fail at one while I have sacrificed another."

When he was about 12 years old, Diyan said, he was "pushed" to train in pencak silat by his parent because he used to fight with the kids in his neighborhood.

"Finally, I forgot about street fighting and plunged into training, winning several competitions and becoming a national athlete."

He said his achievements at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and National Games were financially beneficial for his family. He said he wished his father would quit his job as a truck driver.

"I told him to quit driving, but he objected," said Diyan about his 60-year-old father Yatimin. His mother Jumiati is a housewife.

"I'm Javanese and usually when we earn big money we spend it on something like a plot of land for a rice plantation or a house. Also I put some in bank,"he said.

Diyan received Rp 200 million (US$19,900) in cash bonuses from the government for his gold winning performance in the 45 to 50-kilogram category at the SEA Games. He also pocketed Rp 150 million from the Central Java government for winning gold at the National Games in Samarinda.

Diyan said he had learned a lot from his seniors, such as former pesilats Roni Saefullah and Haris Nugroho, during his time at training camps and competitions while on the national team.

"They are very good to me. They are great athletes who spend their time mostly for their country," Diyan said, adding that he wished the Asian Games held a pencak silat event.

Beach pencak silat is harder than indoor pencak silat because the sand absorbs more energy, he said.

Diyan said he was anxious to prove that he was not only a champion indoors but a champion outdoors.

"It's a challenge for me." At the Games, the cruelty of the battleground sealed Diyan's ill fate.

Sourced from http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailsports.asp?fileid=20081023.U06&irec=5

Indonesia grabs three more golds in pencak silat

Indonesia wrapped up the beach pencak silat competition at the Asian Beach Games on a high note, sweeping all three gold medals at stake on the last day of competition Wednesday.

Balinese pesilat Ni Nyoman Suparniti barely broke a sweat as she outclassed Siti Zuliza Omar of Brunei Darussalam for a 5-0 win in their 55 to 60-kilogram division final to take Indonesia's gold medal tally to five in the sport.

"During the fight I learned that some of her techniques do not work.

Obviously she tried to tackle me several times but to no avail," Suparniti said after the match.was lucky she didn't win any point from that trick." Suparniti thanked hundreds of boisterous home spectators who packed the competition venue at Tanjung Benoa Beach, 30 kilometers south of Denpasar.

"Their constant cheers gave me a morale boost. When the official called out my name at the beginning of the match, I could hardly wait to fight." Suparniti defeated Emy Latip from Malaysia in the preliminary round before dousing Thai Monruthai Bangsalad's fire in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, Ni Luh Putu Spyanawati and the pair of Hamdani and M. Yusuf Effendi presented Indonesia two gold medals in the women's artistic singles and men's artistic doubles competitions.

The jury awarded Spyanawati the highest score of 454, followed by Vietnamese Thao Vu Thi on 449 for the silver, and Norleyermah Haji Raya of Brunei Darussalam on 446 for the bronze.

The men's doubles team, Hamdani and Yusuf, collected 576 points to bag the artistic gold, followed by Tung Nguyen Thanh and Nghia Tran Duc of Vietnam and Mohamad Hafiz Mohamad Arif and Mohamad Helmi Aziz of Malaysia, with both teams scoring 562 points. The Vietnamese pair was granted the silver because they demonstrated a greater variety of techniques and expression of movement.

"We predicted that Komang would win the gold. But amazingly the rest of the team performed convincingly to win all the four gold medals on offer in the artistic category," head coach Indro Catur Haryono said referring to Suparniti.

Indro set a target of winning two gold medals in the non-combat discipline.

"Looking at the way they played, those competing in artistic category were better prepared for the Games than their teammates in the combat category,"Indro said.

Artistic coach Wayan Suwita also said Spyanawati, Hamdani and Yusuf won the favor because of the comprehension in their movements and the variety of their techniques.

"The jury unanimously awarded them with a high score. They beat their opponents by a margin of more than three. This means they dominated the competition," Suwita said.

"I think people would raise their eyebrows if the Indonesian artistic athletes didn't win today." Indonesia collected five out of the eight gold medals on offer in the beach pencak silat competition. Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand won one gold medal each.

The team exceeded the National Sports Committee's target of winning four gold medals.

Written by MATHEOS VIKTOR MESSAKH
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-187664658/indonesia-grabs-three-more.html

Kristianto succumbs to injury, Supartini marches into final

Indonesia's chances of winning gold through its ace pencak silat fighter Diyan Kristianto are dashed after he was stretchered off with a knee injury during his semifinal Monday.

The Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist Kristianto was unable to finish his match against Amirul Ahat of Brunei Darussalam.

"What can we say? It's an accident and nobody wants it, but it happened," coach Dani Wisnu told The Jakarta Post after the match was suspended in Amirul's favor.

Wisnu said he asked the referee to stop the contest after seeing Kristianto could not stand following a fall.

"I didn't want him to suffer anymore. I am thinking about his performance at the next SEA Games,"Wisnu said.

The accident happened as Kristianto was trying to defend an attack from Amirul, but his feet sank deep into the sand,Wisnu said.

Kristianto was taken to Sanglah Hospital. Later in the day, Indonesian team manager Bambang Rus Effendi confirmed that the 2007 SEA Games gold medalist was diagnosed with a torn ligament tothe back of his left knee.

"I'm very disappointed, but what can I say? No one is to blame, not even the Brunei's pesilat," Kristianto told the Post by phone."We fell together and unfortunately I was not in the right position. I hope I will get well soon." Effendi said Wisnu made the right decision to withdraw Kristianto from the fight.

"Kristianto is one of our top players,we didn't expect this to happen but it has,"Effendi said. Brunei's Indonesian-born head coach Suhartono said the injury was unintentional, adding that the result might have been different if the match was not postponed.

"It happened too quickly and my pesilat had no intention of hurting his opponent.

Compared to indoor pencak silat, athletes playing beach pencak silat are more prone to injury," said Suhartono, who has coached Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam over his 12-year career.

Indonesian pesilat Ria Puspita Sari, who played in the women's 45 to 50-kilogram category, also bowed out in the first round. She lost to Nga Latip of Vietnam.

In the women's 60 to 65-kilogram category, Ni Nyoman Supartini made short work of Monruthai Bangsalad for a 5-0 win. Supartini will play Siti Zuliza Omar of Brunei Darussalam in the gold medal match Wednesday.

"Ria is a newcomer, butthat Supartini stands a good chance in her final match. Based on her track records, she should be able to control the match," Wisnu said.

Written by MATHEOS VIKTOR MESSAKH
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-187537790/kristianto-succumbs-injury-supartini.html

Setiabakti Aidilfittri & Silaturrahim 2008

The Setiabakti Academy will be organising an Aidilfitri & Silaturrahim 2008 get together for all current and senior members of Silat Setiabakti, wherever they may be.

The event will take place on Monday, 27th October 2008 (Diwali Day) from 2.00pm - 6.00pm.

Fees are RM20.00 per person or RM30.00 per family.

For payment, please contact your instructors cikgu Hamidi/ cikgu Hassan/ cikgu Asmawi/ cikgu Rizal/ cikgu Azlan/ cikgu Razlan or just bank in your fees to Maybank Acc. No: 162478140787 (under the name Hamidi Md Nor) before 25th October 2008.

Pencak silat gives Indonesia first two golds

Balinese pencak silat athletes led Indonesia's medal hunt at the Asian Beach Games on Sunday, winning the first two gold medals at stake in the martial arts competition.

Gusti Ngurah Arya Yudapandita gave a breathtaking performance at his international debut to grab the first gold for the national squad.

Competing in the men's singles artistic category, Yudapandita silenced the cheering crowd at Tanjung Benoa Beach near Nusa Dua with his skillful movements.

The jury awarded him 457 points and the gold medal.

Anh Nguyen Viet of Vietnam scored 450 for the silver and Muhammad Khairul Bahrin from Brunei Darrusallam collected 449 points to win the bronze.

"I couldn't be happier. This is my first international event and I won the gold medal," Yudapandita said. "The recent National Games I only took silver, but three months of training helped me prepare for this event very well."

Indonesia's celebrations lasted longer as the women's doubles artistic team, Sang Ayu Ketut Sidan and Ni Made Dwiyanti, booked the second gold medal.

Sidan and Dwiyanti earned 570 points to top Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Binh and Thao Vu Thi, who scored 562 for the silver and Malaysia's Maslinda Zakaria and Kamilah Sulong, who collected 535 points for the bronze.

Both junior high school students, Sidan and Dwiyanti said they had set a target of winning the gold despite the tough challenge from their experienced rivals.

