Hi! I'm new here, I am from the Southern Philippines, my martial arts is Galak Sipring from Sulu Province. Its great here in this forum, I've learned a lot just reading your view and comments.
Hello tauhid_87, nice to hear from you. How is your training going on? My training partner was in Tawi-Tawi, said it's a very beautifull place. I will go down south this coming August to train.
Hello krys, How are you? My training is going fine, when are you coming to Zamboanga City? Hope we can meet and share our martial arts. I just talk with my guru (Guru Haron Ladja) and he is looking forward to meeting you, at the moment he is in Jolo, Sulu. How is your training in Silat with Master Yasser? Hi! Ghost, Thanks a lot. What is your martial arts style?
Hello tauhid_87, I'm fine but can't wait to return. I will probably settle to Manila this coming May and visit Zamboanga in August. Yes it would be great to meet you there and practice. I will go to Basilan too and also plan to visit Sulu. My silat training is fine, although I train alone. I will start to teach escrima to friends this week. Master Yasser is going to Europe this coming March, he may stay one month in my place. Regards, Krys.
Hello friend Krys, just don't forget to email me before you come. I will be waiting. Always train and train. By the just want to know did your guru thought you sipring or spring martial arts? Just curious? Hi there Knightcommander, Thanks for your warm welcome. tauhid_87!
I'll e-mail you tauhid, last time I was really busy (christmas time in the PI ). My guro knows an art called supring (maybe I spell it wrong and it is spring or sipiring). He didn't teach it to me yet, but once we were talking about supring and he started to demonstrate double knive, I don't know if this was supring but it looked quite interesting. There is really something deep about southern filipino martial arts. Out of curiosity didn't guro Haron stay in Sumatra for a while? Maybe I am confusing him with another master. I heard there is an southern filipino guro who lived in Sumatra and brought an art practiced by sumatra natives called Chaka (or Tchaka) to the Philippines....
Yes, your right there something deep about southern filipino martial arts whether its empty hands or weapons. To answer your question maybe yes and no, my master is famous in basilan, sulu & tawi-tawi also borneo but sumatra i didnt heard him said it, he stayed in borneo a long time but he is already great in his martial arts. I remember him said to me and my brothers that the time he lost a fight is when he was in kota kinabalo, can you believe that a girl beat him, broke his leg but he told us he made it intentional so that the father and the girl will teach him the martial art, that martial art galak sipring and pinjak. Amazing, sacrifice yourself in order to learn from them.Guru haron told us only when he came back from kotakinabalo he master the style galak sipring and pinjak in Jolo, sulu and not Kotakinabalo. Krys, is your silat fast or like lighting? I heard from my brothers in Sulu Province when you graduate in silat, you are tied in the tree then your master will chop you, you will have to defend your self but very fast to untied the rope then block the bolo or borong or kriss. Do you believe this? Me personally, I didn't saw this but people have eye witness. I just have to see it with my eyes...... regards, tauhid_87
Amazing that he let a girl break his leg to learn.... Just curious is the art "pinjak" penjak silat or another art? I know there is an empty hand art called "escrima" practiced by some chinese of Borneo, I think it's a mix of chinese martial arts and local arts, it is different from filipino escrima. Borneo, and especially mount Kinabalu is a place I want to visit... I don't know why but there are silat and Kuntao masters living in/the proximity of the mountain. Sabah once belonged to the sultanate of Sulu and many filipinos stay there. The natives still practice very old and efficient martial arts but you have to be carefull because the place is dangerous. One of my brothers survived poisoning attempts by his ennemies there. I have a close sama friend from Tawi-Taw who wanted to introduce me to a sama kuntao master living in Kota Kinabalu a few years ago but I hadn't enough time. He said that to test you this man would throw peper to your face before attacking you and you'd have to defend yourself. I think my hands are fast but my masters silat is like lightning. Once he asked me to attack him, my fist barely moved when he was on my right side and his toes lightly touched my temple, he then said: "we don't kick high, but you have to know how it is done to see it coming"....I didn't see him move at all. I know he can do amazing things but cannot really speak about it....
You have to see pinjak and judge it yourself because you are well traveled and experience other martial arts in silat or any kind. I will show you pinjak but I know pinjak is the higher form of galak sipring. I wish I can meet your master and it for my self, my brothers have seen him but not empress but I have to see it with my eyes. Great technique, moves just lighting AWESOME!!!!When you come I will show you in God's time. Just be careful when you are in Tawi-Tawi, some local are friendly but bad (I meant when you are gooder than them, they get jealous, you know what I meant). Im very excited with all of this martial arts, silat have maybe arrived, at least it will be recognize how great this arts (silat) is. Krys, just visited this forum, I try to come here daily if I can, just to read other martial arts ideas and knowlegde. I will answer your question on tausug silat, what I only know. Martial Arts here is different from the outside world, here you will be amaze what martial arts to them thats why they rarely teach it to foreigner (local or foreign). They only teach a little. I also believe martial arts here in the southern philipines (tausug silat or kuntao) is dying only few them are learning, the masters are getting old and sick like my master. maybe because of poverty, sickness etc. They will bring it to their grave.....then everthing is lost. Hoping like my generation today some are dedicated to be true martial artists.
One of my brothers, who is also an Illustrissimo expert, and I will go to Zamboanga and then to Basilan if god wills next August together with our master. It would be an opportunity to meet.... My training partner was invited by the governor of Tawi-Tawi so there shouldn't be problems but I'll be carefull. That is true, I've learned Indonesian and Malaysian silat but find filipino silat very different. The warrior culture of the southern Philippines is still alive and you can see its greatness in its martial arts. Silat is very rarely taught, even to other filipinos, and I was very lucky to be able to learn it as a froeigner. Southern escrima is also very different from mainstream escrima, the muslim inspired Illustrissimo style is a good example for it. I find filipino muslims culture very interesting and am glad to count many friends among the community. Yakan, Sama silat and kuntao are also diying....many of the youth are not interested or prefer to learn other martial arts like tkd ...the old men often prefer to take their art to the grave than to teach it to the wrong persons. One good thing is that they didn't sell their arts and preserved their integrity. Hopefully some of us will be able to keep the tradition alive, It would be very interesting to hear about Tausug martial arts and culture as Tausug warriors have a fierce reputation.
