Kuala Belait – Competition for the traditional martial arts of pencak silat in the Belait District to mark His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 64th birthday celebrations was held at the Kuala Belait Municipal Hall yesterday afternoon.
Chairman Haji Zabidi bin Ali who has been organising the contest for over a decade said he had recorded the lowest participation in the competition so far, with only eight people taking part.
Haji Zabidi said the exclusion of two popular silat categories had contributed to this low participation.
The Wira Laga (sparring) and Tanding (sports) categories are today’s most popular silat forms and are widely practised among the younger generations in Brunei.
Therefore, it is regretted that the two mentioned categories were not included in this year’s contest due to some complications, he noted.
Haji Zabidi added that there are over 10 silat organisations in the Belait District and it is very much alive in the district.
The pencak silat competition is held annually to promote the Malay cultural heritage, in the hope that the traditional Malay art of self-defence could be preserved from generation to generation.
Yesterday afternoon, eight contestants took part in two Silat categories namely Cakak Asli and Kuntau.
Winners were presented with trophies and prizes by the Assistant Belait District Officer Haji Hamid bin Dato Paduka Haji Abdullah, who was the guest of honour.
Haji Zabadi who is also the Chairman of Pertubuhan Pencak Silat Negara Brunei Darussalam (PERSIB) for the Belait District is inviting martial arts enthusiasts to join any of the silat organisations in the district.
Written by Liza Mohd Sourced from http://www.email.brudirect.com/index.php/2010071124897/Local-News/lowest-participation-in-belait-pencak-silat-competition-this-year.html
Guru Nizam Unveils Online Silat Martial Arts Training Course For Beginners Who Want to Discover How to Tap Into The Energy of The Primal Forces of Nature.
A silat martial arts expert has created an online video package aimed at teaching beginners how to master the basics of the ancient Malaysian practise within just a few days.
Black-belt Guru Nizam, chief coach for Malaysia’s Pusat Cemerlang Silat (PCS), a silat centre of excellence set up in 2002, claims his step-by-step video training program reveals secrets that have been closely guarded by martial arts exponents down the centuries.
To the outsider, silat martial arts can appear deceptive. It uses sequences of graceful movements yet is a powerful form of self-protection, its origins coming from studies of attack and defence techniques of human geometrical line of movements.
Guru Nizam says it is this connection with the primal forces of nature that gives silat martial arts its core power, allowing practitioners to channel streams of energy into both mind and body.
” SilatForBeginners.com will show step by step how to do it. Unlocking the secrets of silat martial arts is an essential component of this online video coaching program” he said, “and this enables anyone to tap into the very forces of nature that make silat such a powerful force “
The course focuses on the three major ingredients of silat – langkah (the steps), limbai (hand movements) and kekuda (stances). Once beginners have a firm grasp of these basics, they have a solid platform from which to move on to more advanced levels.
Guru Nizam added: “Anyone of any age has an innate ability to become proficient in silat martial arts but it’s vital to get the basics right, and this is the keystone of SilatForBeginners.com. Novices are astounded that it only takes a few days to master these fundamentals”
To find out more about silat martial arts coaching for beginners visit www.SilatForBeginners.com or www.PusatCemerlangSilat.com
Sourced from http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=119751
Guru Mazlan man stood in a neutral stance, hands at his side, feet side by side, a natural and relaxed stance, which is the starting point of all Silat Kalam movements. I threw a punch at his face. He blocked my punching arm, knocking it skyward. Next, he drove his knee into the tendons at the back of my knee joint. He was only going at a quarter speed, but the pain was incredible. After 50 years of martial art practice, the Guru was perfect. In every movement, I could feel his bones cutting through my flesh and digging into my nerves.
He placed his shin bone against the back of my knee and leaned forward. I had no choice but to fall down, on one knee. Next, he stomped down hard on my calf muscle which was flat on the ground. Then he backhanded me in the face, and I fell backward. My body was completely locked. My own natural skeletal structure had betrayed me. The only way I could stand back up was if the Guru removed his foot from my calf muscle and then reached a hand down, to help me stand.
This was Silat Kalam, an art designed to completely subdue an attacker, but never to be used as an attack.
