Salam hormat all, I've heard various terms used to refer to the Nusantaran fighting arts. As I understand it, these different words were born in different areas of the islands. If that is true, therefore the understanding of what makes up these fighting arts must also be different, as "Dagger" is different from "Keris". My question: Does anyone know what each term means in their respective areas and what aspects of fighting/ culture/ religion the term encompasses? Salam persilatan,
Salam diMas ... semoga diMas sehat wal'afiat, lahir dan bathin ... diMas, I think language together with cultural milieu is the differentiating factor in all fighting/movement methods. This is true not just amongst the ethnic groupings of Nusantara, but also world wide. I think broadly speaking we can separate the strategy's employed by homo sapiens to be striking/kicking, take-down throwing and grappling methods and then you have combinations of those. E.g. throwing will always utilise knowing how to feel the fulcrum of balance and will naturally use power from the hips ... doesn't make a difference which art. So back to language ... we mean the same things but different translations ... it is all silat, it is all wu shu, it is all martial arts, it's all pencak ... About the Keris ... take away the cultural significance and you basically have a steel implement for stabbing ... so it's a dagger by practical and immediately observable definition. The cultural significance is not readily apparent unless you live the culture. Same observation and application of direct observable experience applies to the katana, the sabre, the foil, spear, halberd and so on.
... and further I guess that in my sig I give an idea what meanings I grew up with, as far as the terminology I am used to. Rahayu,
Salam hormat Pak, It's been a long time, certainly. You are right, great minds think alike and we have many of those strewn across Nusantara. In Malaysian silat, if we boil it down to their essences, every movement depends upon the intention (Niyyat) of the pesilat. It is Niyyat that determines what the movement is targeted for. So it can be Pukulan (Inducement) - Kicking & Striking in yours Buangan (Imbalance) - Take down throwing in yours Kuncian (Immobilisation) - Grappling in yours, and Tapak (Travelling) - not mentioned This produces a four point prism that affects each other, Tapak (Earth) producing energy and torque through the joints of the body to effect either a Pukulan (Fire) by inducing pain through pinching, slapping, punching, kicking, whatever via overloading energy into low energy areas, or, Buangan (Water) by channeling power from Tapak through the limbs and imbalancing the opponent via straight line, rotation, unlocking joints etc and coming behind his energy and augmenting its speed to take control of his direction to take him down, throw him overhead or just making him fall over of his own accord via stepping up his energy, or, Kuncian (Wind) by channeling through his joints by forcing his energy backwards to the source of his energy generation, either the pusat on the hips or, even more difficult, but doable, the feet via suppressing his energy. How this is taught is of course, naturally, if you're lucky to meet such an old-style master, and not the modern do as I do, buah-based, photocopy methods. The one I've discovered teaches through the 7 Petua Gerak: Ruang, Titik, Alif, Lam Alif, Jantan Betina, Mata Angin and Jengkal. We discussed this long ago, I think. Each of the 7 exist in a sequence and depending on which direction you go in the sequence: Forwards (Pukulan), Backwards (Kuncian) or Oscillation (Buangan) will give you the effect you're looking for depending on your Niyyat. So, at the micro level, a pukulan is a buangan is a kuncian, depending on what the opponent does and how you react to him, but honestly, against a real Pendekar, only the opponent on the receiving end knows what is actually happening, and is often powerless to stop it. So, is this similar irrespective of the terminology I used? I've missed you Pak! Salam persilatan,
DiMas, I think that people have a tendency for making things more complex than they need to be. I am a very simple man so I try to keep it simple so that my poor head can understand hehe! Niat is the intent and it is logical that there is the intent, the impulse to action, followed by action and movement (gerak). However, (see above ... I am a simple man) this codifying to such a degree to my mind counter-productive because it is the obvious. For me it is simply this; when a person is studying a movement/fighting art, they have to learn and internalise the movement principles and body/mind culture of the art they have attached to. This in itself is best not to use words but to allow the body wisdom to learn and absorb thru direct experience. Experience through practice is the best teacher . The humanity and philosophy of the cultural milieu should always be present as well. Back to the OT, terminology in my style comes from everyday language (Javanese). So we have such terms as kuncian (lock), tutupan (also locking/ hampering), bantingan (throw), tebak (punch), tapak (referring to series of palm/strikes such as gampar, kepret, ngiris / tepis etc), tendangan (kicks), ngulet (sinuous movement), surung (push), geret / cemet (c=ch) (pull), tubruk (shoulder strike) etc. But you are correct ... in the end we do not process thinking like this when we need to move. By this time we need to want to be able to just move and respond without weighing this or that. First there is will, then it is move ... or not! Thank you for missing me diMas :hat:, I've missed you too!