Indonesian artistic coach Wayan Suwita said he predicted the Indonesian athletes to take advantage of playing in front of a home crowd and being able to adjust to competition ground for about three months.

"It's clear from their performance that our athletes were rich in technique," Suwita said. Other athletes made good movements, but without much technique.

"In the end they seemed to wear out. Our athletes displayed their expertise in terms of the logic of movement, the correctness of movement and good stamina."

Coach Dani Wisnu agreed that the Indonesian athletes were dominant in technique and in stamina."They deployed a variety of good techniques on every block of the ground, while other athletes seemed to repeat the same movements."

Bronze medalist Muhammad Khairul Durahman of Brunei Darussalam said he was satisfied with the result.

But the artistic category is based on the subjective opinion of the jury, he said, who can sometimes deliver unpredictable decisions.

"The beach pencak silat is of course harder than usual pencak silat, but that's not the problem," said Durahman, who is an army private in the Brunei defense force. "The problem is that it depends on the subjectivity of the jury."

Coach Dani Wisnu rejected Durahman's view. He said technical skills in pencak silat could be measured.

"It's not totally true," he said. "Of course the jury has their own subjectivity, but they also have guidelines and rules to measure the performance of the athletes.

"Nevertheless, today's games clearly show that our athletes were dominant in terms of technique and stamina."

The medal presentation of the first gold medal of the Bali Asian Beach Games was attended by the Olympic Council of Asia president Sheik Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah and director general of Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOC).

"Today, Indonesia wins two gold medals which (in the past) they could only have won at regional games," Sheik Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah told The Jakarta Post.

"Now they have the same standard of all the other Asian championships. This is the idea of it. As the president of OCA I'm very happy that we are giving more chance for our athletes to compete."

Written by Matheos Viktor Messakh
Sourced from http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailsports.asp?fileid=20081020.T01&irec=0
Picture sourced from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7684206.stm

Pencak silat gives Indonesia first two golds

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2008 -- Balinese pencak silat athletes led Indonesia's medal hunt at the Asian Beach Games on Sunday, winning the first two gold medals at stake in the martial arts competition.

Gusti Ngurah Arya Yudapandita gave a breathtaking performance at his international debut to grab the first gold for the national squad.

Competing in the men's singles artistic category, Yudapandita silenced the cheering crowd at Tanjung Benoa Beach near Nusa Dua with his skillful movements.

The jury awarded him 457 points and the gold medal.

Anh Nguyen Viet of Vietnam scored 450 for the silver and Muhammad Khairul Bahrin from Brunei Darrusallam collected 449 points to win the bronze.

"I couldn't be happier. This is my first international event and I won the gold medal," Yudapandita said.the recent National Games I only took silver, but three months of training helped me prepare for this event very well." Indonesia's celebrations lasted longer as the women's doubles artistic team, Sang Ayu Ketut Sidan and Ni Made Dwiyanti, booked the second gold medal.

Sidan and Dwiyanti earned 570 points to top Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Binh and Thao Vu Thi, who scored 562 for the silver and Malaysia's Maslinda Zakaria and Kamilah Sulong, who collected 535 points for the bronze.

Both junior high school students, Sidan and Dwiyanti said they had set a target of winning the gold despite the tough challenge from their experienced rivals.

Indonesian artistic coach Wayan Suwita said he predicted the Indonesian athletes to take advantage of playing in front of a home crowd and being able to adjust to competition ground for about three months.

"It's clear from their performance that our athletes were rich in technique," Suwita said. Other athletes made good movements, but without much technique.

"In the end they seemed to wear out. Our athletes displayed their expertise in terms of the logic of movement, the correctness of movement and good stamina." Coach Dani Wisnu agreed that the Indonesian athletes were dominant in technique and in stamina."They deplored a variety of good techniques on every block of the ground, while other athletes seemed to repeat the same movements." Bronze medalist Muhammad Khairul Durahman of Brunei Darussalam said he was satisfied with the result.

But the artistic category is based on the subjective opinion of the jury, he said, who can sometimes deliver unpredictable decisions.

"The beach pencak silat is of course harder than usual pencak silat, but that's not the problem," said Durahman, who is an army private in the Brunei defense force. "The problem is that it depends on the subjectivity of the jury." Coach Dani Wisnu rejected Durahman's view. He said technical skills in pencak silat could be measured.

"It's not totally true," he said. "Of course the jury has their own subjectivity, but they also have guidelines and rules to measure the performance of the athletes.

