I never said all training methodologies are equal, nor are they all equal in thier individual areas of striving. Heck, Silat is not a style, but a grouping, and not all silat are equal at specific things. Which why I really can't talk about Silat as a singular entity. There is great variety out there. What I did imply was: do not underestimate anyone. My involvement in this stuff is that it offers some good tools to put in my toolbox. It's good stuff. I've found good stuff elsewhere too, but this stuff suits me.
...Malay is not short for Malaysia it means all of the countries & islands in the vicinity of Malaysia, Indonesia & Filipines... brother, i'm FILIPINO- believe me, when i say "Malay", it pertains to all of us brownskinned peoples in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and all other ouitlying islands located in the vicinity; i breathe So.East Asian air, as well as FMA & Silat, so you don't need to 'clarify' this to me. ...So what I meant was that Kuntao/Cun-Tao/Kuntaw from South East Asia that had the Silat combat flavor was a close second and NOT a Chinese kuntao style from China or wherever that looked like straight up Kung Fu... -again, it seems you're comin from a very 'occidental' perspective: most, if not a majority of silat styles from so.east asia have 'kuntaw' or similar tactics/techniques in their systems- whether they admit this or not; better visit some of the islands here in the So.East before you can say this. more often than not, true indigenous silat is very hybrid, so combos of artforms can be very prolific, whether its similar to chinese, malay, thai, indian, etc. combat arts. you therefore see seamlessness in execution. its just in the West where 'branding' can be so insistent (or irritating...)- even if its not warranted. if you visit Jolo (where the Tausugs can be found), you'll know what i say. to those who have done tours throughout the So.East Asian archipelago, i'm sure you'd agree...
Not sure why that ****ed you off but oh well! The way you asked the question needed the answer I gave! Don't know what your talking about unless you don't understand that there is Kuntao that is pure Chinese Kung Fu with NO Silat what so ever! What I meant by my original statement was not to confuse people with these other styles of Kuntao/Kung Fu from other areas. The Kuntao I refere to is from SEA and has the old school combat flavor whether it's mixed with Silat striking, stepping, philosphy or whatever it is not Jackie Chan type Kung Fu! Sincerely, Teacher: Eddie Ivester
hmmm...ok; guess i read it from a different perspective, thus understanding it in a manner different from what you were trying to bring to the fore- sorry for that. thanks for your inputs though...
salaams,ive trained with several teachers in silat,and found pukulan cimande pusaka to have so many more elements to it,strikes,throws,locks,village jurus,weapons,animal expressions,.but what makes it great are the principles behind it,it is very hard to track the off timing movements and poison hand whipping,multiple strikes..i even once made the comment that the snake would not work,that it was awkward and useless..wow!!i was definetly wrong..sometimes you have to feel these things,not see them and form uneducated opinions...i highly suggest you look into this art,you may like it may not,but atleast check it out.............
Actually, if you were serious about 'staying alive' you'd put yourself first, before any martial art system. You would look at all arts objectively, and realise the shortcomings of all of them, and fit the pieces together. i.e. 'I want to be the best fighter I can be'. There is a difference between that and saying 'Silat (or insert any other martial art here) is the best fighting style there is'.
Good Point Excellent point, well-said. I think a better question might be: What was it that drew you to silat? If you were born to it, if it was what was available, then that is different than if you came to it for other reasons. After thirty-odd years of martial arts, first seeing the silat that I now practice demonstrated was eye-opening and impressive. It seemed so logical and reasonable the way the teacher explained it, and it did things I didn't know how to do. I wasn't looking for another art, thought I knew enough to take care of myself, and, in fact, had turned down a couple of offers to drop by and watch a class. When I saw the demo, almost by accident, I was hooked. The guy teaching it had moves I immediately recognized would serve to tie me into knots without him having to breathe hard. After I began training, I learned of an old saying, "You don't choose silat, silat chooses you." and while that may not be true for everyone, it certainly seemed that it was for me. I couldn't not try to learn it, once I'd seen it. (Part of this was because I had made up a martial art for a book I'd written, and when I saw pentjak silat, realized that it was the closest thing to my ideaiized style that I had ever seen.) Not the be-all, end-all that would make somebody into a superman, but it did -- and does -- have an efficiency than is better than the arts I had studied before. As you say, you ought never to discount the fighter because of his art, but I certainly liked the ideas and tools I saw in silat.
Have to agree with you there, Steve, although I was satisfied with the JKD, Wing Chun and Inosanto Kali I was learning, when I saw Guru Dan Inosanto teach his Maphilindo Silat blend, I was hooked! I really liked the harimau and BN we were learning, it had a very efficient feel to it. Malaysian bersilat is just wicked! What drew me the most to BN at first and later Sera, was the fact that those arts seemed to use a different set of assumptions than other arts. Kind of like everybody thinking the Earth is flat with the Sun and stars revolving around it, and then suddenly someone pointing out the Earth is really round and circling the Sun. Silat definitely chose me. Hormat
Absolutely Steve, and being drawn to it rather than born to it, is spot on. I actualy think that sometimes we are taking on a lot in terms of Silat & it's cultural package. It is a different art to the more institutionalised ones we are used to. And yes, sometimes all of us that do not have the cultural underpinning knowledge, can get our terminologies etc. a bit wrong or mixed up, but hey, we're all still doing it so it must be worth it. I 100% agree with Steve on this one. Certainly for me Silat fits better than all the rest.
It all comes down the to the individual fighter, though. I've met some Pesilat who I would place money on being handily defeated by an average Judoka. Of course, I get the impression that my experience with Silat was the exception, not the rule.
can someone please tell me. is silat and filipino styles such as rapid arnis related or siimiliar? cheers
There are similarities, yes.... fluidity being a main one, attitude being another, and we both deal with weapons: knives, sticks etc. But I think they are not similar enough to be easily compared.
