Watch out for Rina!

DEFEAT was a bitter pill for Rina Jordana Adnan to swallow at last month's World Championships, but the silat exponent hopes to get it right at the Paris Open in March.

Rina, who packs a powerful punch despite being only 150cm tall and makes heads turn with her good looks, has remained undefeated in the National Championships since 1999.

She, however, was controversially knocked out in the early rounds of the world meet in Singapore.

The loss prevented her from fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a world champion and the silver from the 2002 World Championships remains her biggest achievement to date.

Despite her exit, Malaysia still created history when they finished above Indonesia in the standings with six gold, one silver and nine bronze medals.

Vietnam proved they were the new kingpins when they claimed nine gold, eight silver and two bronze medals to emerge champions.

Indonesia were third with four-six-five.

Rina, a sports science graduate, hopes this year will be fruitful and is targetting gold at the Manila SEA Games.

"I never seem to have much luck in international tournaments," said the 24-year-old part-time silat coach with MPPJ.

"Perhaps this year it will be different.

After all my disappointments, I hope to finally win gold in Manila." Rina, a class B (50-55kg) category exponent, comes from a family who have a deep background in silat - her parents Adnan Mohamad and Rosimah Jantan were her first teachers while younger sister Rina Juliana Adnan was formerly in the national team.

Meanwhile, National Silat Association (Pesaka) secretary Megat Zulkarnain Omar Din is hopeful Malaysia can continue their good form at the Manila Games.

"This (World Championships results) is our best ever achievement," he said.

"Previously, our best haul was five gold medals at the 2001 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

"To finish with six was a great achievement and will stand us in good stead for this year's SEA Games." The Malaysians who won gold in the World Championships were - Abang Erdie Fauzerul Abang Pauzan (Class A), Ahmad Shahril Zailuddin (Class D), Mohd Zuber Ismail (Class G), Mohd Azrin Abdul Malek (Class J) and two female exponents - Mastura Sapuan (Class E) and Suzy Mohd Sulaiman (creative solo).

Zulkarnain added Pesaka have yet to set a target for Manila but cautioned expectations should not be too high as only 14 events will be contested.

"But we are lukcy to have silat in the SEA Games as it was not in the initial list of sports," he said.

"There will only be 14 gold medals up for grabs.

So, we have to set a realistic target.

Two years ago, we only came home with two golds and perhaps we should, for now at least, aim for three.

"We will have a better idea of how we may fare closer to the Games and may be then, we may revise our targets." On Rina's defeat, he said: "All of us in the Malaysian camp felt Rina won her bout but, unfortunately, the judges did not see it that way.

There was nothing we could do.

Winning the six gold medals, however, made up for it." Zulkarnain added the national exponents will begin training on Tuesday and the Paris Open will be their first test this year.

However, instead of sending their world champions to France, Pesaka have decided to give them a rest.

"Although the Paris Open is quite a big event, with over 20 clubs and countries already confirmed in the fray, we have decided to send those who have yet to qualify for the SEA Games," he explained.

"The world champions are assured of boarding the plane to Manila - provided they maintain their form.

As such, we want to give the other exponents a chance to book their tickets to the SEA Games."

Written by GRAIG NUNIS
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-127965150/watch-out-rina.html

Viet Nam revel in world title

22 Dec 2004, VIETNAM - Viet Nam’s pencak silat artists retained their world beating position at the martial art’s world championships that wrapped in Singapore on Sunday.

The Vietnamese team bagged eight gold, nine silver and three bronze medals, beating second-placed Malaysia, and third-placed Indonesia.

Viet Nam’s 26-member squad took part in 24 events including six seni (performance) and 18 tanding (combat).

In the tanding competition, Vietnamese artists dominated with eight gold, eight silver and a bronze, and in the seni competition they took a silver and two bronze.

"Although faced with many difficulties during the championship, our artists played with their best spirits, showing the pride of world champions," said national coach Nguyen Ngoc Anh at Noi Bai International Airport on Monday.

Ngoc Anh, 32, said as the title defenders, which they won for the past two years in Malaysia, Viet Nam showed "we are still the leading country in pentjak silat".

Le Thi Hang opened the event with a gold in the 50kg class, her teammate Le Thi Thu Huong added a gold in the 60kg division, and Le Thi Hong Ngoan took home the top prize in the heavyweight 75kg category.

The men completed a gold haul with Nguyen Ngoc Anh, in 60kg, Le Anh Tuan, in 70kg and Dinh Cong Son in the 75kg class.

Tunggal competitor Nguyen Viet Anh pulled off a perfect performance to snare gold in men’s singles, and teammates Nguyen Huy Bao, Le Quang Dung and Nguyen Dang Linh took out the team (regu) event.

The world championship attracted 250 artists from 31 countries competing in seni and tanding events.

