"The play is the thing"

by Mike Casto

The terms "play" and "player" are used a lot in the Southeast Asian martial arts of Kali and Silat … but what do they really mean?

If you walk up to an old-school Kali or Silat practitioner and ask to "play," you're likely to end up bruised and bloodied in short order. Most Americans don't think of this as "play." To the average American mindset, the term "play" is something that kids do and that adults don't have time for.

Many Americans think that martial arts should be a "labor of love" … with an emphasis on "labor." They feel that it should be approached with the utmost seriousness. Is this wrong? Not as such. Many fine martial artists are very serious about their training. Many Kali and Silat practitioners (respectfully) view these folks as somewhat stuffy.
A "player," in the mindset of many Kali and Silat practitioners, is one who practices, trains, and fights for no other reason that the sheer joy of it. It's not about trophies, ranks, money, or recognition.

In our school's formal Kali salutation (from John Lacoste originally), there is a line that says, "I cherish the knowledge my instructor has given me for it is my life in combat." I think that this is the reason for the mindset in the old-school practitioners (or us new-school practitioners who try to carry on this spirit). They weren't training to win their next tournament. They were training to survive their next fight. Their view was that they could die any day or any moment … so they enjoyed what they are doing to its fullest.

For many martial artists, training is something they see as a means to an end. Whether that end is a trophy or a rank or money, whatever, they see the training as something of a necessary evil. They may enjoy the training, but if they could achieve their goal without the training, they would.

For a "player," the training and fighting are methods of relaxation. A player is never happier than when he's trying not to get hit by a stick. For a player, the training is about camaraderie and respect, but it's also about having fun. Most players are lighthearted and laid back in their training. They're more concerned with having fun in their training than they are in being formal.

Many people get more concerned about whether a technique is done "properly" than whether or not it's effective. Guro Dan Inosanto says that one of the things he loved about training in the Filipino and Indonesian martial arts was that nothing was ever "wrong." The only criteria a player has to judge "right" and "wrong" techniques is whether or not the technique can be effectively applied. He tells a story about one of his instructors, Angel Cabales, the founder of Cabales Serrada Eskrima. Guro Dan would show Grandmaster Cabales a technique and ask if it was right. Angel would say, "You can do it that way." What was implied in this statement was, "I wouldn't do it that way … but if it works for you, use it … if it doesn't, don't."

To be a "player" has nothing to do with aptitude … it's all about attitude. Players do take the art seriously … but they train in a lighthearted environment. I don't think this attitude is exclusive to the Southeast Asian martial arts … but that's where I first encountered it. I think there are "players" in every art.

To continue this, Willem "Uncle Bill" de Thouars is fond of saying, "Play with children and play like children. It keeps you young." On one hand, he means, literally, to play with children when you have the chance and to play like children when you play. But he's also talking about the martial arts. When he teaches, he stresses this also. It should be play … not work. It should be something we work at … but not work. It should be a form of stress relief, not a source of stress. And, in his mid-60s, Uncle Bill is one of the oldest "kids" I know. He has more energy on his slow days than I, at 31, have on my best days.