“I breathe because of God. I drink because of God. I eat because of God. I practice Silat because of God.” This is a portion of the mantra which Guru Mazlan Man had the students recite on a daily basis. He explained his philosophy this way. “We must remember that we only do things because of God. And if we only do things because of God, we will not do bad things. You cannot say, I steal because of God.”
In the west, when people here the word Guru, they associate it with some new age religion or Hindu philosophy. But in Malaysia, the word Guru simply means teacher or master. And it is the name applied to all martial arts teachers.
Everyday, the students met in a community meeting room of a government building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The lead student, Fami, called us to attention, “Kalam sedia!” The students immediately brought their hands up to prayer position and begin reciting their devotions. They give thanks for their health and strength and for the opportunity to practice martial art. Then they remind themselves that they practice martial art because of God.
After a brief warm-up and stretching, the students started into the buah, or choreographed sets of movements. Silat Kalam has 28 buah.
Silat Kalam is essentially a grappling art. Because the art is strictly for defense, each of the buah, or series of movements, begins with an opponent attacking you. You block, using one of four basic blocks, and then throw and lock the opponent. The locks put the opponent on the ground, tied up like a pretzel. At the least, the opponent is submitted. But a slight twist or variation in the throw or lock could severely cripple or even kill the opponent.
Unlike submissions in other arts, the locks in Silat Kalam are completely impossible to break out of.
The Guru told me once, “If a man walks into your school and challenges you to a fight, don’t accept him as a student.” A man like that has something to prove, or he isn’t a good person. “If you accept him as a student, remember, that when he throws you and locks you, you will be completely helpless.”
The Guru is over sixty years old, but when he has me in a lock, I am truly incapacitated, completely unable to escape, and as he says, totally helpless.
I was the first non-Muslim to ever be permitted to study Silat Kalam. It was a great honor and also an incredible cultural experience. Each day, I met the Guru for training and also for lessons about the religion. He never asked me to convert, only to learn.
He told me. “We are all children of Adam, children of God. God made us all different, so we can learn from each other and love one another. He does not want us to fight or quarrel among ourselves. If you were a father, would you want your children to kill one another?”
When I reminded him that I am Catholic, not Muslim, he said. “When I teach you, I only talk about God. When we talk about God, everyone is happy. It is only when we talk about religion that people get angry.”
Guru Mazlan Man described Silat Kalam in this manner. “Silat kalam is a martial art where you never use a lot of force or movement. And each movement is based on the position of the prayers, the position of where you pray to God.”
The first eleven buah are based on “Dua” which literally means “to give thanks.” It is the first prayer position, where the hands come up, with the palms facing the sky. This is the first movement of more than one third of the buah. It is fitting that Dua plays so prominently in an art which asks you to remember who gave you your strength and your health.
A man strikes you. You block by bringing your hands up in prayer position, knocking his elbow straight up. Each block is always followed by a strike. Since you have knocked his arm skyward, the rib cage and under arm are vulnerable. You can move in with a knee or elbow strike, or a simple punch. The palm of your hand is making contact with his elbow, so after you strike him, you can grab the elbow and pull in whatever direction you want him to go. The Guru would often grab the elbow, pull the man towards him and then deliver a karate chop to the man’s forearm.
When I was on the receiving end, I was amazed at how painful that chop was. Just like in Brazilian jujitsu where you may strike a man simply to distract him and go for a submission, the same is true in Silat Kalam. When you karate chop a man’s arm, it hurts intensely, but only for a split second. So, that chop is not a fight ending technique. But during that split second of intense pain, the man loses his will to struggle.
You chop his arm, and immediately go for the throw or the lock. In one of the buah, you chop the arm, which knocks it toward the ground. You simultaneously grab the elbow or upper arm and continue to pull the man to the ground, Then you step on his hand. You release that arm and lock his other arm. Now, he is completely helpless, and in incredible pain.
For the full series. You simply lean forward with your knee against his elbow, breaking his arm.