Viet Nam is widely touted to host the 2006 World Championship, according to the national coach.

Sourced from Vietnam News at http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn/2004-12/21/Stories/27.htm

Vietnam Remains World's Best in Pencak Silat

Vietnam had an outstanding performance at the eighth World Pencak Silat Championship in Singapore last week, topping the medal standings with eight gold, nine silver and three bronze medals.

The country took home the gold in seven men and women weight divisions as well as gold in the men's group division.

However, according to Vietnamese experts, their players would have won more gold medals if the judges had been fairer.

At the tournament, Malaysia ranked second with five gold medals and host Singapore ranked third with four gold medals. Indonesia earned two gold medals.

Meanwhile, the World Pencak Silat Federation will consider submitting a proposal for the sport to be officially included in the competition events of Asian Games 16 in 2010.

Pencak Silat is a type of kung-fu marital arts and traditionally comes from Southeast Asian country Indonesia. But for years, Vietnam has dominated the sport.

Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18293917_ITM

Dont' use abilities for wrong purposes, silat exponents told

BUTTERWORTH, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- Members of silat associations were today reminded to use their martial arts knowledge for the good of the people and the country.

Penang Federation of Malaysian Silat Associations (Pesaka) Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said exponents should not abuse the silat knowledge they have to create trouble and disturb the peace enjoyed by the people.

He was speaking to reporters after the opening of the Penang Silat Nusantara 2004 Carnival by the Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas at Dataran Pemuda Merdeka here today.

Some 600 silat exponents from 10 silat associations participated in the one-day carnival: Seni Silat Garuda Malaysia, Seni Silat Pusaka Gayong Malaysia, Seni Silat Cekak Malaysia, Seni Silat Gayong Malaysia, Seni Silat Melayu Asli, Seni Silat Pancaindera Lintau, Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia, Seni Silat Sendeng Tujuh, Seni Silat Sundang Pusaka and Seni Silat Gegaran Petani.

Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18282877_ITM

For fitness & self defence

A former sports journalist turned silat exponent is now promoting `Senaman Tua' for developing mental and physical prowess, to both local and foreign students. FAZLI IBRAHIM has the story.

A REVOLUTION HAS BEEN sweeping through some martial arts gyms in Kuala Lumpur of late.

These days, the students in their black getup are not just there to learn the basics of silat - rather they're here to exercise, thanks to a system formulated by former sports journalist Azlan Ghanie.

An exponent of Silat Lok Sembilan, a style of the Malay martial arts he inherited from his father, Azlan has taught students as far afield as the Netherlands and edits Seni Beladiri, a monthly dedicated to the Malaysian martial arts scene.

He developed an exercise system called Senaman Tua based on the movements found in Silat Lok Sembilan aimed at developing mental and physical fitness.

Each movement is based on a petua or old maxim, which can be developed into any number of variations, which in turn opens the door to endless possibilities.

"There are 1001 petua and each petua can be broken into 1001 movements." Many find it unusual since it is an exercise rooted firmly in Malay culture, just as Yoga is to Indians and Qigong to the Chinese.

In Senaman Tua, there is a lot of emphasis on regulating breathing, as well as correcting the body's posture.

The movements vary from slow and deliberate stances to faster hand and leg movements.

Someone with a grounding in the martial arts can easily turn these simple exercise movements to effective defence techniques.

More importantly, Azlan believes that through the exercises, students are able to absorb innate martial arts skills, as well as to inculcate alertness, which helps you to sense danger and ward off unnecessary confrontation.

While Senaman Tua can be studied on its own, it is also as much about preparing the body with the strength, suppleness and agility needed in Silat training sessions as well as to drill silat students in important movements.

The movements have evocative Malay names such as susun sirih or arranging betel leaves, tari piring, or saucer dance and selak dahan or parting the branches.

"If we understand the body, seronok, it is a lot of fun," he says, outlining one of Senaman Tua's purposes.

Each session is an hour long and usually precedes a Lok Sembilan training slot.

He claims that with frequent sessions, the exercises can help alleviate the symptoms of asthma, gout and even heart disease.

"Someone with a history of heart disease approached me and I told him to try it out. After two months of Senaman Tua sessions, he went for a checkup at the National Heart Institute. The doctor says his heart is now stronger," says Azlan.

The popularity if this exercise has been steadily increasing over the years, with training centres opening all over the Klang valley. An indication of its popularity is the adoption of Senaman Tua as one of the activities of the Malaysia Airlines Silat Club, based in Subang Jaya.

These days, Azlan personally instructs several Senaman Tua classes around the Klang valley, especially in Setapak, Sungai Buloh and Ampang.

He's even recorded a VCD copy of a Senaman Tua workshop and seminar and is planning a book detailing this exercise with the help of a friend.

"I hope people everywhere will one day adopt and derive benefits from Senaman Tua and see it as a contribution of Malay heritage to the world," he concludes.

