100 days to masterhood

Silat in Malaysia is a hodge podge of methods, lineages and styles. You'll even find some Oriental and Japanese styles masquerading as silat, simply because of the very open definition we have for it here.

Generally, traditional Silat Melayu styles which map very closely to Sumateran styles take far longer because it's often deemed to be a comprehensive human development system which includes physical (as in phys ed), combat (as in war), philosophical (as in introspection), spiritual (as in relationship with Allah) and social(as in relationship to man).

There are two main traditional methods, the live in uchi-desi-like method, where students study for 100 days straight to graduation in a system (3 months and 10 days, actually only 88 days, because Thursdays are reserved for religious studies) day and night.

They then leave as a qualified master of the system and are expected to travel to improve their skills and develop their own style (not as in founding a style to teach others, but finding their own applications and expressions that work best for them).

This means that the student's knowledge will have a different starting point than a student who studied later in a common master's life, who by then would have further developed his skills, understanding and method of teaching.

The second method is the full-time live in student cum adopted son. He studies the same way, but after his 100 days are up, continues to explore his skills with his master, his skills just barely behind the old man as he progresses. This provides daily training for the student and an opportunity to the master to constantly improve himself as well.

Buah-based systems in Malaysia are fairly new and catches on faster than traditional systems because of their simplicity. This has caused the majority view that buah-based systems are the norm in silat, which is not the case. They just have a higher profile.

Their syllabi are also noticeably shorter more focused on combat and don't have fully developed whole-person development systems in place. Thus, many of them only provide hints or directions for the students to improve themselves. Students are forced to look elsewhere to add on to their skills.

All in Silat?

I got an interesting SMS (that's a text message to you Americans) yesterday from a young friend of mine. It read:

"In the knowledge of silat, is there an 'amalan' (spiritual practise) to have the girl that we love, love us back sincerely and honestly, followed by marriage and be together until the hereafter? Is there an 'amalan' to have her express what she keeps hidden and what she truly feels? How does one remove doubt in what she feels?"

I expect my international readers should be scratching their heads right about now. Allow me to try explaining. The Melayu view their culture as an integrated whole, religion, customs, dress, martial arts, all included. For many, it's difficult to draw the line between them.

Young Melayu are socialised in this culture through various different channels. Parents, the masjids, old folk in the villages, etc. However, the strongest and most organised channel is Silat. If you asked a traditional Melayu what silat is, be prepared to get a definition that covers every single thing under the sun.

Manners, customs, dress, religion, philosophy, spirituality, medicine, magic, music, dance, weapons, combat, life. Long time practitioners of Oriental and Japanese martial arts will recognise this concept. It exists the same way in Silat. So, don't be surprised that my young friend actually asked that question.

I was just surprised it came from a city boy in an SMS over my handphone. Then it hit me. This is exactly how I began. A city boy with searching for his lost heritage, and I found my first footing in Silat. This is true for so many of us now in Malaysia. Cut off from our roots by the rise of globalisation, we are forced to find dependable channels to help us rediscover them.

Ironically, the many things I found in Silat are hardly what I found in it, but through it. I am no where near my journey's end, but I feel that I have passed that stage where Silat is an all-encompassing field of study. It is to me, now, a key to open those other doors. Doubtless, those young Melayu who are taking their first steps in Silat would still view it the way I did.

No problem there. Just make sure you don't miss the point.

As to my young friend, I told him no, there isn't such amalan in Silat. But there is in Islam.

Difference between Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9

Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 are both well-known silat styles in Malaysia. Although Cekak Hanafi has the numbers due to its strong grassroots support from the government, local schools and higher learning institutions, Lok 9 has become increasingly popular through SENI BELADIRI magazine, both of whom share a founder, guru Azlan Ghanie.

When I first studied Silat Cekak Hanafi, I found it a very systematic and an energy-economical style. It can generally be classified as a buah-based system which trains direct applications through set techniques. It was quite a shock then when I took up Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9, a very traditional, very amiable style that was more principle-based than buah-focused.

Setting aside the principle that all martial arts are fundamentally the same, Cekak stands apart (sometimes purposely) from the majority of Silat Melayu because its combat principles and ethics are different.

Lok 9 allows for Tipu Helah (trickery) while Cekak employs none of it. Cekak subscribes to a Tapak 2 footwork while Lok 9 employs all Tapaks 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Cekak ready stances are always high and square to the opponent, but Lok 9 stances vary according to the situation and relative position of the opponent.

Cekak is essentially buah-based, which means they start off with preset multipurpose and modular techniques during the Buah Asas, Buah Jatuh and Buah Potong stages. These are drilled into students to guide them into decompiling the techniques into smaller modules that can be reassembled during combat. The stage where they find this freedom is called Buah Umum.