In many forms of Silat that I have seen, once you have the man “where you want him” you go nuts with overkill and devastating force. Picture this buah, the man’s hand is under your foot. You have just broken his arm with your knee. You control his other arm. You place your knee on the back of his neck, and drive his face into the ground. His other arm is now in a very unnatural and vulnerable position, so you break it. Then you finish with any number of locks, grapples, kicks, punches…
And that is just one of the buah.
As violent and potentially lethal as the art is, it is still strictly defensive; all buah begin with a man attacking you, not the reverse.
“The movement of Kalam is art.” Says the Guru. “You will never attack anyone. Practicing Kalam softens your kindness toward human beings. There is no more quarrel. And that is how God teaches us to be all of the time. So, Silat Kalam takes the position to teach people to know each other, love each other, and to learn self defense.”
Guru believes that we should never hate another person for his actions because people are basically good.
“Our enemy is not people, our enemy is satan. Satan always wants to attack us, wants to kill us, fighting each other. So, we must live peacefully. And when we have self-defense, no one can attack us, nobody can harm us, and we will always be a friend to every body.”
Antonio Graceffo is a martial arts and adventure author living in Asia. He is the author of the book, “The Monk from Brooklyn” and the host of the web TV show, “Martial Arts Odyssey,” which traces his ongoing journey through Asia, learning martial arts in various countries.
By Antonio Graceffo Sourced from http://brooklynmonk.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/silat-kalam-islamic-martial-art/
Ruly Kurniawan clenched his fists, swinging his left hand to the right while keeping his feet planted on the ground during a practice session of Indonesian traditional martial art pencak silat in South Jakarta’s Jagakarsa subdistrict.
The 15-year old took a brief time-out, then repeated his movements several times to perfect his balance.
Ten men spent Monday night performing pencak silat combinations at the H. Hasbullah Traditional Beksi School of Pencak Silat, one of the city’s oldest pencak silat schools.
“At first, it was difficult to master all of the stances. But because I have kept on practicing for two years, now I can perform 12 routines,” he said.
Ruly admitted preserving local culture was the main motivation that had driven him to take up the martial art.
Wahyudi Tejo S. shared a similar reason for enrolling at the pencak silat school.
“I’d like to develop the Betawi culture. Apart from that, I want to master pencak silat,” the 21-year old man said.
Five years of studying at the school, he said, had helped channel his fighting spirit into a positive force.
“I used to be very naughty and loved drinking. I even failed to graduate from senior high school because of my ill-tempered character. Being a Beksi fighter has helped me to leave behind those bad habits,” he said, referring to the Beksi style of pencak silat.
Muhali Yahya, the chairman of the school, said scores of people, both young and old, had registered at the school’s 27 branches across the capital.
The company has schools in Rawa Belong in West Jakarta, Pancoran in South Jakarta and Kemayoran in Central Jakarta.
Since 2005, the school in Jagakarsa has received about 150 students, 72 of whom were street children, Muhali said.
“Many young people are enthusiastic to learn the style. Therefore, we run classes for children and women in Jagakarsa,” the 43-year old man said.
Beksi, he said, was a style of martial art that originated in Tangerang, Banten, in 1828. It was introduced to Jakartans by Chinese fighter Lee Chenk Oek in the 1950s.
Muhali said that Beksi consisted of four defensive styles. “The style aims to teach how one can defend against attacks from all directions,” he said.
He said Beksi was a “hard” fighting style that required fighters to land quick and strong strikes on their rivals.
Another pencak silat style, called Si Bunder, utilizes mind reading techniques to predict an opponent’s attacks.
“Learning Si Bunder is quite difficult because it teaches fighters to read an opponent’s mind to know which side they will attack from,” said Babe Nung, a senior coach.
Si Bunder, he continued, required “never ending stance development”. “We always come up with new movements and it may take up to five years to master all 17 stances.”
Unlike the Beksi style, there are not many records chronicling Si Bunder’s history. “We do not have any schools or specific training attire. We do not classify our student fighters into beginner, intermediate or advanced. We simply practice in accordance with the necessities,” Babe said.
He said that although hundreds of students had dabbled in Si Bunder, few had chosen to pursue it to an advanced level, preferring instead to learn the basics and incorporate them into other styles.
“Most of them leave the style once they have gotten what they really need. They do not want to develop and preserve it,” he said.