Written by FAZLI IBRAHIM
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18209222_ITM

Evening Warrior

Though he may not come across as a health freak, Mohd Nadzrin Wahab’s brief at Whyfit Sport Adventure Sdn Bhd is to market health and fitness based team-building programmes for corporations.

But on certain nights of the week, he sheds his workwear for a dark blue tunic, loose pants and headgear and starts getting physical with a group of undergraduates. Nadzrin is an assistant instructor for Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak Ustaz Hanafi Malaysia, a popular form of Melayu martial arts taught in many universities in the country.

He is currently helping out with the training sessions at the International Islamic University Malaysia Matriculation Centre, where he and seven others help instruct the undergraduates in silat techniques. During the twice weekly sessions, Nadzrin works under the supervision of instructor Mohd Azhar Mohd Ali.

“What we do basically, is to teach the syllabus and try to guide them as best as possible, so that they can reach the proper level of proficiency after six months. In universities, we have to stretch the programme longer because of the semester breaks and exams.”

He adds that to teach the technique, the student must experience for themselves the punches, parries and locks as shown by the instructor and his assistants before they try it out on their partners. Each assistant is in charge of about 10 students.

Nadzrin recalls that he developed an interest in silat early in his life. “I’ve been interested since I was a small boy. I naturally gravitated towards silat, even when there was a lot of Jackie Chan movies on TV. Naturally when I was much younger, I was really active. I liked to jump off the stairs, climb trees. I had way too much energy. And I’m also a fan of Spider-man,” he says.

His introduction to martial arts was when he was in primary school. At first, the school held only taekwondo classes. But when Nadzrin was in Standard Three, it offered silat classes as well.“I joined but I didn’t stay long. I wasn’t dedicated back then and the training was too strenuous for me at that point of time,” he explains.

Yet years later, he developed the dedication and discipline needed to learn the art. In 1994, during the long break after his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exams, his interest in the Malay martial arts was rekindled by the introduction of the Rakan Muda programme. “What happened was that I filled up a form for Rakan Wajadiri. We waited months for a reply. One fine day, a letter came from the ministry inviting us to a martial arts demonstration at the field near the old A&W in Petaling Jaya.”

On that day, exponents of 30 different martial arts movements demonstrated their hand-to-hand combat skills en masse on the field. It gave the new Rakan Muda members an opportunity to window shop and to weigh the merits of each form and style before joining up. But only one form caught Nadzrin’s attention.

“I saw this one style of silat, with about 15 people participating in the demo. There was one person at the centre standing erect and he was deflecting the attacks from the rest of the group. One by one his opponents fell. That caught my attention because this martial arts form shows its true capability,” he recalls.

This was his introduction to Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak Ustaz Hanafi Malaysia. Later, when he enrolled in the Matriculation Centre of the International Islamic University Malaysia, Nadzrin witnessed further Silat Cekak Hanafi demonstrations and fell in love with the art.

“The reason I chose Silat Cekak Hanafi was because of its unique characteristics. In this form of silat, minimal movement and minimal use of force can defeat an enemy. You do not use a lot of stamina. Since I’m naturally energetic and prefer high kicks and physical movements, I did not appreciate this until after studying this form of silat for a few months. In silat cekak, the kicks are never executed higher than the navel for safety considerations. And on another level, it shows a high regard for politeness and manners, even with your enemies.”

Silat cekak also stresses defence techniques over offence. “We don’t attack unless we’re attacked first. In fact, in Silat Cekak Hanafi, to go on the offensive is to open yourself to danger because you don’t know your enemy. He might very well be a black belt holder!"

“However, we are taught offensive techniques, but only as a necessity. Overall, you learn 99 per cent defence and just one per cent offence,” he says.

Nadzrin further explains that when you study the empty hand forms, you are already preparing yourself to use weapons in your defence strategy.

“You just need to modify it a little bit, but most of the time, you are taught empty hand techniques because you are assuming the worst case scenario, being attacked and not having any weapon. But you are prepared to face an armed opponent.”

The official weapon of the Silat Cekak Hanafi movement is the parang lading, a form of the traditional Melayu machete used by the warriors of old Kedah.

“In this form of silat, a parang lading is awarded to people who have done some service to the movement. The guru utama or lead instructor will select and award the weapon to deserving members. The uniqueness of this weapon is that it is held in a reverse grip position, meaning that it is a defensive weapon, not an offensive one.”

The Silat Cekak Hanafi philosophy states that you do not retreat, and you do not avoid blows by turning left or right. All attacks are countered with a forward movement.

Through his previous job as a writer and editor at SENI BELADIRI, a magazine dedicated to traditional Malaysian martial arts, he also became acquainted with many masters and instructors, which allowed him to appreciate other forms of silat, apart from what he practises.

