Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Controversy. Show all posts

22 February 2012

Four die in extreme martial arts tests

Four martial arts students have died while attempting to achieve invulnerability in extreme tests in separate incidents in Greater Jakarta, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Two men in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara died on Tuesday as a vehicle drove over their bodies. A third man remains in critical condition.

The trio, all assistant coaches at the Kera Sakti pencak silat martial arts school, were identified as Ebiridio Sarmento, 20; Elder Cruz, 21; and Abilio Fretes, 18.

The three performed their test at the Noelbaki bus terminal. Witnesses said they first took rat poison and survived.

When none of them fell sick, they proceeded to the next test.

“The three members later proceeded by laying down in the street while some motorcyclists drove over their bodies with their bikes a few times,” a fellow school member, Alberto Amaral, said on Tuesday.

“Nobody got injured,” he added.

The three then decided to allow a four-wheel vehicle carrying dozens of passengers to roll over their bodies.

Their request was granted. However, this time the results were gruesome.

“They screamed when the vehicles passed over their bodies. When the show was over, we found their bodies were crushed,” Alberto said.

Sarmento died at the scene, while Cruz died on the way to hospital.

Fretes is currently in critical condition at a hospital in Kupang.

Kupang Police criminal investigations chief Adj. Comr. Yohanes Kristian Tanau said they had named the school’s leaders, Egidius Sarmento and Antonio Tinto, as suspects.

Officers also took into evidence a car, two motorcycles and rat poison as evidence and were also questioning Brendo, the driver of the vehicle that passed over the men.

In a separate incident on Monday, two pencak silat enthusiasts from Cilincing, North Jakarta — brothers Slalindar Andri Wibowo, 24, and Dedi Supriyadi, 26 — died from severe burns after they were doused with acid in a test of their immunity against weapon attacks.

“[Andri and Dedi] learned to master a weapon-resistant skill. But when acid was poured on them, they were severely injured,” their sister, Lisa Faja Riana, said after viewing their bodies at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital morgue on Tuesday.

Lisa said her brothers and two friends, identified as Oman and Hendra, went to Serang, Banten, on Saturday evening to look for a master who could teach them immunity against weapons.

Banten is famous for a traditional performance called the debus in which a performer demonstrates his invulnerability to weapons and fire.

“Andri told his wife that he went to a prayer gathering to learn religion instead,” Lisa said as quoted by kompas.com.

Lisa said the family was informed about the incident on Sunday evening after one of the victims’ friends called to inform them that the brothers were dead and their bodies were in a hospital in Serang.


Sourced from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/22/four-die-extreme-martial-arts-tests.html

02 December 2011

'I was wrong, but I didn't kelong'

On his Facebook wall reads an ominous prayer, posted in malay, a week prior to the recent South-east Asia (SEA) Games, asking God to "shelter him from ridicule, criticism and dissatisfaction from the silat community".


Was it a sign of nerves before his refereeing assignment in Jakarta or was it a premonition of things to come?

Jasni Salam's worst fears were realised two Thursdays ago when one of the most bizarre sequence of events in the sport unfolded in the Class A 45-50kg final on Nov 17.

In a 51-second YouTube video that has attracted 352,000 views, Indonesian exponent Dian Kristanto employed unorthodox methods such as running around the competition arena, biting his opponent on the shoulder and hiding behind Jasni en route to beating Thailand's Anothai Choopeng 5-0 for the gold medal.

Jasni, a 52-year-old with over 20 years of refereeing experience, came under fire for his shambolic handling of the final and Singapore Silat Federation (PERSISI) chief executive Sheik Alauddin even went as far as calling him a "moron".

Efforts to contact Jasni had proved unsuccessful since his return from Indonesia.

When The New Paper finally tracked him down yesterday, he maintained his innocence when asked point-blank if he was under any influence to swing the match Indonesia's way.

"My conscience is clear... I made some poor refereeing decisions in the final, but there was no kelong," said the former national coach, who is an International Class One referee - the highest standard attainable - and was one of two Singaporean referees sent to the SEA Games by PERSISI.

"The Indonesian supporters were absolute fanatics, but I tried my best to be as fair as possible. No-one approached me to influence the game unfairly.

"I am clean. Before anyone accuses me of being corrupt, please show me the evidence."

In the two-hour long interview with TNP at the Eunos Community Club yesterday, he admitted that he turned in a poor performance.

So what were the "poor refereeing decisions" which he made?

Jasni said: "I reviewed the video of the entire fight with PERSISI on Friday and I realised I made a mistake when I failed to penalise the Indonesian after he committed a similar offence (of leaving the arena) for the third time."

In pencak silat, exponents must display proper technique as they mount an attack or defence and they are not allowed to run amok.

The referee is supposed to issue a warning when he thinks proper technique is not employed or if there's an infringement.

The third warning in each round would result in a one-point deduction, and the subsequent caution represents a two-point penalty. However, the foul counters are reset after each round.

Defending himself, Jasni said: "There were so many people who could have corrected my mistake, but nobody did.

"Unlike in football, the referee's decision is not final. In silat, it is not just the referee who officiates the fight. In fact, the referee doesn't award points, the five jury members seated around the arena do.

"Silat referees only indicate to the jury when there should be a point deducted for breaking the rules. The only case where he awards points is when there is a take down, which is worth three points.

"There were also the head of competition (from Malaysia), three members in the referees' council (from Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam), as well as the international technical delegate (from Indonesia) and his assistant (from Singapore). Why didn't they do anything?"

Sources told TNP, however, that the referee council did highlight to Jasni his failure to award a penalty point to Dian, but the Singaporean did not heed their advice, and went on to miss other infringements in the third round.

When told of this, Jasni said: "If I made a mistake, the head of competition or the technical delegates have the right to stop the fight and hold a discussion. "If I was doing so badly, why didn't they substitute me with another referee, which is within their rights to do so?"

Ultimately, the gold went to Indonesia, although Thailand had every reason to feel aggrieved.

Sheik told TNP: "Yes, the Indonesian guy was leading after two rounds, but if you factor in the points deduction, Thailand could have won."

He explained by saying that the points difference awarded by each jury member was very narrow.

So despite the eventual scoreline of 5-0, any deduction for Dian could have swung the match in Thailand's favour.

He added: "The referees' council also activated the buzzer and lights twice to alert Jasni, which he didn't respond to.

"Analysing the video, there were behavioural changes compared to past matches in which Jasni was referee."

Jasni, who was national coach when the sport collected its best SEA Games haul of three gold medals in Brunei in 1999, admitted he had missed the council's attempts to get his attention.

He said: "It was so chaotic and noisy, I didn't see or hear the signal.

"That's also my mistake. But why didn't they persist to get my attention by blowing a whistle or by getting the competition secretary to announce 'referee, referee'?

"This is common practice which they didn't perform."

Jasni was summoned by PERSISI last Friday to explain the chain of events in Jakarta.

PERSISI general secretary Isiah Majid told TNP the matter has been handed over to the disciplinary committee.

Sheik added that if found guilty, the maximum sentence would be a life ban from refereeing silat competitions.

What looked like a dream assignment has turned sour for Jasni, who also works as a housekeeper at a local hotel to make ends meet.

He said: "I can understand how some people can claim that I kelong because they don't know the rules, but I am disappointed by Sheik's comments, calling me a moron.

"I am hurt and depressed because I tried my best and it ended up like this.

"I feel really sorry to my family for putting so much pressure on them. "I may just retire from refereeing and focus on coaching."

Former world silat champion Imran Abdul Rahman was one of those who spoke up for his former coach.

Imran said: "I've watched the video of all three rounds and made calls to people who watched the bout in Indonesia, and I feel justice needs to be done.

"Officiating a silat fight is not just a one-man show. I know it is easy to watch the clip and say that it is fixed, but people need to know the rules before passing judgment.

"I hope he will not quit refereeing, but bounce back to prove he can still do a good job."

Written by DAVID LEE & SAZALI ABD AZIZ
Sourced from http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20111130-313637/3.html

16 December 2010

Indonesian fan attack Vietnamese sports official



An Indonesian fan suddenly drop-kicked the chief of the Vietnamese Pencak Silat delegation at a game between a Vietnamese and Indonesian pencak Silat player on December 16.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, chief of the Vietnamese delegation to the World Pencak Silat Championship in Jakarta, didn’t agree with the referee’s decision to record a point for the host player because he broke the rules. Ngoc Anh stood near the playground and he ran to the referee to protest the referee’s decision.

Suddenly, an Indonesian fan appeared and a drop-kicked the Vietnamese official. When the fan felt down. A Vietnamese Pencak Silat coach rushed into to defend Ngoc Anh.

Some members of the Indonesian delegation and some audience members joined the battle, creating a scene of chaos at the game. Referees and security guards intervened to stabilize the situation.

After the incident, Ngoc Anh said that that the organizing board and the Indonesian Pencak Silat Federation offered an apology to the Vietnamese delegation.

The tournament closed on December 19 and Vietnam took the first place. The team defended its championship title with eight gold medals, especially one gold gained from the seni event, which is the strength of host Indonesia .