The 50-year old man said he was selective in choosing his students.
“Now I have 30 pupils, all of whom are devoted to continuing to develop Si Bunder,” he said.
He holds practices four times a week in Kuningan, South Jakarta, and in Menteng Park, Central Jakarta.
For Babe, pencak silat serves not only as a means of self-protection but also as a source of personal pride and confidence. “It is possible for a fighter to quit altogether if he loses a fight simply because his pride has been damaged,” he said.
According to the City Culture and Tourism Agency, the city has about 300 traditional pencak silat styles, including Bayang Gerak Lodaya, Sabeni, Sipecut, Bandrong and Syah Bandar.
Some are recognized by the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association and the Indonesia Traditional Silat Conservers and Lovers Forum.
Temburong – A `Pencak Silat’ competition was held at the Community Hall of Kampung Rataie National Housing Plan yesterday, as one of the many programmes held by the Temburong District in conjunction with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam 64th birthday celebrations.
It was organised by the Brunei Darussalam Pencak Silat Association (PERSIB).
A silat presentation was performed by invited youths from `Pesilatan Terjurus Sembilan’ from Limbang and was headed by their leader, Affendi Haji Suhaili, who further enlivened the competition by performing the Silat Helang Putih’.
Omar Ali Aziz Haji Ismail won the champion for the Pencak Silat Cekak category while Khairul Fitri Abd Wahab won the Silat Kuntau category. Nurul Amal Mazidah emerged as the young champion for the Silat Kuntau category.
The guest of honour, Haji Afero Eswandi Haji Mohammad in his capacity as the Acting Assistant Temburong District Officer, was on hand to present prizes to the winners.
Written by Hj Md Said Arshad Sourced from http://brudirect.com/index.php/2010061523162/Local-News/pencak-silat-competition-in-temburong.html
NO DISCRIMINATION: Rowbottom demonstrates some techniques of
Pencak Silat Helang Putih Perkasa at Rumpun Silat Hall at MJC in Batu Kawah yesterday.
Hailed from Perth, Rowbottom recalled that he fell in love with the self defence since five years ago when he was first introduced to Muhd Haneef Ali, the Silat Master for Pencak Silat Helang Putih Perkasa, one of the famous silat schools of thought.
He said he had started to discover his passion for the martial arts since 13 years of age and became the number one fan of it.
Since then, he never looked back and started to travel around the globe for the past 27 years to learn various self defences.
Married to an Iban woman from Sri Aman, Rowbottom recalled his first Silat lesson was under the tutelage of Muhd Haneef Ali and practiced the beautiful yet deadly techniques ever since.
Back in his country, Rowbottom said he had formed the Silat school in Perth and began teaching the lesson, located nearby to a small mosque in the area.
“Over the five years of my involvement in this silat, I have learned the spirit of cooperation and respect to each other regardless of their background, history and characters. This is one of the stunning elements which I found in learning the arts of Silat,” he said.
His various experience travelling around the world have made him knowledgeable in the various martial arts such as Taekwondo, Jujitsu, Muay Thai (Thai kick-boxing) and Australian Prison Police Martial Arts.
He highly praised his master, Muhd Haneef Ali for instilling a good inner faith and strong beliefs, making one silat apprentice more determined, in concentrating and devoted to his leaning process.
“For Pencak Silat Helang Putih Perkasa, I have found it is more focusing than other aggressive martial arts, but still it is deadly and capable of generating inner power to defeat your opponent or enemy. The tradition of its pattern is strongly preserved like the origins of it,” he added.
Rowbottom said, to date he had received blessing from his master to recruit more apprentice to learn silat in Australia and apparently the response towards it is encouraging.
“There are six silat schools of thought and I must say that Pencak Silat Helang Putih Perkasa has the largest followers so far,” said Rowbottom.
A well-known Silat master in his country, Rowbottom said that early January this year, he had brought six Australian enthusiastic apprentices from his silat academy in Perth to meet Muhd Haneef Ali to learn more about the arts.
Rowbottom also had taught Kuching City North Commission (DBKU) enforcement officers the Australian Prison Police Martial Arts method, the reality situation based art of self defence when he was attached with the local authority previously.