"Nevertheless, today's games clearly show that our athletes were dominant in terms of technique and stamina." The medal presentation of the first gold medal of the Bali Asian Beach Games was attended by the Olympic Council of Asia president Sheik Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah and director general of Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOC).

"Today, Indonesia wins two gold medals which (in the past) they could only have won at regional games," Sheik Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah told The Jakarta Post.

"Now they have the same standard of all the other Asian championships. This is the idea of it. As the president of OCA I'm very happy that we are giving more chance for our athletes to compete."

Written by MATHEOS VIKTOR MESSAKH
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-187475145/pencak-silat-gives-indonesia.html

Athletes grapple with new pencak silat rules

Pencak Silat, a martial art originating from Indonesia, will be played outdoors during the Asian Beach Games.

As a result, the athletes will face new challenges, forcing the organizers to adjust the rules and regulations.

The organizers made adjustments to the rules during a workshop in Jakarta, Oyong Karma Yuda, Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOG) competition manager for pencak silat, said.

"Among them is the use of sunglasses to protect athletes eyes, but it is not mandatory. There are also penalties for those who deliberately toss sand at their rivals' eyes,"Karma Yuda told The Jakarta Post at the pencak silat venue, Tanjung Benoa Beach, on Friday.

He said BABGOC had also held several training sessions for referees on the additional rules and regulations.

Indonesian team manager Bambang Rus Effendi said he brought the team to the site in early August so they could get used to the venue and the climate.

"During training we tried every possibility, including wearing every kind of glasses such as swimming goggles, beach volleyball glasses and even snorkeling goggles, but most players finally found it more comfortable not to use any glasses," Effendi said.

The team discovered a special trick to deal with the possibility of getting sand in their eyes, he said.

Bambang said that playing pencak silat outdoors was akin to bringing it back to nature as the martial art, which is practiced throughout the Melayu archipelago, was traditionally played on the beach.

The Pencak silat competition starts Sunday and will provide the first gold medal of the Games.
The National Sports Council (KONI) is optimistic that after Indonesia's domination in the region in the indoor competition, the team will win at least four of the eight gold medals on offer.

"Every team member has the opportunity to win gold. We have lots of champions. I don't want to specify one because it will place a burden upon them,"Bambang said.

"Although KONI expects only five medals to defend our reputation, I would like to say that we aim to win all eight."

The Indonesian team has 10 athletes who will play in eight categories. They are Diyan Kristianto (men's 45 to 50 kilograms), Pranoto (men's 80 to 85 kilograms), Ni Nyoman Supartini (women's 60 to 65 kilograms), Ria Puspitasari (women's 45 to 50 kilograms), Hamdani and M. Yusuf (artistic men's pair) , Ayu Septiana and Dwiyanti (artistic women's pair), I Gusti Ngurah Arya Yudha (artistic men's singles) and I Putu Sepyanawati (artistic women's singles).

Ni Nyoman Supartini said beach pencak silat provided greater challenges because playing on sand made players prone to exhaustion.

"It's definitely heavier to move around and to kick. Sometimes we have to be more careful because you can easily lose your footing,"Supartini said.

However, Supartini, who won gold in the 45 up to 50 kilograms category during the 2007 Nakhon Ratchasima SEA Games, said she was ready to fight. She is cautious, however, about the rivalry posed by the seven other countries participating in the pencak silat event.

"Although we became the champion of the discipline at the last SEA Games Vietnam is right behind us. We won five gold medals and they won four gold medals, so there is not much difference."

Coach Dani Wisnu said the athletes would be less agile and their pace would be slower because their feet could dig into the sand up to 10 centimeters.

"They have to deal with the sun and the sand. It definitely requires more energy than the usual pencak silat," Wisnu said.

To become acclimatized, some teams such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore begun training in Indonesia long before the event.

The Malaysian team arrived in Benoa two weeks before the host team. Vietnam has trained at several beaches in Bali for about a month and Singapore, which arrived in Bali on Thursday, sent its athletes to neighboring Bintan island to train for about two weeks.

"We are a bit worried because the sand is softer and drier than the sand in Bintan where we previously held our training," Singapore team official Sheik Alau'ddin bin Yacoob Marican said, adding that the heavy equipment of the sport would also cause a problem.

"Other sports will wear beach suits, but pencak silat athletes will still wear their formal suits. It will definitely cause a challenge," Marican said, adding beach Pencak silat would be featured at the next Singaporean national games.