The WPSC, opened on Dec. 12, drew the participation of 425 athletes from 32 countries worldwide.

Sourced from http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/sports/2950/indonesian-fans-attack-vietnamese-sports-official.html

06 March 2009

Is Amok part of Silat?

Despite Malaysia being heavily promoted as a tolerant multicultural, multireligious country, there are obvious undertones of tension among the younger generation, mostly fuelled by the racial politics and current issues that plague our headlines daily. It's a boiling cauldron of emotion that's waiting to blow over.

As I trawled through the political and religious internet forums on the Malaysian scene, I notice a particular trend of young Melayu threatening their perceived enemies with going amuk. They talk about blood parties like it's 1969, warning of uncontrollable rage. More worrying, is the trend of these statements coming blogs that are silat-themed or where the blogger is known to be a silat exponent.

It creates the impression that amuk is part of silat culture, when it in fact is diametrically opposed to it. The original meaning of amuk for Melayu is the sudden and unexpected burst of emotion that bypasses all reason. The pengamuk (person who runs amuck) will lash out at family, friends and just about anyone they can get their hands on because of a perceived dishonour or injustice.

The earliest recorded incidence of amuk in Malaysia is the well-known scene where Hang Tuah kills a pengamuk with an axe, cementing the difference between the conception behind silat and amuk, control and sanity.

Every silat style I have studied has always stressed on the idea of always being in the driver's seat, of beringat, of having that presence of mind. Amuk is nothing more than surrendering your mind to a berserker rage where nothing, no one is sacred. It is not part of silat.

What then, is? Adab (manners) of war.

The most powerful learning learning a pendekar can gain is by rereading the manner in which the Holy Messenger Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his Companions (May Allah Be Pleased With Them) conducted their battles with the Quraish.

During a battle in the path of Allâh, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ... found himself face to face with a kafir who attacked him violently. They were both brave and powerful men, but the kafir was no match for 'Ali, who soon was sitting astride his chest, ready to finish him off.

"I invite you to bear witness that there is no god except Allâh, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allâh," said Ali. "Accept Islam, and your life will be spared." "Never!" panted the kafir.

'Ali lifted his sword and was just about to plunge it into his enemy, when the kafir spat defiantly in his face. Much to the kafir's surprise, Ali immediately jumped away from his enemy and lowered his sword. "Go away!" said 'Ali, "I cannot kill you now."

"Why did you do that?" asked the kafir. "You could have killed me easily." "I was fighting you purely to seek the pleasure of Allâh," replied Ali, "but when you spat in my face, your insult made me angry and if I had killed you in anger, it would have taken me to the Hell Fire - so I had no choice but to let you go. To kill someone in anger or out of desire for revenge is not bravery, but the act of a coward."

This incident highlights that a pesilat has the responsibility to himself and his faith to be internally and externally consistent. The adab of war is outlined clearly in Islam and we should follow it as closely as possible.

Original Article by Mohd Nadzrin Wahab

06 January 2009

Islam Defenders Front recruits 60 volunteers to fight Israeli army

Reacting to nationwide rallies condemning the Israeli military for laying siege to Gaza and the West Bank, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) has recruited 60 Muslim youths from Jember regency to dispatch as volunteers to fight the Israeli army in Palestine.

"If Muslims are injured and killed it must be revenged. We must help our brothers suffering grievance in the Israeli aggression," chairman of the East Java chapter of FPI Habib Haidar Al Hamid said in his speech to rally volunteers in Jember on Monday.

He said his organisation had recruited to the cause 60 of the 120 young Muslims that had signed a solidarity for Palestine petition.

They are now undergoing what he called "advance training" at a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Sumberbaru district having cleared health and performance tests.

Haidar said the volunteers would be deployed as mujahidins and soldiers in the front lines in Gaza to fight Israeli soldiers.

"The haves can donate a part of their wealth but we have only our bodies with which to wage a holy war against the Jewish country," he said.

The chief of the FPI in Jember, Mukmin, who is also director of the pesantren, said a holy war must be volunteer-based. He said it was assumed that all those who joined had secured permission from their families.

When asked by The Jakarta Post if they had permission, the volunteers replied they had, and added that they were ready to die for their Palestinian brothers.

"If you are permitted, go wage the holy war in the path of God," Mukmin told them.

Even if they somehow managed to get into Palestine to fight the Israeli army they would come face to face with some of the most advanced weaponry on the planet, the volunteers will only undergo brief self-defense training locally known as pencak silat (a traditional martial art) before they are dispatched.

The volunteer recruitment has sparked strong widespread criticism, with many saying the would-be soldiers are ill-equipped, unprofessional and may not have any means to communicate on the ground or to endure the weather in the Middle Eastern region.

Such failures were evident last century when equally unprepared Indonesian volunteers were dispatched to Afghanistan to wage holy war.

Recalling the days when Indonesian people drove off the Dutch colonial government with bamboo spears, Hamid said he was optimistic the volunteers would win the war in Gaza and rid the land of Israeli soldiers.

Sourced from http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20090107.C07&irec=7

16 September 2008

Spiritual Authenticity: An introduction

Malaysia sits at the nexus of some very interesting commercial lines. I say interesting, because not only does the society acknowledge and condone their existence, but in a way, so does the government.

If you go to Kuala Lumpur, the tourist spot that everyone tells you you should visit is Petaling Street, or fondly known as Chinatown where knock offs abound: pirated handbags, wallets, watches, DVDs and what have you.

In all the government and non-government travel brochures, Petaling Street is touted as "the" place to get cheap goods, but stops short of revealing its ethical dilemma. The problem is, most of the goods aren't out and out pirated. They are overruns, meaning, they were produced at the same factory contracted to produce the originals. They are just as good as the real thing. And if there ever was an analogy that worked for plagiarism in silat, Petaling Street would be it.

Silat could properly be classified as Traditional Knowledge if we go by the definition here. Traditional Knowledge is deemed to belong to a community, but an issue arises when segments within that community cross-claim it to belong to a smaller group, a family or even an individual.

This was not always a problem. Long before there were 'schools' and 'styles', there was a master and a student. This minimum of a pair was the 'school' and what passed between them was the relationship.

From my surveys among silat masters, most of them agree that knowledge does not pass from them to their students, because they ultimately do not know what their student receives or understands. This is rooted in the sufi conception of knowledge, that when someone teaches something, it is not the facilitation skills of the teacher, nor the sheer intellect of the student that creates understanding. It is that Allah reveals this knowledge to both the teacher and his student at the same time with differing insights.

The master could, in his process of explaining a concept he studied, gain an updated enlightenment. Or, it is the student who gets it immediately, without the master having to say too much. This, especially in silat circles who are deeply influenced by Tariqat, is called "Haq Diri" or granted knowledge for one individual.

Because the master and student now have 'different' knowledge, and the master acknowledges the student as a master himself, they are now masters of different styles. Their own "Haq Diri".

When one studied with one's master, the master's duty was always to lead one on the right path of understanding, of seeing the universe in a holistic manner, which made Silat applicable in both wartime and peacetime. You'd use the same methodology to fight or debate, in diplomacy or marital facilitation, in economy or government and it was always your interpretation of the same basics.

Which means, whatever knowledge you learned was indisputably your right. This knowledge had good tendencies and would always guide its user towards good. However, in Islam, a right to something carries certain responsibilities, and it is understood that when abused or misused, can lead to the understanding being "repossessed" by Allah and in its place, false knowledge that resembles the original which guides its user, by virtue of the evil in his heart, towards evil.

A simple way of stating it is that the status of the knowledge changes from being "authorised" to "unauthorised".

Now, although this "authorisation" process happens spiritually, there are masters who claim to be intermediaries or are able to assess that his student has met the conditions for authorisation, in effect, becoming Allah's earthly authorised representative. For example, when a master grants masterhood to his student, he also places conditions, most of which are sourced from Islamic Law.

He is deemed to have lost his right to the knowledge his master facilitated if he kills without due reason, fornicates, commits adultery, steals, lies and so on. In one way, the conditions are also parameters to safeguard the sanctity of the knowledge.

We have to remember that this was a time when there was no style names, no uniforms and certainly no school colours. There was no plagiarism because there was no way to identify one from another. Everyone was graded on their skills in battle, or their wisdom in the village, not by how many students they have or what fancy techniques they employed.

They were valued more for their piety than their haughtiness. It was this humility that signalled the height of their skill and gave credence to their spiritual authenticity.

This method of authentication is practised by and an accepted part of many silat styles in Malaysia, and the modernisation of silat is threatening this age old tradition. Styles that are legally registered, are recognised by the government as organisations, and not as traditionally passed down schools.

This opens up opportunities for opportunists who see financial or material gain in leading his own version of a particular school. There have been cases where silat syllabi have been lifted wholesale and imported into another school under a different name.

Thus, in one way, law helps control the copyright of the master's knowledge, but it also robs him of many other rights, which he was granted under the spiritual authenticity system. Since there are very few things in culture that can be copyrighted, we are forced to accept it when dissenting factions split off from the main, and continue teaching the main art.