Back in Perth, Rowbottom himself is working as the investigative prison police officer.
“My mission is to teach more people about this art of self defence especially to women. This will enable to assist them to dealing with difficulty situations such as robbery, attempting rape, sexual harassment or extortion,” said the red belt holder of silat martial arts.
He added that he had attended World Silat Martial Arts Tournament held in Kuantan in 2006 and Indonesia to expose himself to various silat techniques.
He even took part in the competition but has yet to win any medals.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) — Twenty-two national silat exponents will compete in various competitions in Hanoi, Vietnam in August before heading to the World Silat Championships in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
National Silat Federation of Malaysia (PESAKA) coordinator Osman Nok said the competitions in Vietnam would help gauge the performance and capabilities of the silat exponents before facing their opponents in the World Championships.
The main task of the Malaysian team would be to retain the five gold medals won at the last World Championships which was also held in Indonesia, he told Bernama here Wednesday.
He added that though Malaysia are ranked second in the world behind Vietnam, it would not guarantee a safe passage in the quest for gold medals.
Bandar Seri Begawan – Some 41 pencak silat coaches participated in the national-level pencak silat coaching course class III and II yesterday.
The course held at two venues -Lecture Theatre Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium and Hassanal Bolkiah National Indoor Stadium – was officiated by the Acting Director of Youth and Sports Department, Haji Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Haji Hamdani yesterday.
In his speech, the guest-of-honour said he hoped a disciplined, quality and systematic coach will be produced after attending the course, organised by the Youth and Sports Department and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Brunei Darussalam National Pencak Silat Federation (Persib).
“It is hoped that the participants will not only hold a recognized certificate but also to be a very qualified coach. The participants must remember that they need a sustained strength and intelligence in this pencak silat course,” highlighted Haji Muhd Zamri.
He also hoped that the course facilitators would show and teach participants from a basic technique to a sophisticated and up-to-date pencak silat movement.
“It is important for the participants to give full attention during the course as pencak silat has its meaning and certain purpose,” Haji Muhd Zamri added.
Out of the 41 pencak silat course participants, 17 are taking class III and 24 in class II. The 8-day coaching course will end on May 24 with a certificate presentation.
Finally back in intensive training, the national silat team are eyeing the 2010 Southeast Asian Pencak Silat Championship to be held in the central province of Thanh Hoa in Vietnam from May 28 to June 4.
The team’s last international outing was the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos last December when Hj Md Khairul Bahrin Hj Duraman bagged the only gold medal for the Sultanate by winning the men’s tunggal event.
However, this time around Suhartono, the national silat coach, is taking the Vietnam trip to provide experience and exposure for the junior exponents that have moved up the ranks.
“We are looking to compete in Vietnam since this will be a good chance for the junior athletes that have been promoted to the national squad to get exposure. This is also a very good chance for them to prove themselves that they belong in the elite team,” said Suhartono, in an interview with The Brunei Times, during a training session at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas yesterday.
Being held for the second time, the inaugural edition two years ago saw Brunei return home with one gold, three silver and five bronze medals and Suhartono is hoping to improve on that medal haul but knows that it will be a difficult task.
“We’re aiming for more gold medals this time around. I want the athletes to put up a good performance and make a name for themselves,” said Suhartono.
“But it is going to be tough especially with the competition coming from the defending champions (Vietnam). I believe they prepared early, but we’re also expecting tough opposition from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia,” added the Indonesian.
Unlike the junior team that started training back in December to prepare for the Malaysia Games (Sukma), the senior squad only returned to full training about a month ago.
“Some had been training since returning from the SEA Games, but then those from the army (Royal Brunei Armed Forces) only just got released from their work commitments to return to training,” said the national coach.
In addition, Suhartono highlighted that they are hoping to get an early selection done to prepare for next year’s SEA Games as well.
The tournament will be used by the coach as a curtain raiser for the World Pencak Silat Championship from July 25-31 at Samarinda, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Brunei Darussalam National Pencak Silat Association (BDNPSA) will be holding a Pencak Silat coaching course on May 17 at 10.30am at the lecture theatre of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of another great master. Mohammed bin Chik, better known as Pak Mat Kedidi, passed on peacefully at his home in Endau, Johor at 1.05am this morning.
