hello all to the silat stylists here ! :Angel: Was wondering if you could share a thought worth a dime and maybe a book or two about the myriad styles of Silat practiced in your corner of the world ? Im just a fellow learning filippino martial arts and would like to crosstrain some or maybe a single silat style to my already growing FMA skills. Please no instruction books about this style and that; although they are a good way to learn about silat, but that will lead me to learn a single style... :woo: what i want to learn more about, is the martial culture and history of the many silat styles practiced in Indonesia and Malaysia, and the sharing of concepts and ideas within the FMA styles of Southern Mindanao. do y'all have any ideas on where to start ? Hope you all understand what im trying to explain here...
There's a book out by Donn Dreager that I heard was very informative about Silat. I'm sure if you look up his name on Google or Yahoo you'll find out more.
The book thread referenced by Crucible references most books on Silat that are available and a few that aren't anymore. The Draeger book is the best general one to start with. The problem with a book is that it doesn't give you a very good sense of the movements. I think most of the other Silat guys would agree that you're going to need to watch somebody do it sooner or later. In terms of what you're thinking of doing, crosstraining those two makes for a complimentary mix. I did it myself for several years. Good luck.
No. Personal research. I want to find out how the silat combat arts in indonesia/malaysia influenced the fighting-culture in Philippines, and how these styles remained dominant or inspired the muslim filippinos to adapt their native combat skills, religious influence etc... and also how i can combine silat and eskrima effectively together and attempt to merge two styles into one to create a personal, and effective (lethal, merciless) combat style. will take me years of practice, research and trial and error, but thats simply the price to pay for creating a style to call your own and pass on to the next generation..
Bob Orlando The Bob Orlando book "Brutal Arts of the Archipelago" is great for silat. Very good pictures and text and explanation of silat.
I think the best book at the moment about Pencak Silat is the book written by Oong Maryono: Pencak Silat, Merentang Waktu. He also made an English translation: Pencak Silat in the Indonesian Archipelago. Garuda... (P.S. I think I have written this recommendation also somewhere else on this forum)
This is a story of Blaise Loong, a Chiricahua Apache from Arizona who has learnt Silat Seni Gayong, the most renowned silat style in Malaysia. http://onnjadi.tripod.com/bloong.htm