In extreme cases, offshoots actually manage to legally copyright their master's arts and claim them as their own.

Until the day that the law catches up with spiritual authentication, we will see more plagiarism of the efforts of masters who know nothing of the law and what it can and cannot protect.

Original Article by Mohd Nadzrin Wahab

29 June 2008

Traditionalist Vs Modernist: The End of a Paradox?

The traditional way of Silat is supposed to be flexible and adaptable because it is an art of survival, helping pesilat to survive; and the survival of the knowledge itself. It must be able to be reinterpreted at any time, into any 'language' and for any situation. It is supposed to be versatile and have a broad meaning even the old ancient traditional techniques are already more than a thousand years old.

Being a true traditional Silat master, one must be an old school, evergreen, modern, 'groovie' (can I use that word...?) and open minded person. If he can't adjust himself to evolve thus making the knowledge stuck in time, he is contributing towards the disappearance of a very precious knowledge.

There is nothing wrong with the modernisation of Silat or of any knowledge; even the modernisation of Islam knowledge. Exceptional precious knowledge are supposed to be able to modernised but with proper adab or manners and must also be done with strict guidance from an expert of that particular knowledge.

Many ancient Silat styles claim that their techniques have the beginning but not the end. How can there be an end? It cannot evolve, adapt, modernise and embrace changes otherwise; proper changes not frankensteining.

Adaptability not adoption of alien techniques or style. Being very ancient and traditional, Silat is not supposed to be carved in stone, stuck and frozen in time or having static narrow techniques. It cannot be only words or so called philosophies or concept alone. Ancient Silat has proven its effectiveness and reliability.

Everyone knows how its power of knowledge and wonder of wisdom evolves itself and it's practitioner through time. The only problem is, can we change for the better? Can we evolve? Can we learn from what we acquired? Can we attain the understanding of our own knowledge? Are we willing to be guided and embrace humility? Why are all of these important? Because these are among the ways ancient Silat survives through time and evolves, showing its wonder.

These are also the ways of a true master whilst making sure the continuity of this precious ancient knowledge of survival. Everyone must work together by merging their wisdoms so that we can gain more from what we already have, both traditionalist and modernist in the Silat world. Where did those modernists get their knowledge? What happens to the traditionalists if they don’t have any modernists as students?

We all know very well that most modernists are from new generation that learn from old traditionalist masters.

In the end, everyone needs everybody. We need each other to survive if we must protect ourselves from any harm and we need each other to make sure that this Silat knowledge can survive another many thousand years, InsyaAllah. Be humble like plain water so that one can be flexible, adaptable, precious, fluid and strong.

By Ustaz Saiful Muhammad Pertubuhan Seni Silat Telapak Nusantara Malaysia http://senisilat.net/

28 June 2008

Silat In Movies

Silat has long been considered an esoteric martial arts form by the few Westerners that have heard of it or seen it. Recently, on History channel, the series Human Weapon, gave silat an international boost by showing two Westerners, one a champion martial artist and the other a footballer turned wrestler, learning and taking on silat fighters in Malaysia.

Though some of the fights were definitely staged, the segment when the two kweilohs 'studied' silat harimau was quite fascinating.

I remember TV once screening a local production that traced the various silat forms in the country - if I'm not mistaken the series was called Mahaguru and was directed by a silat exponent named Jak Othman. Since then, we hardly see any dramas, TV series or documentaries that promotes or demonstrates true or pure silat.

Even the movies have not been forthcoming with silat. Wonder why? Are we too ashamed to show our deadly martial arts to the world? Don't we want to share our beautiful martial arts with the rest of the world?

We filmmakers seem to be too preoccupied with the muay thais (ong bak), the kungfu (any bloody Jet Lee movie), the karate and judo of Japan, the taekwondo of korea and the Jeet Kune Do of Bruce Lee.

There was a time when even silat dramas in the early 90s, produced by HVD, unabashedly promoted Hongkee style martial arts as that of silat.

I know a few film directors who strived to show silat in its original form and this include Uwei Shaari whose Keris Lok Tujuh was one of the best TV dramas that exhibited Silat Melayu exquisitely.

In the early days of Shaw Brothers, the silat shown was basically silat wayang and whilst many said the best silat on show was that in the movie Hang Jebat and/or Hang Tuah, I beg to differ. There have been many other Melayu movies that showed silat in better light than those two over-rated movies.

Many also think the late P. Ramlee was a true silat exponent. Hehehe..he wasn't. If you see one of his later movies like Enam Jahanam, his movements were rather comical and sad at the same time.

Then there was a time when we tried to outdo the Indonesians, whose silat in the movies were also laughable - with fighters flying like superheroes on steroids. Some of the more memorable so-called silat movies from across the straits include Si Gondrong and Si Buta.

I even remember a rumor about the famous silat-trained actor Dicky Zulkarnaen (who has a gorgeous daughter mind you) who was said to have had a secret duel with Bruce Lee. According to the myth, Dicky executed his famous death punch on Bruce Lee that would only have an effect on Bruce sometime later.

So it happens, the so-called secret duel was said to have been held a few weeks before Bruce Lee's death.

Of course this is nonsense, we know Bruce Lee died because of the infamous curse of the dragon and that angry kungfu masters poisoned him for revealing Chinese kungfu secrets to the West. Hehehe.

But to tell you the truth, I have seen Dicky and his silat boys perform and they were very deadly and scary. They can break metal bars in half with their fingers and heads!

Okay, okay, coming back to the topic at hand, we filmmakers should be taken to task for not promoting silat properly. I mean, do we want to show the world that Silat Melayu is the one you see in Saw Teong Hin's Puteri Gunung Ledang? Puhleezzz.

When I did Tuah with Jamal Abdillah (who wouldn't really know what silat is even if it slaps him in the face), I needed a good silat choreographer. Luckily, I found one - Pak Engku, who had also choreographed the silat scenes in Rahim Razali's Matinya Seorang Patriot.

Pak Engku was great. He knew what I wanted and he helped make Jamal look good on camera.

Nevertheless, I wished I had casted someone else (but I wasn't the producer) but I ended up with Jamal. So I really had to make do with him. Below is an excerpt of the fight scene in my movie version of Tuah.

I have also found various silat scenes from Melayu movies including the ridiculous silat scene from the movie Putri Gunung Ledang for you to watch and compare. Enjoy.

If an obese and untalented actor like Steven Seagal can popularise Aikido, I don't see why we cannot find someone to promote silat as the deadliest martial arts in the world. Unless of course you saw Ong Bak and feel Tomoi is deadlier.

This article was sourced from the Malaysian movie director, Anwardi Jamil's blog at http://sayaanakwayang.blogspot.com/2008/06/silat-in-movies.html

26 June 2008

Tradition vs Change: The Paradox of Silat?

Malaysia is home to a multitude of Silat styles both traditional and modern. The scale on which these two broad categories sit is, of course relative and difficult to define.

Those arts deemed to be modern and modernists are often seen to be diametrically opposed to the traditional and traditionalists. That there exists a paradox within each art is equally assumed. Whenever a style professes a change, either in their techniques, training methodology or pedagogy, there will often be heard a voice or two claiming that style as no longer traditional.

The addition of a punching bag in the training area, the absorption of a karate-like punch, or the use of English terminology within the syllabus can get blood raging. However, I believe that this is a problem with understanding the essence of Silat itself.

Today, without having any background in Silat or understanding Melayu culture, our youth are being fed an alien definition of the martial arts, that the way the Western world understands it. We believe that overt techniques make up Silat, that Buah 1 until Buah 65 is the totality of so-and-so Silat style, when in fact, there is something far deeper than this that defines Silat.

I believe that the very words 'tradition' and 'change' lock in an understanding that what is traditional has to be carved in stone forever. Instead of saying tradition vs change, my meaning would be closer to tradition equals change.

Silat is an expression of the Melayu thoughts and external culture within a combative framework. As fluid as these thoughts and culture are, so too is the expression. Much as snowflakes then, ultimately no two pesilat are alike, thus no two silat are alike. These combative norms exist in many forms and are held as cultural maxims that are passed along from generation to generation.

For many of the masters I've met, they call it Petua. Even though these masters studied from the same source, but they experienced different pressures. Some met different foreign styles that were far superior in certain aspects and were forced to reinterpret these Petua to counter against them.

This is different from the cobbling together of foreign techniques onto a core that was never built for them in the first place, creating an interspecies frankenstein. When these styles of a common root get together after such a long absence, they immediately recognise the inherent petua within each other, and are enriched by the sharing of experiences and innovative ways of applying parts of their style that had never occured to them before.

The only obstacles to this is are hard headed teacher/s who insist that their styles are already/ far more complete than the next one and needs no improvement. Otherwise, this idea of developing tradition has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years, before names, silsilah, uniforms and sport.

Silat stemmed from survival, and in order to survive, you had to change, but you always changed from what you had, not abandon it and adopt another. Adoption is to import wholesale without making changes, while adaptation depends strongly upon the present skill and inclination of the practitioner. 