Silat Melayu: The Blog, Silat Melayu Community and SMC Innovations wish to convey their deepest condolences to his family, students and those who gained benefit from his knowledge.
The first time I trained in Malaysia was in August of 2009. At that time my Chinese-Malaysian friend, Sheung Di, arrange for me to train and film at several locations and in several arts in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
On that first trip, we hit: Boxx Warrior, Kru Jak Othman Muay Thai, Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 Guru Azlan Ghanie, and Silat Kalam with Guru Mazlan Man. On my return trip, in March 2010 I revisited each of them and added several new ones.
We began our Malaysian martial arts odyssey at Boxx Warrior, Ampang, which is a pro Muay Thai gym. The owner, Kirsty, a bright and educated Malay woman is a huge fan of Thai boxing. She brought four trainers from Thailand and runs her gym exactly like gyms in Thailand.
The Gym opened at 5:00 PM. I went in, warmed up and worked the heavy bags. Next, the trainers, who were all happy to talk to me in Thai, took me on the pads for three rounds of Muay Thai and two of boxing. What I really appreciated about the training was that the trainers made corrections. They watched my form and explained to me where I was off and what I need to improve on.
Kirsty told me, “My instructors know if they aren’t good, I will send them back where they came from.”
After pad work, we sparred. Once again, the trainers were excellent sparring partners, making you work for your supper, but they didn’t injure me or any of the other students. Of course, out of frustration, I often took cheap shots.
In addition to taking their fighters to Thailand for competitions, Boxx Warrior, Ampang is involved in promoting professional Muay Thai tournaments in Malaysia. Their leading boxer is Ediey Selendang Kunning (born Mohd Zandi Bin Mohd Zawawi) from Kelantan, where all of the great Malay boxers come from.
He weighs 63 kg of solid muscle and zero fat and has had 55 fights with only 4 loses. He fights often in Lumpini stadium in Bangkok, and during my second visit to Malaysia Ediey fought and defeated Zidov Dominik, the Croation Muay Thai fighter who was featured on the TV show “The Contender Asia”.
Next, we trained with Kru Jak Othman who owns a chain of Muay Thai schools. Kru Jak is also a recognized, high level Guru of many Silat styles. So, we shot multiple shows with him. Kru Jak and I hit it off extremely well, because he had trained in Kelantan, which is the fighting region of Malaysia.
Kelantan, in north Malaysia, borders on Thailand and Muay Thai or Tomoi as the Malays call it, is extremely popular. He grew up training Muay Thai and could also speak Thai. So, when we met, we were able to connect on the basis of both having been fighters and on understanding Thai culture.
Because of my first book, “The Monk from Brooklyn,” my nickname on the internet and in the press is often, Brooklyn Monk. Kru Jak is funny because he insists on calling me Monk. He also tells his students, “When the Monk is around, show him some respect.” Kru Jak also gets a kick out of the fact that I always call him Kru, which is the title for a Muay Thai teacher, and never Guru which is the title for a Silat teacher.
The Muay Thai program at Kru Jak’s place was really interesting. His students were primarily college students or working young people with executive jobs who needed to release stress. “They come to my club and punch it out.” Said Kru Jak. Jak knows that it is an interest in hard-core professional Muay Thai that brings people into the gym, but in his words, “If you put them through a real Muay Thai workout on Monday, you’d be all alone on Tuesday.”
He recognizes that Muay Thai training is hard and injuries and pain are inevitable. The only reason Thais, Khmers, and Kelantanese do it is because they need to go fight in a ring to earn money. But middle-class Malaysians aren’t motivated by a need to earn $60 USD in a fight. They want to have fun and get in shape. If the program was as injurious as pro Muay Thai training, students would quit right and left. And Chinese parents would never allow their kids to practice a sport where they might get kicked in the head.
In response to the needs of the students, rather than to the stated needs of the students, Kru Jak developed an innovative training program to suit the modern educated, city dwellers. The program starts with Phase One, where students learn cardio kickboxing. I say cardio kickboxing, but this isn’t Thai Bo. They actually learn real kicks and punches and use the pads and gloves, but the intent at this level is to teach very basic techniques and fitness.