Lok 9 on the other hand starts with physical reeducation of the body to train fluid responses, originally through Tari and Kembangan, but in recent years, through Senaman Tua instead, which was derived from the aforesaid Tari and traditional dynamic and static exercises.

Students come away understanding how to generate kinetic energy and transfer that into limbs for various purposes: kuncian, pukulan, buangan, langkahan, etc.

Once the body has this vocabulary, then they move into the forms called Loks which build upon one another in terms of difficulty. The Loks are progressively expanded derivatives of the Sembah Perguruan, a Kembangan taught at the very beginning of their studies, thus the claim that the whole art is already taught in the beginning.

They are then partnered into two-man kembangan akin to full body Chi Sao to train sensitivity. This gets progressively faster and from simply indicated strikes, lead into connecting ones.

This will lead into technique interpretation, where the teacher spars with a student and when a technique is born of the interaction, everyone else in the class has to imitate it, then extrapolate it into their own application depending on variations in size, speed and angle of attack of their partners.

For practicality sake and due to the short attention span of modern man, all three of the above phases are done sequentially in every session, which builds skill and allows weaker students to train with higher skilled ones in random pair ups.

Cekak never trains in the use of weapons as a principle (being prepared for the worst situation, no weapons available) while Lok 9 trains in the Keris and all weaponwork: kerambit, badik, tumbuk lada, sundang, pedang, etc are simply extrapolations of the Keris work.

Words of wisdom

Today, I thought I'd share with you some words of wisdom from those people who have influenced my life in silat the most. They have shaped my outlook and helped my decisions and in many ways, have made me what I am today. Along with my family, they are my other fathers, and I'm sure my late father would approve. Here are my favourite sayings of my masters and their masters before them.

1. Mahaguru Yahya Said - Silat Kalimah

"Berlapik Berlantai Bentang Tikar Tiga Helai Cari Seorang Cerdik, Seorang Pandai, Seorang Juara Di Tengah Balai Ke Gunung Sama Didaki, Ke Lurah Sama Dituruni Berat Sama Dijunjung Ringan Sama Dijinjing Hati Gajah Sama Dilapah, Hati Tuma Sama Dicecah Ayam Ditambat Mesti Diberi Makan"

Translation: "A Covered Floor , Spread Out Three Carpets Find An Intelligent Man, A Skillful Man and a Champion In The Middle of the Court To The Mountains We Climb Together, To The Valleys We Descend Together The Heavy Load We Lift Together, The Light Load We Carry Together An Elephant's Heart We Cleave Together, A Flea's Heart We Dip Together A Tied Rooster Has To Be Fed."

Meaning: It talks about unity, community and leadership. The Melayu say: never sleep on a bare floor, so having three carpets indicates formality and norms in a community. The three qualities of a leader or leaders: intelligence, skill and a champion are the bare minimum needed to ensure positive growth. A rooster is a proud champion in his own right, but if you select him as your leader (i.e. tying him down), his livelihood is your responsibility.

2. Guru Eusoff Ali (Pak Johari) - Silat Kalimah

"Hang ingat Allah bagi semua kat hang saja ka? Aku pun Dia ada kasi..."

Translation: "Do you really think Allah gave you everything? He gave me some too..." (basically what he likes to say to an opponent at a face off).

3. Ustaz Hanafi Haji Ahmad - Silat Cekak

"Pakai Tak Pakai, Tak Pakai"

Meaning: Counter the enemy's movements by following his movement's, not opposing them. What he uses (pakai), you don't use (tak pakai), and what he uses (tak pakai), you use (pakai).

4. Tuan Guru Md Radzi Haji Hanafi - Silat Cekak Hanafi

"Belajar silat mulanya dari jam kunci, lama-lama jadi jam digital"

Translation: Learning silat begins from being a wind up clock but later ending up as a digital clock.

5. Guru Jamaludin Shahadan - Silat Sendeng Haji Hamid

"Senjata makan tuan, maksudnya tuan tak reti guna senjata"

Translation: A weapon that hurts its owner means the owner isn't competent to wield the weapon! Full story here http://silat-melayu.blogspot.com/200...akan-tuan.html

6. Ustaz Ahmad Che Din - Silat Abjad

"Berkorbanlah, jangan sampai terkorban sekali"

Transation: You may sacrifice, just don't be sacrificed.

Meaning: Do what you need to achieve your objectives but keep in control and ensure you can continue the battle and not die meaninglessly.

7. Guru Azlan Ghanie - Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9

"Biar dia tidak tahu kita menjirus air ke atas dia, tahu-tahu saja dia dah basah"

Translation: It's unnecessary for him to know when we pour water over him, all that matters is that he gets wet.

Meaning: A student doesn't need to know the process he needs to go through to learn, nor know what the master intends to teach him. All that matters is that he gains knowledge.

Beach Training

Silat Seni Gayong practitioners undergoing a khatam keris ceremony on the beach.