For me, adoption means being tied to the premises of a particular style. It's taking the blocks from karate, and entering from kali and locks from silat and 'stringing' it together. It's seeing them as components.

Whereas adaptation looks at the objective of the method, it has a clear beginning and a clear end. When seen from this angle, 'stealing' techniques become easier, but they will never work the same as it originally did, because instead of modification, it is reinterpretation. These are the instances when they look at silat and say, "Hey, that looks like Shanghai Brown Bear Kung Fu's Double Barrel Twist Roll, but not really".

I don't doubt that there are intelligent martial artists who understand it this way but most often I see people studying variously different arts and frankensteining them together to make 'new' techniques. And this is where they look at silat and say, "Hey! That's exactly the same!". These are the irresponsible adoptions I speak of.

A progressive modernist is one who might not realise the value of things old and may be a generation or a context removed from the masters before him. Seeing more value in things he can grasp easier, he 'adopts' instead of adapts.

Ironically, it is the progressive modernist that causes the creation of the traditionalist as an aggressive response to defend what he sees as a cultural right to exist. His mistake? Freezing everything in place in order to define it as different from his enemy's idea of silat. None of these two have a place in my heart. 

I have met people who, at first glance, could be labelled 'traditionalist' but launch into an infectious discussion on the merits of a loaded revolver and a spanner in a silat fight.If anybody can reconcile the two brothers above, it would be them.

There are some quarters that recommend documentation to solve this problem of ill-definition. Unfortunately, irrespective of how much documentation silat undergoes in Malaysia, there is a dearth of technical records. Most books, magazines or random articles only describe the surrounding culture, the masters's biography, the history of the styles but very rarely the technical aspects of it. This is a sad but logical approach.

For those modernised silat with clear techniques and defined vocabularies, documentation is easy. Unfortunately, traditional silat in Malaysia is more often bereft of static techniques and wealthy with concepts and philosophies which guide adaptation better.

Once you try to crystallise one aspect of these silat, it locks the definition of that style to exclude other aspects, when in fact, silat is physically inclusive, not exclusive. Documentation in Malaysia is for reference, not preservation and started very late.

When we speak of authenticity, we run into another problem, self-documentation. Many styles now have younger professionals in their fold and they are the information gatekeepers to the world (via print or internet).

When both Silat Cekak and Silat Kalimah have books and websites claiming to be THE cultural inheritor of Mahaguru Yahya Said or Silat Seni Pusaka Gayong claiming that Mahaguru Datuk Meor Rahman approved of their denomination before he died whence Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia claims to have no knowledge of it (etc), the best you can do sometimes is just to document the disputes.

Original Article by Mohd Nadzrin Wahab

10 May 2008

The Might of The Keris


Keris Panca Warisan. What a magnificent name for a Keris. It is claimed that it almost brought the downfall of the Barisan Nasional in the recent General Elections.

Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, it wasn't the blatant arrogance of the UMNO leaders campaigning in their flashy cars, showing off their corporate friends from the City promising to bring vast development translating into a higher cost of living in an already comfortable area; It wasn't the reckless eagerness of candidates forcing the PM's hand to allow them to stand in constituencies they have no business contesting in, thereby denying the local leaders who were much, much more deserving the privilige to serve; It wasn't the brash leaders of one or two component parties within the Barisan Nasional who were behaving like the opposition in residence while the DAP were the opposition in exile, questioning openly the government's stand on several issues discarding the opportunity to discuss it in the weekly Cabinet meetings.

No, it wasn't the failure of the other component parties to convince their constituents to consider the good work they have done for the community and not the petty antics of a youth leader who was merely trying to inject spirit into his members in an annual general assembly.

No, it wasn't the major failure of a feared leader who has ruled his party with an iron fist for more than 20 years to improve the economic status of his people, but whose family lives very comfortably nontheless, leading to his community spreading their discontent on the Streets of Ampang.

No it wasn't the failure of a leader who didn't take obvious pre-emptive measures over seditious remarks that led to an open and violent demonstration that literally cracked the head of a police personnel.

The list goes on for many of the more obvious reasons that should take precedence over the matter of a ritual in an Annual Meeting of a Malay party.

The Keris it seems has more power to negate all the good work done by all the politicians of all ethnic backgrounds stacked together in Barisan Nasional. Can you swallow this theory? If you can, then you must have a big and deep throat.

"Our dignity does not depend on the Keris" , said the Deputy Prime Minister, but he must remember that it is our symbol nonetheless. The Keris is placed in the centre of the UMNO flag and also the logo, and Hishammuddin has admitted that he "cannot defend the symbol of our heritage", which is smack in the middle of both.

So to summarise. The Keris is not our dignity but is no less the symbol of our heritage placed in everything that is UMNO that Hishammuddin cannot defend.

In conclusion. Hishammuddin's enhancement in Malay politics might be cut down to bits by the very Keris that he brandished. It is said by a wise man that the Keris, once unsheathed will protect the person as long as he uses its power with full responsibilty and fairness in the struggle for the community. If there is impurity in its use, then the hand that grips it will in turn earn its wrath.

If the Custodian of the Panca Warisan cannot defend it, then he should not be accorded the privilege that comes with the responsibility. With God's will, those who have forsaken it will be delivered a cruel hand come December 2008.

Such is the might of The Keris.

The above article first appeared in http://tpj-one-thepatriot.blogspot.com/ written by my own uncle, a staunch UMNO man who goes by the nickname TPJ. The article addresses the recent UMNO Youth keris-waving controversy. The appearance of this article in Silat Melayu: The Blog doesn't indicate a change in the blog's direction, just an interesting aside from the normal silat-centric content I post here. A good enough disclaimer, you think?

10 April 2008

No sand-in-the-eyes-attack allowed

The Asian Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia are facing a shortage of funds, even though they expect around 6,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries to attend the inaugural edition (What am I talking about? Read this). Here's an interesting follow up to that story, quoted from the Jakarta Post.
Although they are already played at international events, sports like wresting, sepak takraw, soccer, bodybuilding and pencak silat will be played at the beach for the first time.
Some adjustments have to be made.
"For the outdoor wrestling, the wrestlers do not wear shirts but pants," Asep Hanafi, who is helping wrestlers prepare in Bandung, said.
"We have yet to decide what kicks are allowed in beach pencak silat, because we have to take into account the athletes getting sand in their eyes. We will talk about it in Jakarta," Johari Mukti, an official of the International Pencak Silat Federation, said.

21 March 2008

Mother of all Silat

Recently, I persuaded Ustaz Saiful Muhammad to publish his article Journeying In Silat: A Master's Monologue in this blog, the SMC Forum and his own website. He asked that I edit out a reference to Silat Bongsu being the 'mother of all martial arts', but I argued that it needed to stay in, because I wanted provoke a reaction from readers. No one wanted to take the bait, except in the SMC Forum, and that started his explanation on the actual meaning of the statement.

In fact, there's nothing inherently wrong with the statement itself. It just sounds too much like a brag. The problem is, depending on who is reading it, it's often confused with the 'best of all martial arts' statement or the 'my style is more authentic than yours' statement. Thus, the problem doesn't lie with the words, it lies with the reader.

Words are a human being's channel of communication. It is unfortunate that, unless you share similar experiences with another person, you will never be able to communicate with them using those words. Because of the variant differences between silat styles, no one can claim to have the exact same experience in studying. Therefore, what silat means to me, will not be the same to you.

For many people, the 'mother' is an event, an occurence, when they achieve that 'eureka' moment, when all strands of life suddenly merge into one, and they see what silat really is. In reality, their understanding has bypassed silat's original meaning at the lower level, that of a fighting form.

But silat has many levels of definition, depending on who is defining it. The paradox is that, there are so few people who attain the higher levels of silat and will publicly define it from their perspective, that the majority definition becomes the default. That means, it is the beginner students who tell you, "This is what silat means" when in fact, it should be the wizened masters who define it for them.

Democracy over truth, I'd say.

Ustaz Saiful defends his statement by saying, "The word mother of all this and that sound so good or great to others, in truth, in our style, it is just mean that the style is open for evolution process."

"It can easily be evolve personally according to practitioner understanding and experience. The versatility in it makes it easier to adapt practitioner’s own ability and necessity."

So what does it mean? If you're still reading, then you still might not get what he means. Look at it this way. 'Ibu' or 'mother' denotes that something gives birth to another being, but in itself does not become part of the new creature. It only gestates and helps bring it into the world. The new creature only slightly resembles the mother, but takes in many other influences from other people, events and things to become an individual.

Thus, the 'mother' of silat is something that allows an individual to make his or her own choices based on the wisdom and knowledge of the past accumulated by the mother and their mothers before that. They are still dependent upon the mother's DNA (the unchangeable aspect), but they need to imbibe food and knowledge from outside the mother in order to survive (the changeable aspects).

When a child stands next to her mother, the resemblance is easy to see, but so is the individuality. This is the reason silat people can recognise various aspects of silat in other hybrid or eclectic arts, (oh, you must have studied silat before) even though it has been subsumed within another style.