At Phase Two, students put on belly protectors and body guards, and they practice hitting each other with set combinations. Eventually, at Phase Four they start sparring and can also fight in professional or amateur Muay Thai competitions. In addition to Muay Thai, Kru Jak has special evening seminars where he teaches Muay Boran or ancient Tomoi techniques to his students. He also teaches Silat Tomoi.
Many of the Silat styles taught in Malaysia involve one or more blades. Kru Jak’s hands move at the speed of light, and with a knife in each hand he absolutely shreds anything he attacks. In Silat Tomoi, the same techniques are added to Muay Thai. So even in unarmed combat, Kru Jak moves in close and shreds his opponent with his hands, elbows and knees.
In the old days, in Kelantan, this is how professional fights were done. There were no gloves. Fighters wrapped their hands with cords and then they fought, using kicks, punches, knees, elbows, grappling, and Silat style, ripping and tearing.
One of my projects on this second trip to Malaysia is that Kru Jak and I are producing a professional quality DVD on Silat Tomoi which should enjoy a US and Australian release in June of 2010.
Another Silat teacher I trained with on my first trip was Guru Azlan Ghanie who teaches Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9, an internal style of Silat which is good for health and could almost be considered a Silat version of Tai Chi. In addition to his special style, he was knowledgeable about a number of Silat styles and weapons. In fact, his office looked like a cutlery factory, with swords, knives and bladed weapons of every description.
When I trained with him, Guru Azlan asked me to get him various wrestling holds, and in spite of being much smaller than me, he was able to break free. It was a very interesting style and reminded me so much of Chinese styles where old men and women are able to preserve their health but also break free of the grip of much younger assailants.
On that first trip, I also trained with Guru Mazlan Man, who teaches Silat Kalam, a highly practical fighting form of Silat. Silat Kalam included a lot of grappling and locking, as in Hap Kido and practical, no energy throws, like Aikido, but the locks and finishing holds were very unique, different from any other martial art or MMA style I had been exposed to.
Guru Mazlan was very religious, a devout Muslim, and only agreed to let me train with him after a lengthy interview process. During that interview, he told me that everything we do in life, all good things, are because of God. “We breathe because of God. We walk because of God. And we can use Silat, because of God.” I liked that phrase and it became the title of our video, “Martial Arts Odyssey Because of God.”
Guru Mazlan Man invited me to return to Malaysia and become his full time student and work as his assistant. And that is what I am doing at the time of this writing. Each day, I train with the Guru in the afternoon, then I train with Kru Jak Othman, learning Muay Thai and Silat Tomoi.
Guru Mazlan’s style includes a limited number of movements and only takes a few months to learn, but of course, to truly use the techniques you need to practice intensely and over time. The Guru wants me to be ready to help him teach courses to the Malaysian national police force, beginning in two months time.
One of the very special aspects of my relationship with Guru Mazlan is that he has never agreed to teach his style to a non-Muslim before. I feel very honored. And we both agree that his teaching me sends a signal of inclusion to the different races and religions of Malaysia and to the world. Right now, the government of Malaysia is pushing a slogan of “Satu Malaysia”, or “One Malaysia.”
Malaysia is an amazingly unified and stable country, considering that it is home to some many completely different languages, races, and religions. My association with the Guru embodies this spirit of unity.
Because the art is so closely tied to religion, I also receive daily lessons in the religion and language of the Muslim people of Malaysia. I feel extremely honored and lucky because not many westerners have had an opportunity to be so closely associated with this important world religion which plays so deeply on our foreign relations.
Guru Mazlan hopes that we will be doing a series for Malaysian TV about my training with him. After that, in addition to working as an instructor here he hopes that I can spread the art outside of Malaysia. “Send it to the world.” He said. “You will spread the teaching, either through your direct teaching or through your videos and books.”
Insha Allah.
In doing Martial Arts Odyssey, I travel from place to place, meeting different masters. Some I film with and interview. Others, I actually stay and study with. The brand new styles that I have added to my own repertoire during these many years include: Khmer Boxing, Bokator, Kuntaw, and Muay Chaiya. But now I have added Silat Tomoi, Silat Kalam, and Kyokushin Karate to my list of arts I am actually studying and hope to absorb.