In 2003, I joined a journalistic excursion with SENI BELADIRI magazine to the beautiful state of Kelantan. We were there to interview guru Pak Su Noor of Silat Terlak Empat and guru Awi of Silat Jawi. The group we assembled were all Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 practitioners who studied with guru Azlan Ghanie, also the magazine's publisher.

Although we spent our first night there at a hotel, we later decided on staying at a beachside dorm at Pantai Cahaya Bulan (formerly Pantai Cinta Berahi), better known as PCB. Being a group of silat-mad practitioners, it wasn't long before someone suggested we practice some forms on the beach under the moonlight.

We decided not to practice close to shore, where the sand was packed hard by the water, but further up the incline, where the sand was loose. It was an amazing experience. Moonlight sparring was very different. The sand kept moving under our feet and made it difficult to keep mobile. Practicing arts that depend heavily on footwork means that the more you move, you more energy the sand saps away from you.

Soon enough, our feet started hurting badly. It dawned on us that this was probably why beach training was such an important aspect of silat to those masters who had access to it in the past. If you want to put power into your legs, but can't pay for a personal trainer nor a gym membership, a sandy beach is probably your cheapest option. Oh, if you're doing this in Malaysia, keep a can of bug spray handy.

Although all of us were studying Lok 9 at the time, we were blessed by having members who had varied backgrounds in the arts. There were practitioners of Cimande, Gayong, Cekak, Sendeng, Lincah, Gayong Maarifat and who knows what else.

Thus, after we got bored of doing Lok 9 forms, we began taking turns leading the group, doing forms from various different styles. Combat-wise, I suddenly appreciated the simple buah of Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Kuntau Tekpi. You lost a lot less energy by not evading too much.

But I have to say, if strong legs is what you want to get out of your free beach training, Sendeng forms have got to be the toughest. It's bad enough to have to constantly balance on a single-line fencing-style low stance, but you have to shuffle instead of step, and that takes smooth balance transfer. The worst parts are the kicks, which are delivered from those same low stances.

You can imagine then, my horror when I read in the news recently that the Asian Beach Games, first ever to be held in Bali, is actually going to happen. What started out in my mind as a laughable event became a serious undertaking, with several countries committing athletes, including Malaysian and, of course, Vietnam.

I'm not laughing anymore, and I regret I ever did.

To all the athletes who will face each other on the hot, burning, shifting sands of Bali, I envy you not. This will be the toughest test ever for your skills. Make us proud and any medals you bring home will be well deserved. Then, and only then can you kick off your shoes and soak your feet into a tub of hot water for the next couple of weeks. Good luck!

The Beach Pencak Silat event will be held from the 18th to 21st and 23rd October 2008. For more information, click here.

Silat.tv social networking site

When I first started this blog, I reported that guru Omar Hakim of Silat Kuntau Tekpi USA had planned to set up a website at http://silat.tv/ to sell silat-related books and DVDs. Well, although that hasn't seen fruition, but a happy replacement seems to have happened.

If you go to the URL now, you'll see a rocking cool Silat social networking site that allows you to discuss, post comments and videos and publish your own blog. I joined it recently and would greatly encourage all my visitors to do the same.

You can set up groups for different silat styles. Let's have more Malaysian styles over there and show the world we exist! So far, only Silat Kuntau Tekpi, Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 are represented.

Go to http://silat.tv/ and register now!

Seeing is believing

At a recent class, we were working on Pekiti-Tirsia's "3d Hand" principle against multiple knife thrusts. The usual plan is to render the opponent blind, or otherwise knock him senseless and then range-out in an explosive manner to "welcome" the next opponent.

For this particular class however, I decided to show how kuncian (locking) from Silat Kuntau Tekpi could be applied against a knife attack. After waylaying the knife, instead of ranging-out you immobilize, then lock him down from his core.

Some of the newer students were seeing (and feeling) Silat Kuntau Tekpi for the first time.

The next day, one of the students sent me the following note:

Guru,

After bugging you for awhile to demonstrate Silat Kuntau Tekpi to me, now that I have seen it, I am almost sorry I asked. I can only describe this martial art in one word, cruel.

I have been exposed to joint locks, but it appeared that almost every technique you demonstrated worked on destroying the entire body rather than focusing on a single point.

The interesting thing about this was the simplicity of getting the opponent - actually victim - into the positions you want them in. Unlike some of the grappling arts I have seen, most of these moves happened without any setup, you just went directly into them.

After seeing this I must say that I would rather be beaten with a stick or cut up with a knife than face a Tekpi practitioner and have my body broken in this ferociously painful manner.

With all of this being stated, I will say that everything I was shown was brutally effective. If a person wanted to end a fight immediately in such a way as to make even the onlookers wince in pain, then this is the art to use.

Just my thoughts on what I witnessed.

LM

Stolen unapologetically from http://balisongplayer.blogspot.com/