“To me, silat is one of the last bastions of Melayu culture. Through silat, traditional Melayu values are transmitted, sometimes without people realising it.“Many of the masters inculcate moral values in their instruction. For example, Silat Cekak Hanafi places great emphasis on truthfulness, keeping promises and respect for parents and teachers.”

Has he ever had to put his silat skills to the test?“Thank God, no and I hope I never will. My personal view is that in any combat situation, there will be only two outcomes — you will either get hurt or your opponents will — I don’t think we should harm another human being. But if push comes to shove...”

Written by FAZLI IBRAHIM
Sourced from New Straits Times

Hairulhasanah's fighting fit

STUDENT Hairulhasanah Shahbudin, who was recently in Pyongyang, North Korea to participate in the First International Martial Arts Games, tells SUZIEANA UDA NAGU about her passion for silat.

IT TOOK Hairulhasanah Shahbudin a while to figure out why her mother Siti Fatimah Ahmad had banned her from taking up silat when she was small.

For years, Hairulhasanah's mother gave her the typical "martial arts are for boys" excuse to keep the international business student at University College of Technology and Management Malaysia (or KUTPM, its Malay acronym) from pursuing it.

"I have been in love with silat since primary school. I love the graceful moves but, at the time, my mother thought it was a rough sport," says 23-year-old Hairulhasanah.

What really concerned Siti Fatimah were the myths surrounding silat, among others, that it involves the practice of ilmu batin (mystical powers) which conflicts with the teachings of Islam. She was worried that her daughter would be influenced.

Today, Siti Fatimah is happy that she gave her daughter a chance to try out silat. In just five years, Hairulhasanah has shown tremendous progress in the sport.

Two months ago, Hairulhasanah and three other members from the Seni Gayung Fatani Society were invited by the Youth and Sports Ministry to perform silat demonstrations at the First International Martial Arts Games in Pyongyang, North Korea. (see accompanying story) It is no surprise that her mother is now Hairulhasanah's No. 1 fan.

Hairulhasanah, a black belt holder, says times have changed and so has silat.

"There may have been silat groups in the past which incorporated `black magic' into their teachings but I assure you that silat today is not what it used to be," she adds.

Two years ago, the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry, the Education Ministry and Pertubuhan Silat Kebangsaan endorsed the Seni Silat Malaysia curriculum, which is considered the most comprehensive and up-to-date syllabus.

One masters silat by completing seven-level modules of training.

The curriculum is based on the one used by the Malaysian Seni Gayung Fatani Society.

Although it is an intensive programme, students are not subjected to unnecessary examinations and tests.

The curriculum has given silat a modern feel without compromising its originality.

For example, the curriculum does not mix silat movements with those from other martial arts. Silat performances are still accompanied by baku music, whether it is practised in Malaysia or in Europe.

"The curriculum has attracted martial arts lovers to come to Malaysia to deepen their knowledge about silat," says Hairulhasanah, who enrolled in her first Gayong Fatani silat class in 1999.

"Despite being a late-starter, I managed to finish six levels and earned my black belt in just four years. It is not that hard if you are committed," beams the Kuala Lumpur-born lass.

Hairulhasanah is currently a certified silat instructor and teaches the sport at KUTPM (where she is currently completing her Bachelor's degree in International Business) and, more recently, at the Malaysian Cultural Office which is next to Malaysian Tourism Centre in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Hairulhasanah feels it is time that Malaysians accepted homegrown martial arts like silat.

Currently, silat is mostly practised by the Malays. "So, before we start claiming that silat is a Malaysian sport, we must make sure that all Malaysians embrace it," she says.

She and fellow members from the Seni Gayung Fatani group plan to teach silat to primary school pupils, particularly those from Chinese and Tamil schools beginning next year. There have been mixed responses from school heads.

"The headmistress of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Lai Meng whom we approached welcomed our initiative. She even asked when we can start the class," says Hairulhasanah.

But others question her motives.

"A headmaster of a national school we approached was not keen on having his students learn silat at all. He bombarded us with plenty of questions about our intentions. That was when I realised how badly some people perceive silat and those who practise it," she says.

The incident made Hairulhasanah more determined to prove disbelievers wrong.

For Hairulhasanah, silat has opened many doors for her. It has also taken her to places she never imagined she would visit.

Typical of an all-rounder, Hairulhasanah does not neglect her studies. Indeed, she's a regular on the Dean's list and has even been named her college's Best Student.

Hairulhasanah graduated from Pusat Teknologi dan Pengurusan Lanjutan (PTPL), KUTPM's affiliate college, with a score of a 3.95 cumulative grade point average.

Between studying and coaching, one can imagine how busy Hairulhasanah is.

"If I am not home, I'll be at college or teaching silat. I rarely have time for leisure but I don't regret it one bit," she says.

Written by SUZIEANA UDA NAGU
Sourced from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-14631247_ITM