On the Malaysian Island of Penang, I met with Grand Master Anbananthan, a teacher of the Indian martial art of Silambam. Silambam is an Indian stick fighting art, which has nearly died out in India. In all of the research I have done, every source has credited Grand Master Anbananthan and his team in Penang as having preserved the art.
The Grand Master returned to India recently and said that the Silambam he saw practiced there was no longer pure, it had become influenced by other martial arts and possibly movies.
Silambam is a very unique form of stick fighting in that the stick is an odd length. In most other martial arts, you use a long stick, such as a staff, which is close to the height of a man. The stick is held in three sections and is wielded with two hands. Or you use two short sticks, one in each hand.
But the Silambam stick is shorter than a staff but much longer than two short sticks. It is also wielded with two hands, but normally the two hands are close together and you swing the length of the stick at your opponent. The practice is all about learning to control and direct the stick on these huge, lightning fast swings.
Finally, on this trip, we visited Kyokushin Karate and I immediately added it to the list of martial arts I am now practicing. My first exposure to Kyokushin came from my Khmer boxing trainer, Paddy Carson, who is a Second Dan or second degree black belt in Kyokushin.
Paddy loves western boxing and had been involved in professional western boxing as well as kick boxing, Muay Thai and Khmer Boxing for more than forty years, but he always spoke with love about the ten or more years he was involved in Kyokushin.
Kyokushin is full contact karate. They fight barefisted and they kick with their shins, like Muay Thai. The only thing they can’t do in a fight is punch in the face, but they can kick in the face, and they wail on each other’s bodies with punches, knees and kicks. The founder of Kyokushin is Mas Oyama, who is on my list of top five greatest martial artists who ever lived. His personal training regime was insane and I never tire of reading biographies about him.
In Malaysia the primary Kyokushin school is located in Selangor, minutes from my apartment, and is run by Shihan Michael Ding. Before we began training, I watched Michael doing his conditioning work. He was pounding a bamboo post with his shins and fists to harden the bones and toughen the skin.
In my training with Shihan Michael and a senior student named Chris Tan, I was asked to do countless knuckle pushups on the hard, wooden floor. I say “asked” because I only managed about fifty, when I thought my knuckle bones would come through my skin. After that, we did a number of painful drills, including drills where you stand still and let someone kick you and punch you. Then you switch, and your partner stands still and you kick and punch him.
It was brutal, wonderful, and tough. I loved Kyokushin and now I am making arrangements with Shihan Michael so I can train on a regular basis while I am in Malaysia.
I took an apartment in Selangor, right behind Kru Jak’s club so I can train everyday and also so I can attend practice for the DVD filming. The apartment is near the train, so I can go see Guru Mazlan each day. Hopefully we will find an acceptable way to work Kyokushin training into the routine. And, of course, I continue to do Martial Arts Odyssey episodes about other martial arts.
Antonio now has a paypal account. The only way he can keep filming and writing is with the help and support of people who enjoy reading his stories and watching his videos. You can donate through Antonio’s facebook profile, or you can click on this link and donate directly. If you can help, thank you so much. If you can’t help, don’t worry about it. I know things are tough out there. But, either way, please keep watching and enjoying Martial Arts Odyssey. I never wanted this to become a huge business, and I wanted everyone in the world to be able to watch for free.
I received some distressing news this afternoon. Pak Jaafar Md Isa, guru utama of Silat Harimau Bentara Garang has passed away in a Melaka hospital.
The late Pak Jaafar was the nephew of Mahaguru Yahya Said, source of all Silat Kalimah and Silat Cekak strains currently existing today. Pak Jaafar himself claimed to have inherited 4 different variants of the Cekak style, of which he was in the midst of propagating since the middle of last year.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, we have lost a gem, who was just about to be discovered again. The first and last time I met him was during the TekpiWorks Seminar organised by SMC Innovations and Whyfit Sport Adventure last year. He was a humble and quiet man, but one who shared his knowledge selflessly.