So, what is the mother of all silat? It is the knowledge, that is held tightly with ultimate sureness of its truth in the breast of its practitioner. It is the understanding of where you came from, your purpose in life; which is to survive (and the purpose you survive) and the development to keep surviving in order to achieve that purpose.

For Muslim pesilat, all this is a moot point. They would summarise the last 12 paragraphs into only one word: Islam.

Original Article by Mohd Nadzrin Wahab

12 March 2008

Silat Pusaka Gayong master appointed Pulau Pinang Co-Deputy Chief Minister

Pesilat were surprised today to hear of guru Mohd Fairus Khairuddin's appointment as co-deputy Chief Minister of Pulau Pinang following the recent upset elections, which rocked Malaysia.

Guru Fairus is the current Gurulatih Tertinggi and Chairman of the Wilayah Persekutuan chapter of Pertubuhan Seni Silat Pusaka Gayong Malaysia. He has been titled by the perguruan as Imam Khalifah Besar and Panglima Singa Malaya.

He has also received recognition as Grandmaster by the International Grandmaster Society, Japan, USA & Saudia Arabia, Master & Life Membership by World Organiser of Martial Arts, USA (WOMA-USA) and Master Instructor from the World Head of Society & International Council of Masters & Grandmasters.

Pulau Pinang chief minister Lim Guan Eng today announced PKR's Penanti state assemblyperson Mohd Fairus Khairuddin and DAP’s Perai representative P Ramasamy as his deputies. Mohd Fairus will be the Deputy CM (I) and Ramasamy, Deputy CM (II).

"This decision is to ensure all the communities in Penang are represented and this government is for all," Lim, who was sworn in yesterday, told a press conference at his office in Penang this morning.

The new chief minister hoped that with the arrangement, Penang will be propelled to a higher level.

"We do not sideline any community which certain quarters are trying to portray. We want to be your (Penangites) friend and it is our strong commitment that all Penangites will have a stake in the state government," he added.

Today’s announcement came as a surprise as party insiders have earlier indicated that the new state government has no intention to retain the deputy chief minister position.

Mohd Fairus, a newcomer in politics as well, said he will look into issues which are of concern to the Malay community in the state, such as education.

"That will be one (aspect) but it is not all because we are here to represent all communities," said the 32-year-old politician, who holds a master’s degree in business administration from United Kingdom.

We at Silat Melayu: The Blog and SilatMelayu.Com congratulate guru Fairus on an amazing upward move in his life. We pray that he serves his community well and continues to prove that values within Silat can be translated into everyday life.

Edited from malaysiakini.com

26 February 2008

Guidelines for Silat according to Islam

The following are guidelines for Silat in Malaysia as stipulated by the JAKIM, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia. I intend to translate them when I have the time, but for now, I'll put up the Bahasa Melayu version. When the translation is complete, I'll repost it to a later date. I invite discussion and/or debate from readers on the guidelines presented.

1. PURPOSE

1.1 These guidelines are prepared to ensure that Muslims, especially those involved in traditional self-defence arts (silat) are tno involved in any practices that deviate from the true aqidah and shariah of Islam.

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1. Islam amat menitikberatkan soal-soal akidah dan syariah. Segala amalan dan kepercayaan yang tidak berdasarkan kepada sumber-sumber asal Al-Quran, Hadis, Ijmak dan Qias adalah ditolak. Kepercayaan-kepercayaan dan amalan-amalan tertentu dalam masyarakat Islam di Malaysia sedikit sebanyak ada hubungkaitnya dengan pengaruh fahaman Anamisme, Dinamisme, Hindu, Buddha dan Syiah (Ghulu) yang sebahagiannya telah menjadi darah daging kepada pengamal suci mempertahankan diri tradisional (silat).

Oleh itu garis panduan ini perlu dijadikan asas dan panduan supaya dapat mengelakkan diri dari terjerumus ke dalam penyelewengan akidah dan syariat Islam. Allah berfirman dalam surah Yunus, ayat 106:

ولا تدع من دون الله ما لا ينفعك ولا يضرك فان فعلت فانك اذا من الظالمين
(سورة يونس : 106)

Bermaksud:

“Dan janganlah kamu menyembah apa-apa yang tidak memberi manfaat dan tidak (pula) memberi mudharat kepadamu selain Allah; sebab jika kamu berbuat (yang demikian) itu, maka sesungguhnya kamu termasuk orang-orang yang zalim”.

2.2. Dalam sejarah Islam memang wujud pahlawan-pahlawan yang tekemuka di kalangan para sahabat Rasulullah s.a.w. Mereka telah berjuang menentang Musyrikin Quraisy dan penentang-penentang ajaran Islam dari kalangan Munafikin. Antara sahabat berkenaan ialah Saidina Ali, Khalid Ibnu Walid, Amru b. As-As, Abu Ubaidah b. Al-Jarrah, Saad b. Abi Waqas dan lain-lain lagi.

Di dalam Al-Quran didapati banyak ayat-ayat yang menunjukkan bahawa perlunya umat Islam mempersiapkan diri dan kelengkapan senjata serta kemudahan-kemudahan yang perlu untuk mempertahankan agama, diri dan negara. Antaranya ayat 61 surah Al-Anfaal:

وان جنحوا للسلم فاجنح لها وتوكل على الله انه هو السميع العليم
(الانفال : 61)

Bermaksud:

“Dan jika mereka (pihak musuh) cenderung kepada perdamaian, maka engkau juga hendaklah cenderung kepadanya serta bertawakkallah kepada Allah. Sesungguhnya Ia Maha Mendengar, lagi Maha Mengetahui”.

2.3. Di dalam ilmu persilatan terdapat beberapa syarat yang perlu dipatuhi sama ada ketika hendak masuk silat, setelah masuk atau selepas tamat dan diijazahkan. Di antara syarat-syarat tersebut:

(a) menyediakan pengeras seperti pulut kuning, limau purut, kain putih, bayaran pengeras dan sebagainya.

(b) mandi dengan air mandian tertentu sebagai lambang membersihkan segala kekotoran zahir dan batin.

(c) tidak boleh meninggalkan sembahyang.

(d) Tidak boleh banyak bertanya ketika guru sedang mengajar atau mempersoalkan sebarang tindakan guru.

(e) Melakukan gerak silat membuka atau menutup gelanggang setiap kali memula atau menamatkan latihan silat.

2.4. Guru memainkan peranan penting di dalam menyampaikan sesuatu ilmu bagi menjamin kesahihan dan kesempurnaan ilmu tersebut. Di dalam ilmu persilatan, guru adalah lambang kesempurnaan.

2.5. Sesuatu seni mempertahankan diri tradisional (silat) itu perlulah didasarkan kepada garis pandua berikut bagi mengenalpasti ianya terhindar dari perkara-perkara yang bercanggah dengan syariat Islam:

(a) Asal Usul Silat

(b) Syarat-Syarat Silat

(c) Guru Silat

(d) Ikrar Sumpah dan Taat Setia

(e) Pantang Larang

(f) Adab

(g) Gerak Langkah

(h) Amalan Dalam Silat

(i) Pengijazahkan

(j) Matlamat Silat


3. GUIDELINES FOR SILAT AND SELF DEFENCE ARTS

3.1. Origins of Silat

3.1.1. Demi menjaga kesucian akidah Islam, beberapa perkara perlu diambil perhatian iaitu setiap individu atau kumpulan tidak boleh mendakwa bahawa:

(a) Silat mereka bersumber dari Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. para anbia atau diambil dari Al-Quran dan Hadis atau berasal dari amalan para sahabat Nabi s.a.w.

(b) Teknik atau pergerakan persilatannya berasal dari ibadat-ibadat tertentu seperti rukun-rukun sembahyang.

(c) Seni silat mereka bersumberkan mimpi bertemu Rasulullah s.a.w. atau para anbia yang lain atau para sahabat serta ulama.

3.2. Conditions of Silat

3.2.1. Bagi mempastikan syarat-syarat di dalam ilmu persilatan tidak bercanggah dengan ajaran Islam maka:

(a) Semua perkara yang wajib dilakukan atau ditinggalkan oleh seorang Islam, yang mukallaf tidak boleh dijadikan syarat di dalam silat seperti sembahyang, puasa, jangan durhaka kepada ibubapa, sehingga mendatangkan anggapan bahawa perkara wajib tersebut menjadi wajib hanya apabila dijadikan syarat.

(b) Tidak boleh mengaitkan sesuatu pengeras dengan suatu akibat yang dipercayai boleh merosakkan pegangan akidah.

(c) Tidak boleh percaya kepada sial seperti mandi membuang sial atau mandi-mandi tertentu yang dikaitkan dengan persilatan.

(d) Tidak boleh melakukan gerak silat atau bacaan tertentu yang mengandungi unsur-unsur meminta izin atau bantuan dari kuasa-kuasa makhluk “ghaib” dalam acara “gerak membuka atau menutup gelanggang”, “’ayat kebal” atau “pukulan angin maut” atau sembelih ayam dalam gelanggang.

(e) Tidak boleh mentaati guru atau seseorang pada perkara-perkara yang jelas bercanggah dengan akidah dan syariat Islam.

