Significance of the art of Kembangan (Tari, dance etc)

[pakehraja]

Salam pesilat,
I would like to relate my experience of learning silat.
I studied silat as part of my school curricular activities (In Malaysia) It was either boy scout or silat, I chose silat. The training sessions were about two hours a week (during school term only) . After one and half year I graduated to Khatam (Closure?).

Somehow I never felt I could actually fight. I believe I miss something. I kept on training, not on daily basis, probably once in a blue moon, just so I would not forget.

After so many years, I decided to relearn the stuff. This time behind closed door situation, luckily I found those people who are well versed in the style. They showed me the routine of the movement (jurus/belebat and kembangan), and I told them this is what I actually learn years ago. They didnt say anything, but ask me to go through my movements again, there they highlight my mistakes, not in anything big, but surprisingly in little, little thing. When I tried to correct, I found it difficult. And soon I realise, the mistake is rooted mostly in my kembangan (actually we call it 'tari' (dance)). In the style, the kembangan is like a beautiful traditional malay dance, performed very slowly. When I seen them do the kembangan, I kept thinking, why is it different? Try as I might to mimick the movement, it didn't kick in, the feel is different. To the naked eye, I might seem to do exactly what they are doing. For a few weeks, I tried to get it right, until it does not feel like a technique, rather like performing piece of art. Once I got the 'feel' of the particular movement, everything is clearer, for example when they explain a particular technique, intuitively I could assume the correct posture and muscle coordination to execute it.

Believe you me, once you got the feel of your kembangan, not the movement of it but the 'seni' (art) of it, your technique will improve exponentially. Now I understand why some people say pendekars can gauge each other just by seeing each other kembangan, and then decide whether to go on fighting or not.

I dont blame my previous teacher. Imagine learning once a week, and with as many as 40 students in one go, the teacher could never give attention to everybody's little things.

Of course, the hard training in Jurus is a must, but without your 'seni', you are only half as good as you should be.

Just my experience...

Salam silat
Pakehraja