Written by Matheos Viktor Messakh
Sourced from http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailsports.asp?fileid=20081018.T01&irec=0

Kembara Ilmu

Dalam Gersang Kembara Bermula
Titisan Air Jadi Buruan
Buat Membasah Tekak Yang Hiba
Hausnya Sudah Tiada Tertahan

Tidak Tertahan Rasanya Diri
Sungguhlah Jahil Tiada Ketahuan
Kosongnya Jiwa Tiada Terperi
Dambaku Sungguh Ilmu Ya Tuhan

Kembara Temu Pelbagai Laku
Ujian Datang Pelbagai Wajah
Segala Itu Semua Dilalu
Berjalan Terus Biarpun Payah

Bertemu Sijahil Maka Berbalah
Baik Mengalah Elaknya Punah
Begitulah Laku Jadi Tarbiah
Jika Tidak Semuanya Musnah

Musnahlah Diri Tiadanya Ilmu
Musnahlah Akhlak Jika Sengketa
Hilang Akal Amarah Bertemu
Rosak Rohani Jadilah Buta

Bertemu Ilmuwan Maka Bertuah
Terisi Cawan Sehingga Tertumpah?
Dahaga Hilang Alhamdulillah
Pujian Hanya Pada Al-Ilah

Adakah Sungguh Kendi Terisi?
Ilmu Barokah Dari Pendita
Bukan Dahaga Dihilang Tadi?
Nampakkah Kurang Empunya Mata?

Adakah Tidak Dituang Airnya?
Nikmat Rasanya Tiada Diduga
Cawan Kosong Kemana Isinya?
Lenyapnya Air Hilang Dahaga

Maka Kembali Mencari Lagi
Untuk Mengisi Bejana Lopong
Diri Berilmu Itulah Resmi
Bertambah Isi Terasa Kosong

Gersang Kembali Kembara Ini
Hanya Mengharap Redha Ilahi
Sudahlah Tentu Kekal Abadi
Berserah Bulat Pasrahlah Diri

Tintanya Ilmu Tiada Sempadan
Mentaati Allah Paling Utama
Lenyaplah Diri Dalam Celupan
Disisi Allah Abadi Selama

Dhaifnya Diri Sudah Ternyata
Adanya Ilmu Jauh Sekali
Yang Baru Itu Semua Binasa
Akuilah Kini Lemahnya Diri

Binasa Juga Kalam Yang Ini
Kalamnya Hamba Diri Yang Hina
Tidaklah Kekal Jasadnya Ini
Ilahana Anta Maqsuduna

Ustaz Saiful Muhammad
16 October 2008, Seremban 2

A Gayong Eid in Nirwana

Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia is hosting a Hari Raya Aidilfitri gathering at Gelanggang Wajadiri Taman Nirwana in Ampang this Saturday, 18th October 2008 at 8.30pm and everyone is invited.

I spoke to cikgu Jazwan Kahar (son of cikgu Kahar Redza) last night and he allowed me to extend an open invitation to the readers of this blog. This is a prime opportunity for pesilat and martial artists from various backgrounds to get together and just mingle.

It's also a rare chance to meet cikgu Kahar, who was Allahyarham Mahaguru Datuk Meor Abdul Rahman Uda Hasyim's personal driver. Cikgu Kahar admits to studying Gayong in a unique manner from him during his lifetime. Ask and he might tell!

If you need more information, please email me at webmaster [at] silatmelayu.com

An Aidilfitri Visit

Over the last one week, emails, SMSs, chats, phone calls and wall comments were exchanged by a group of friends we call the Bukit Mas team, a group of silat-mad folk who bounce around looking for masters to study from. Together.

The gamut of communication was to arrange a trip to visit several of our masters for Aidilfitri.

I know, I know, Aidilfitri lasts for only a day in Makkah and most of the world, but this is Malaysia, where we love a celebration and will absorb as much fun from it before it passes. Therefore, Aidilfitri lasts a month over here.

Unfortunately, only 3 of the original 9 members of the team could make it as we live closer to our masters. We had no contact with one, another is in Sarawak, 2 are in Johor and another one simply too far away to make it in time. Our ninth member, Mahrizal, passed away several years ago. May Allah bless his soul and relieve him of his burdens in the hereafter.