(f) Sebarang syarat yang bertentangan dengan akidah, syariah dan akhlak Islam.

3.3. Silat Masters

3.3.1. Guru silat yang beragama Islam hendaklah bukan terdiri daripada:

(a) mereka yang melakukan perkara-perkara syirik, sama ada melalui perkataan, perbuatan atau iktikad.

(b) mereka yang melakukan maksiat/jenayah dan yang bertentangan dengan moral.

(c) pemecah belah masyarakat.

(d) Mereka yang mentafsir ajaran agama Islam mengikut hawa nafsu.

3.3.2. Jika seseorang guru silat hendak melibatkan diri dalam hal agama hendaklah mengetahui asas-asas agama Islam sama ada fardhu ain atau fardhu kifayah seperti rukun Islam, rukun Iman, cara mengerjakan sembahyang dan sebagainya.

3.3.3. Guru silat dilarang memasukkan atau menggunakan unsur-unsur yang bercanggah dengan Islam seperti sihir dan ilmu kebal di dalam ilmu persilatan.

3.4. Oaths and Promises of Loyalty

3.4.1. Sumpah tidak dibolehkan sebaliknya hanya ikrar.

3.4.2. Murid-murid tidak boleh taat secara membuat tuli kepada guru. Mereka hendaklah mengikut perintah guru selama tidak bercanggah dengan perintah Allah.

3.4.3. Sumpah tidak boleh digunakan kepada perkara-perkara yang telahpun diwajibkan di dalam Islam seperti bersumpah akan taat kepada ibubapa, bersumpah akan taat kepada Allah dan Rasul dan sebagainya.

3.4.4. Bacaan-bacaan, amalan dan ikrar yang terdapat di dalam sumpah hendaklah mengandungi perkara-perkara yang tidak bercanggah dengan akidah dan syariat Islam seperti memuja dewa, atau nama berhala.

3.4.5. Di dalam upacara sumpah dan bai’ah sama ada dari segi fizikal atau mental hendaklah tidak mempunyai unsur-unsur yang mensyirikkan Allah dan menjatuhkan maruah seseorang sebagai umat Islam.

3.5. Taboos & Restrictions

3.5.1. Suatu pantang larang hendaklah bukan daripada perkara-perkara yang jelas diwajibkan di dalam Islam seperti tidak meninggalkan sembahyang, jangan berkelahi sesama ahli dan sebagainya.

3.5.2. Suatu pantang larang tidak boleh dikaitkan dengan unsur-unsur pemujaan, meminta izin, perlindungan atau bantuan daripada makhluk-makhluk ghaib seperti larangan berludah kerana ditakuti tidak menjadi.

3.5.3. Tidak boleh memenuhi kehendak pantang larang sehingga melakukan perkara-perkara yang ditegah di dalam Islam seperti meninggalkan tanggungjawab sebagai suami atau isteri dan sebagainya.

3.5.4. Perkara-perkara yang harus dan halal tidak boleh dihukumkan haram.

3.6. Etiquette

3.6.1. Etiquette between Student and Master:

(a) Guru tidak boleh menganggap dirinya yang paling mulia dan tidak pernah bersalah.

(b) Guru hendaklah mengelakkan diri dari dianggap orang yang perlu ditaati secara mutlak.

(c) Guru tidak boleh menganggap orang lain lemah dan lekeh.

(d) Guru hendaklah melarang murid-muridnya memuja, mengagung dan taksub kepadanya.

3.6.2. Etiquette between Student and Fellow Students:

(a) Seseorang murid tidak boleh memberikan hak secara khusus kepada murid seperguruannya sahaja, seperti memberi ucapan salam, tidak boleh bergaduh sesama ahli dan sebagainya.

(b) Seseorang murid tidak boleh menanam atau mengapi-apikan perasaan bangga diri dan taksub kepada kumpulannya sehingga memandang hina dan negatif kepada orang lain.

3.6.3. Etiquette between Student and Other People

(a) Seseorang murid tidak boleh mengutamakan guru silat dan murid-murid seperguruannya sehingga mengabaikan hak dan kewajipannya kepada ibubapa, suami, isteri, anak dan ahli keluarga.

(b) Seseorang murit tidak boleh memandang rendah dan hina terhadap orang bukan dari kalangan ahli silatnya.

(c) Seseorang murid yang beragama mesti menjalinkan ikatan persahabatan sama ada sesama ahli atau orang lain.

3.7. Physical Movements

(a) Gerak langkah silat tidak boleh dikaitkan dengan zat Allah dan sifat-sifat-Nya atau merupakan maksud di sebalik kalimah atau nama-nama Allah atau sifat-sifatNya.

(b) Gerak langkah silat tidak boleh diertikan sebagai maksud yang tersirat daripada ahli atau jasad Rasulullah s.a.w., para malaikat, nabi-nabi dan orang soleh.

(c) Gerak langkah silat tidak boleh dimaksudkan dengan perkara-perkara yang berkaitan dengan agama Islam atau perlakuan-perlakuan ibadat yang tertentu seperti dua kalimah syahadah dan sembahyang.

3.8. Spiritual Practices In Silat

(a) Tidak boleh memuja dan memperhambkan diri kepada sesuatu kuasa atau peribadi yang boleh mendatangkan nasib baik atau buruk kepada seseorang seperti hantu, dewa, keramat, kubur, keris, busut dan sebagainya.

(b) Tidak boleh menggunakan tangkal dan azimat yang mengandungi rajah-rajah atau tulisan-tulisan yang tidak difahami, objek-objek tertentu dan bercampuraduk dengan ayat Al-Quran.

(c) Tidak boleh mengamalkan bacaan-bacaan tertentu yang tidak difahami maknanya dikhuatiri mengandungi kata-kata pemujaan kepada berhala, iblis, syaitan atau nama berhala orang kafir serta bercampur aduk dengan ayat al-Quran.

(d) Tidak boleh meninggalkan ibadat-ibadat wajib yang dituntut di dalam Islam seperti sembahyang lima waktu dan puasa di bulan Ramadan ketika melakukan amalan silat.

3.9. Initiation/ Graduation

(a) Tidak boleh melakukan isyarat sembah atau gerak tubuh yang melambangkan ketundukan yang menyamai atau melebihi ketundukan yang hanya layak kepada Allah sahaja seperti tidak sembah kepada guru.

(b) Tidak boleh melakukan upacara-upacara yang mengandungi unsur-unsur penyembahan, pemujaan, memohon bantuan atau memperhambakan diri kepada kuasa-kuasa atau tenaga-tenaga ghaib seperti mempersembahkan sedulang makanan, menyembelih ayam dan sebagainya.

3.10. Objectives of Silat

(a) Matlamat silat hendaklah matlamat yang baik seperti untuk kesihatan tubuh badan, mendisiplinkan diri, hidup bermasyarakat, untuk mempertahankan diri dari bahaya dan sebagainya.

(b) Matlamat silat tidak boleh:

(i) Untuk membalas dendam, menuntut bela, membuat aniaya, menakut-nakutkan dan mengugut orang lain.

(ii) Untuk menanam sifat berani yang keterlaluan sehingga hilang hormat kepada ibubapa, guru, ahli keluarga dan lain-lain.

(iii) Untuk memupuk sentimen perkauman atau taksub golongan/kumpulan ekstrim agama yang melampau di kalangan ahli.

4. CONCLUSION

Dengan mengikut garis panduan ini diharapkan para pengamal silat dan seni mempertahankan diri supaya dapat menghindarkan diri menyimpang daripada ajaran Islam yang benar, agar hidup sentiasa dirahmati Allah S.W.T.

http://www.islam.gov.my/e-rujukan/silat.htm

Department of Islamic Development Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur.

24 February 2008

Silat documentary hurting feelings?

There is good news of a local television production company making their rounds to gelanggangs and classes to film various silat styles for a documentary. It's expected to be screened on a government channel soon.

However, I have received comments from two masters who were directly involved with the filming concerning the conduct of the host and the crew. The host is someone I'm familiar with. I suspected miscommunication between them, but to have two different styles complain about the same thing got me wondering.

If they're reading this, I hope they ask those masters they interviewed what put them off and made them regret ever giving those interviews. Perhaps apologies are in order. The Malaysian silat scene is a small world and word gets around. It would do well to keep the lines of communication open.

In any case, congratulations on the effort and news on the documentary will be forthcoming as soon as I get it.

Original Article by Mohd Nadzrin Wahab

21 February 2008

Revisiting the Keris- How We Betrayed Our Ancestors

The team at The Other Malaysia (TOM) http://www.othermalaysia.org/ is kicking off what a planned semi-regular series of public lectures.

The TOM team invites all interested to a free public lecture by the controversial socio-political scholar Dr. Farish A. Noor on the theme: Revisiting the Keris- How We Betrayed Our Ancestors.

Time: 3.00 pm
Date: 1st March 2008 (Saturday)
Venue: Annexe, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

Be there or be square!

20 February 2008

Hang Tuah and me - by Burhan Baki

For many Melayu writers, for many writers concerned with the question of Melayu itself, Hang Tuah and the four musketeers are figures that still demand to be confronted, either negatively or positively.

And I believe that The Great Malay Novel – if such a notion makes sense anymore – must, on some level, speak of the country’s political and historical lineage from the eras of the Melayu Sultanates, a lineage that, in turn, cannot help but channel the Hang Tuah figure and the hikayat that bears his name.

A few months ago, I was with a friend at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur, looking for a souvenir to buy for a shared acquaintance. Bored, cheeky and, obviously, a reader of psychology, my friend snickered and said that the finely crafted keris daggers that we were pretending to admire were none other than phalluses.

"And Tamingsari," he said in a solemn Orson-Wellesian voice, as if reciting from a book, "serves as the legend’s totemic object, the fetish that is the source of respect and invincibility."

There was nothing new in his remark – he admitted this. Such psychoanalytical interpretations are too easy – all symbols and significations are phallic, says Jacques Lacan – and usually say less about the objects themselves than about the speaker’s attitude towards them.

Still, my friend and I wasted the rest of the evening at the food court upstairs, eating lunch and amusing ourselves with further naive Freudisms, such as trying to explain the meaning behind the dagger’s shortness (perhaps, therefore, a different undercurrent behind Melayu sexuality and masculinity, i.e. "It’s not how long it is, but how skilful you are at wielding it"?), speculating whether Hang Jebat’s rebellion was the result of his death drive, or wondering whether his devotion to Hang Tuah was the manifestation of a latent homosexuality.

The souvenir that we bought later didn’t take much thought to select: complete with a clock and thermometer at the base, a pewter statuette of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Two thumbs up, my friend said. Or two phalluses.

Reflecting on this scene, another idea: in the same way Tamingsari is for Hang Tuah, the image of Tuah is for me. For it must be confessed – it would be useless to deny it now – that my fixation with the epic was none other than a fetishisation that came out of the complex that I have from being Melayu, a complex, I am also sure, shared by a majority of Melayu today.

I use the concept of the fetish-object so that I could invoke a matrix of meanings:
The anthropological fetish: Hang Tuah as the locus point (among the rakyat) to which all Melayu "culture", power and allure must return, as the alpha-male capable of the greatest mental and physical feats, the knight-cum-scholar-cum-monk who personifies the Melayu paradigm in all its esoteric ceremonies, beliefs, loyalties and secrets.

The Marxist fetish: Hang Tuah as a commodity, as cultural and symbolic capital.

The Freudian fetish: my Hang Tuah obsession as something "deviant" (I simplify things, I know).

And, finally, the Zizekian fetish: Hang Tuah as the "security blanket" that is held in order to be able to succeed in contemporary reality, the reality of urbanisation, globalisation, liberalisation (whatever it means), and multiculturalism.

Neither the ability to believe nor disbelieve – this is what I mean by the Melayu complex. With the changes that have been taking place in the country since independence, ties to the old, to tradition and "culture", have lessened, and it has become difficult for today’s Melayu to believe in them wholeheartedly.

For when we study the hagiography of Hang Tuah today, we cannot help but hasten towards the point that transforms his image into something so utterly extreme that is almost terrifying. His obedience seems ridiculous to some of us, but it is this very absurdity that draws us to him.

Jebat’s rebellion was mad. But, today, in the so-called age of liberal democracy, when everything is a matter of choice, there was a greater madness to Tuah’s faith: the madness of "duty" itself and the madness of "being reasonable". He is the impossible in all its allure and nostalgia.

We hold on to his image just so that we know that the possibility of faith still exists. Even if we don’t believe in tradition, Tuah believes it on our behalf.

Or rather, our belief or jealousy towards his belief believes it for us.

Sourced from The Sun 20 Feb, 2008

11 February 2008

The Kujang


There is a unique weapon that originates in Western Jawa, in the Pasundan (Sunda) region. This weapon is called "kujang," (pron. "koo-jaang.").

Lacking the proper English equivalent for this we have used the term, "sickle," even though its form somewhat deviates from the true shape of a sickle. Neither does it resemble the "scimitar" which curves convexly.

In Indonesian a sickle is actually called "celurit." The Jawa living in the eastern half of the Jawa island refers to the kujang as "kudi." To those who are uninformed, the indigenous people of the island of Jawa are not all "Jawanese." The western part of the island is populated by a major ethnic group called "Sunda." The kujang is the sole monument of the city of Bogor here in Indonesia.

The kujang is filled with mysteries. It is said that it carries within its form a magickal force with a mystical purpose. Embodied within its original figure lied the philosophy of the ancient Sunda with its Hindu heritage. It is evident from the foregoing that this mystic blade was created to be more of a talisman, a symbolical objet d'art, rather than a weapon. This is especially so regarded in contemporary times.

The original creation of the kujang was actually inspired by a utensil used in farming. This utensil was widely used in the 4th to 7th centuries AD. The newly created kujang differed slightly from the tilling implements fashioned by the famed blacksmiths, Mpu Windusarpo, Mpu Ramayadi, and Mpu Mercukundo, as can be seen in the local museums.

It was only in the 9th to 12th century that the form of the kujang took the shape that we are so familiar with today. In the year 1170 there was a change in the kujang. Its value as an amulet or talisman was gradually being recognized by the rulers and nobilities of the Pajajaran Makukuhan kingdom, especially during the reign of Prabu Kudo Lalean.

During one of his spiritual retreats, Kudo Lalean was instructed through a psychic vision to re-design the form of the kujang to conform to the shape of the island of "Djawa Dwipa," as Jawa was called in those days. Immediately the sovereign king commissioned the royal blacksmith, Mpu Windu Supo, to fashion the blade seen in his vision. It was to become a weapon embodying mystical qualities and a spiritual philosophy; a magickal object, unique in its design, one that future generations would always associate with the Pajajaran Makukuhan kingdom.

After a period of meditation, Mpu Windu Supo confirmed the vision of Kudo Lalean and commenced with the fashioning of a prototype of the Kujang. It was to have two prominent characteristics: the shape of the island of Java and three holes or round notches somewhere in the blade.

Constructing the kujang blade into the shape of Jawa was interpreted to mean the ideal of unification of all the petty kingdoms of Java into a single empire, headed by the Makukuhan king. The three holes or round notches was to represent the Trimurti, or the three aspects of the godhead of the Hindu religion, of which Kudo Lalean was a devoted votary.

The three aspects or gods referred to are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The Hindu trinity was also represented by the three major kingdoms of that era, respectively, the kingdom of Pengging Wiraradya, located in the east of Jawa; the kingdom of Kambang Putih, located north-east of the island; and the kingdom of Pajajaran Makukuhan, located in the west.

The shape of the kujang evolved further in later generations. Different models appeared. When the influence of Islam grew upon the masses, the kujang was re-shaped to resemble the Arabic letter "Syin." This was largely the stratagem of the sovereign of the Pasundan region, Prabu Kian Santang, who was anxious to convert the populace to Islam.

Knowing that the kujang embodied the Hindu philosophy and religion of the existing culture, the muslim rulers, imams and teachers, anxious to propagate Islam and dessiminate its doctrines, re-modeled the kujang to represent the basis of their religion.

Syin is the first letter of the syahadat verse of which one testifies to the witnessing of the sole God and the Prophet Muhammad (blessed in his name) as the messenger. By reciting the syahadat verse, one is automatically converted to Islam. The modification of the kujang broadened the area of the blade which geographically corresponds to the Pasundan or western region of Java to conform to the shape of the letter Syin.

The newly-designed kujang was supposed to remind the possessor of the object of his allegiance to Islam and to the obedience of its teachings. Five holes or round notches in the kujang replaced the three of the Trimurti. They represented the five pillars of Islam.

With the influence of the Islamic religion, some kujang models portray the inter-blending of the two basic styles as designed by Prabu Kudo Lalean and Prabu Kian Santang. Nowadays, the kujang is often decorated in homes as it is believed to bring about luck, protection, honor, etc. They are displayed in pairs on walls with the inner edge facing each other.

There is a taboo, however--no one is to be photographed standing in-between them as this would somehow cause the death of that person within a year. I have been assured by a senior practitioner of Kejawen the truth of this, as he had witnessed this himself.

Why this occurs is not known for certain, we might shrug it off as superstition, coincidence or synchronicity but behind every phenomenon cosmic laws and intelligences are at work; we just need to discover what those laws are and the mind-set of those metaphysical intelligences directing those laws to know the reason for the anomaly.

From the occult side, like the keris, another weapon used by the indo-malayan natives, the kujang was often consecrated with magickal power and familiar spirits attached for specific purposes, such as the protection against psychic attack. Because of the inherent power of the kujang in conjunction with the presence of its spirit guardians, the well-informed natives revere them as sacred objects.

Sourced from http://www.indotalisman.com/Kujang.html

06 February 2008

Hang Tuah - Man or myth?