Several days before, I represented the group to arrange a visit to guru Dahlan Karim's (Silat Setiabakti) house. I called him again just as I was leaving the office at 6pm, and he confirmed that we should be arriving at his home at 8pm. We normally wouldn't visit him that early, but he had a 9.30pm class last night and we didn't want to impose on him.

We did a virtual roll-call. Who would be attending? Myself. Cikgu Norazlan Wahid of Silat Kuntau Tekpi (and also administrator and co-founder of SilatMelayu.Com - yes... there are plans to rehabilitate that site) and cikgu Zainudin Ismail, whom we call 'ustaz' because of his penchant for religious coffee table talk (which we love, by the way).

Tagging along, is the mercurial cikgu Firdaus, whom we call Maulana for his facial similarity to the sheikhs of old and cikgu Yazid Abdul Rani and family of Lian Padukan Pak Mat Kedidi, who would be meeting us there.

I left Putrajaya a little after 6, made my way through the mad traffic and heavy rain along the MRR2 and managed to land at Surau Al-Taqwa in Keramat (where I studied Silat Kuntau Tekpi) an hour later. After Maghrib, I intended to stop by my instructor's house, but it was dark inside, and I didn't want to be late. It was already 7.30pm.

I called cikgu Norazlan, whom I call 'Coach' and requested that he begin making his way to cikgu Dahlan's house while I rush over to ustaz's house to pick him up. The traffic was worse than I thought. It was already 8 when ustaz jumped in my car. At least, Coach and Maulana would be there early.

It took us another half hour of wading through cars and water only to be shocked by a phone call by Maulana asking for cikgu Dahlan's address! They weren't even there yet! In all the confusion, I got lost and it took the two of us another 30 minutes to find his house. It was now 9pm.

Cikgu Dahlan was gracious as ever. He invited us in. Coach and Maulana were already there, browsing through the dozens of Silat Setiabakti books cikgu Dahlan had written, but had yet to publish. As we entered into his humble double-storey terraced home, signages, logos and weapons hung on the wall greeted us, the Setiabakti brand adorning all of them.

Cikgu Fuad, SENI BELADIRI's current editor, was also present to visit cikgu Dahlan.

"I'm getting old," cikgu Dahlan told us over a bowl of sumptuous noodles. "I worry that no one wants to continue studying silat," he confided to us. "But I will continue doing what I'm doing to keep this art alive."

"Quick, simple and effective," he declares, as he quotes Setiabakti's motto.

"That's why I can produce instructors in a short time. The system that I've spent years to build is now complete. Anyone who wants to be an instructor, I welcome wholeheartedly," he baited us.

Just then, his student, Tengku Musa, walks in. "Nadzrin, right?" he asks me and we greet each other. We recognised each other immediately. Tengku Musa is the elusive TM of http://gayanglima.blogspot.com/ and http://silat.tv/.

Tengku Musa recently appeared in SENI BELADIRI magazine with his master, Pak Atan "Air Batu", master of Silat Gayang Lima. Tengku Musa was given permission by cikgu Dahlan to teach Gayang Lima under the auspices of the Akademi Silat Setiabakti in the bangsal he built. The roofed gelanggang cost him RM18,000 to build and includes basic amenities like electricity (by generator), running water and male and female toilets.

"I'm open to anyone who wants to use the gelanggang to teach their styles. I pity those masters who depend on an open air gelanggang. When it rains, they're forced to cancel their class. I built the bangsal for that reason," he sighed.

"Now, I don't hold anything back. If anyone wants to come and learn, I will teach. I'll show them the most effective techniques, nothing kept. Come one day," he said excitedly.

Coach suddenly asked cikgu Dahlan, "Are there no more gendang classes?"

"None. The kids aren't interested. I paid for the lessons," he replied with a sad smile as we chatted over cups of black coffee.

To be continued...

The Origin of Pencak Silat as told by Myths

It is not easy to trace back the history of pencak silat because written documentation is limited and oral information handed down from the guru or masters cannot fully answer all the riddles.

In particular, it is very complicated to determine when and from where pencak silat begun, and who pioneered its spreading. Still, all the experts believe that our Melayu ancestors created and used pencak silat as self-defense technique already in prehistoric times.

Mariun Sudirohadiprodo, a renowned Indonesian pencak silat master and pendekar, for example claims that the animal's character was an inspirational source in the creation of pencak silat techniques and styles:

At the time, the ferocity of wild animals threatened the life of prehistoric people in the archipelago. Being the wild animals their natural enemy, humans had to pay attention to the animals' moves and adopt similar movements as self-defense techniques. They copied the movements of tigers, eagles, snakes, crocodiles, monkeys, scorpions and dragons.