Who is Hang Tuah? Warrior, mystical figure or a figment of a writer’s imagination? ALLAN KOAY talks to a historian about whether documentation leans towards man or myth.
Many stories abound, of the great Malay warrior, who – along with his four friends, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu – upheld and protected the kingdom of Melaka, and who was so loyal to the Sultan that he even killed his own friend who had rebelled against the ruler.
Schoolchildren grow up learning about the adventures of Hang Tuah, older students study them in history lessons. Filmgoers have seen Hang Tuah in many guises, the latest being M. Nasir’s portrayal in the RM16mil epic Puteri Gunung Ledang.
Yet, according to Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Hashim, who has written several books and hundreds of articles on Melayu history, there is no solid historical record that could undeniably prove Hang Tuah’s existence. Except for one.
Prof Yusoff, whose books include Persejarahan Melayu Nusantara (Historiography of the Malay Archipelago) and Sejarah Melayu: Persepsi Sejarah dan Kesusasteraan (Sejarah Melayu: A Historical and Literary Perspective), strongly believes Hang Tuah did exist, and that the proof is in the Sejarah Melayu written in 1537.
The main problem, said Prof Yusoff, is that people’s perception of who Hang Tuah is very much coloured by the more fictional Hikayat Hang Tuah.
"Malay literature consists of many genres, such as history, undang-undang (laws), religion and epics. We have to differentiate between them," said Prof Yusoff, who is president and rector of the Malacca Islamic College of Technology. "The story of Hang Tuah comes in two genres – history and the epic."
The only historical record that perhaps could prove the existence of Hang Tuah, portrayed by M. Nasir in the film Puteri Gunung Ledang, is the Sejarah Melayu.
Oral history also plays a part in the story of Hang Tuah, and Prof Yusoff sees that as problematic because oral history can be very speculative.
"People can say anything they want," he explained. "The Javanese say Hang Tuah originated from Java. The Bugis say he originated from Bugis. The Perak people say he came from Perak. These people based their stories on the oral tradition. Of late, they are saying Hang Tuah came from China."
Sejarah Melayu was written much, much earlier than Hikayat Hang Tuah. According to Prof Yusoff, the earliest version of Sejarah Melayu was written in 1537.
"After that, it became a very popular work," he said. "It was copied and re-copied so many times that now, we have at least 29 versions of the Sejarah Melayu."
The Hikayat Hang Tuah is believed to have been written sometime between 1641 and 1726, and as such, the book contains a lot of additions, omissions and interpolations. It is "an epic based on
historical facts" and as such, should not be taken literally as the truth, but should be regarded as truth blended with fiction.
But Hikayat Hang Tuah proved to be the more popular work, as it contains fantasy and romance, unlike Sejarah Melayu which contains facts and records of historical events that, to the layman, may be dull and boring.
In Hikayat, the famous warrior is portrayed as having mystical powers and lethal fighting moves. He even possessed the ability to speak many languages, after being given a magical potion by a prophet. All he had to do was dab his lips with the potion and he would be able to speak the local tongue of whatever locale he was in.
As such, the writer of Hikayat wrote that the warrior was an ambassador sent by the Sultan to many foreign countries such as India, China and Turkey. He is said to have even performed the Haj.
Prof Yusoff said none of this is mentioned in Sejarah Melayu. But he believes the writer probably referred to various written works for ideas. In fact, Prof Yusoff made an interesting discovery in his research.
"The writer also referred to the Bustan’us-Salatin (Garden of Kings), which was a historical and religious work by Sheikh Nuruddin ar-Raniri (a religious scholar from Aceh)," he explained.
"This work was written in the early part of the 17th century. So it was written earlier than the Hikayat Hang Tuah. I found that the writer of the Hikayat not only referred to the Garden of Kings, but also copied certain passages word-for-word, to make up the story of Hang Tuah visiting Turkey.
"And the story about Hang Tuah visiting China was taken from the Sejarah Melayu, from the story about Melaka delegates headed by Tun Perpatih Putih who were sent to China.
"Hang Tuah may have been an ambassador, but he was probably sent to only as far as Indonesia and other places in the Melayu Archipelago."
Hang Tuah, according to Sejarah Melayu, also never met Puteri Gunung Ledang, but it was instead a member of his entourage who met the princess and noted her conditions for marrying the Sultan. Hikayat Hang Tuah also claims that Hang Tuah and his entourage went to Majapahit 10 times, but in the Sejarah Melayu, they only visited it once.
Hang Tuah also never went to Pahang to bring Tun Teja back to Malacca, as written in Hikayat, but it was a court official by the name of Hang Nadim who did so. Hikayat’s immense popularity, said Prof Yusoff, could possibly account for the many discrepancies and variations pertaining to the story of Hang Tuah, and it even prompted some people to claim that Hang Tuah never existed and was just a figment of someone’s imagination. And the many versions of Sejarah Melayu also add to the confusion.
It has been long known that it was not Hang Jebat but Hang Kasturi who was killed by Hang Tuah, and Prof Yusoff said this was written in the original Sejarah Melayu. But the more popular story that involves Hang Jebat prevails in people’s minds. That episode alone has over the years divided opinions.
In the P. Ramlee film Hang Tuah, as Hang Jebat dies in his arms, Hang Tuah (played by P. Ramlee) utters: "Siapa yang bersalah? (Who is wrong?)"
In the 1960s and 70s, the popular opinion was that Hang Jebat was the hero, and Hang Tuah was giving blind loyalty to the ruler. But Prof Yusoff said this view was borne of the anti-establishment mindset of the time.
"To me, Hang Tuah was the hero," he elaborated. "He was the one who really upheld the kingdom. Without this kind of character, the kingdom would have fallen into chaos and collapsed. Whatever happened, regardless of what people said about him, he remained loyal to the ruler, until the day he died.
There was even an anecdote about how, one day, the Sultan’s horse fell into a pool of faeces. No one dared rescue the horse, except Hang Tuah. He jumped into the pool and pulled the horse out. After that he had to clean himself for seven days and seven nights.
"That may be a joke, but the message is about undivided loyalty. The king is the highest, without whom there would be no kingdom. After all, the word kerajaan (kingdom or government) comes from the word raja (king)."
But it remains that no definitive historical record exists to prove Hang Tuah’s existence, except for Sejarah Melayu. Even in The Suma Oriental, by Tome Pires who came to Melaka in 1513, two years after the collapse of the empire, there is mention of a laksamana (admiral) but no specific mention of Hang Tuah by name. But the site claimed to be the grave of Hang Tuah in Tanjung Kling, Melaka, was gazetted by the state government more than 10 years ago as the true Makam Hang Tuah.
And Prof Yusoff remains strongly convinced that Hang Tuah was a real person, of flesh and blood, who lived in Melaka and served under three rulers, and died during Sultan Mahmud’s rule. And his reason is more than convincing.
"I dare say that Hang Tuah was a real figure, and I base my conclusion on the Sejarah Melayu," he said. "If you deny Hang Tuah’s existence, it means you also deny the whole historical text of the Sejarah Melayu."
Sourced from www.tourism-melaka.com/melaka/hangtuah.pdf

05 February 2008

Fight Quest - Pencak Silat Review

Here's a review of the Fight Quest - Pencak Silat episode by a good friend, Azizul Ismie Mohd Puad (a.k.a Djambu), a pesilat currently studying medicine in the Ukraine. Visit his blog here about life as a Malaysian student in Odessa.

"I watched the episode after successfully downloading it from the internet. The line was quite bad, but I managed to download it after a few days of trying.

"This time, a pair of white guys [Jim and Doug] go around the world to learn the various martial arts from each continent. They reached the nation of Indonesia and studied the art of silat under guru Rita Suwanda and guru Dadang.

"In the end, they have to battle with the champs of pencak silat [or maybe the champs from Perguruan Silat Mande Muda] The episode is absolutely better compared to the Human Weapon: Silat episode [The History Channel].

"I say this because this time, the program managed to get their facts straight. No made-up stories to spice up the show. Just plain, true and simple facts. The training session also looks more gruel and demanding even though I'm quite sure that the secret training ground is not so secret [if it's secret, it won't be shown on tv right?].

"I loved the part when Jim says that he can't really get the 'art' part in 'martial arts'. At least, he admitted it and tried. I also loved the part when guru Rita Suwanda expained why the hand movements are done so and so and the difference between the guarding pose [as explained by Jim].

"Still, the guarding pose is used in Mixed Martial Arts bouts to protect the face but in pencak silat tourneys, the face and neck are not to be hit. In one of the training sequences, Ddoug accidentally hit his opponent's neck causing him to gag.

"But later he got his fair share of pain when his foot hit the other guy's elbow and began swelling like 'a zombie in a movie'. The fight scene in the end also was more fair compared to the Human Weapon episode because this time, they fought in a proper ring, proper attire and with proper juries.

"Human Weapon: Silat episode's final fight was supposed to test the white guy with 5 vs 1 but it was really 1 vs 1 with 5 guys, one after another. [In the end the white guy passed. I'm sure if it's really the final test for Silat Gayong, the guy would have failed]

"Even though Jim and Doug lost their matches, I think guru Rita and guru Dadang have done a great job in promoting silat to the world".

Thanks for letting me pinch the review djambu!