Gradually pencak silat styles were developed out of these observations such as the harimau (tiger) and garuda putih (white eagle) styles. (Marijun Sudirohadiprodjo 1982:1; see also Tisnowati Tamat 1986:15; Murhananto 1993:7)

During my research from 1994 until 1998 I gathered many myths and legends about the origin of pencak silat that stress the role of nature on the development of self-defense techniques in the archipelago. Although the historical value of such myths can be questioned, from an anthropological point of view they are worth attention since they express people's explanations of a certain cultural phenomena.

In this case, pencak silat is considered an integral part and at the same time product of the surrounding environments. For example, in the small island of Bawean on the North coast of Jawa, the dominant legend claims that monkeys were the "pioneers" of pencak silat movements:

Rama Sukana went to the river to do the wash. Suddenly, she saw on the side of the river a pair of monkeys fighting. One of the monkeys repeatedly attacked the other one with a tree's tack while the other monkey was jumping and moving aside to avoid the blows.

Rama Sukana stopped her activities and took notice of the monkeys' fighting techniques. She was so enthusiastic that she did not finish her works and arrived late at home. The husband, Rama Isruna who had been waiting, become hungry and tried to beat her but she used the techniques she had just learned from the monkeys to avoid the husband's attack.

In the end, Rama Istruna became tired and asked his wife where she had learned such fantastic techniques. After Rama Sukama explained to him her experience, the husband asked her to train him. Now these techniques are known as pencak Bawean.

Similar stories are also told in other Indonesian provinces. In West Jawa, the Cimande style is said to derive from the wife of Mba Kaher who learned her techniques from a tiger fighting with a monkey. In Sumatra, the myth narrates how silat techniques were conceptualized by observing the fight of a big bird with a tiger. Also in neighboring Malaysia, such stories are popular:

One day in a village, a housewife who was carrying food in a basket above her head was attacked by a group of birds that tried to steal her food .The housewife tried to move from the right to the left and from the left to the right to avoid the attack of the birds. She also kept moving forward and back, trying to skim them with the hands. Doing so, she lost time and arrived late at home.

She tried to explain to her furious husband what had happened, but he would not accept it. He attacked her and she had to defend herself with the same movements she had just practiced with the birds. The husband was unable to touch her, eventually got tired, and finally asked her to teach him the techniques she had just employed. With dedication, he practiced with his wife and developed what is now known as seni silat. (Tuan Ismail Tuan Soh 1991:36-37)

It is interesting to note that most of these myths give a prominent role to women as the initiators of pencak silat, in sharp contrast with today reality where men dominate the pencak silat world and only few women pendekar can still be found. Women's dominance does not imply that mythology totally neglects men as can be seen from the following Jawa legend:

There was a young man who watched some flowers fall into the river and being carried by the stream flow towards the waterfalls. The young man thought that the flowers would be completely shattered by the waterfalls but to his surprise this did not happen. Every time the flowers ended under a waterfall they soon reappeared pushed up by the upside down stream. From this experience, the young man was inspired to create attack and counter-attack movements. (Summary from Chambers and Draegar in Tuan Ismail Tuan Soh 1991:37-38)

Notwithstanding the different sex of the various protagonists, all these myths concur that pencak silat was inspired by nature. Our ancestors spontaneously developed their self-defense techniques by observing natural phenomena that occurred in their daily life. With this new knowledge, tribal groups were able to contain the many dangers that surrounded them. In the following centuries, these instinctive movements were adapted to new arising needs and in due time became a well-thought self-defense system.

References Marijun Sudirohadiprodjo 1982 Pencak Silat Kita Dihari Kemudian, Bulletin KONI no.7, hlm.10-14 Murhananto 1993 Menyelami Pencak Silat, Jakarta: Puspa Swara Tisnowati Tamat 1986 Pelajaran Dasar Pencak Silat, Jakarta: Maswar. Tuan Ismail Tuan Soh Silat Sekebun; Seni Silat Melayu Dengan Tumpuan Kepada Seni. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementrian Pendidikan Malaysia. Sourced from Rapid Journal, Vol 4, No. 3 (Book 13, 1999: 38 – 39)© O'ong Maryono www.kpsnusantara.com