Salam hormat, This is probably an explosive issue, but seeing as the forum members have been pretty civil these last few threads, I thought I'd try. What do you think/ assume/ know is unique about your particular style/system? It can be technical or spiritual, but please, nothing as inane as the name of teacher or training venue (of course it's unique!). A good thing I hope to come out of this is we get to know each others' style a little better and a bad thing with silver lining is that we find out whether what he have is truly unique or otherwise (amongst ourselves at least). Let me start off with what I think is unique about the styles I studied. Silat Cekak Hanafi -blue uniform -uses a Lading in reverse grip Silat Melayu Keris Lok 9 -Tapak 9, a relatively static method of training balance and is the core for all footwork in our style. Silat Kuntau Tekpi -couldn't think of any Silat Sendeng -couldn't think of any Silat Kalimah -locks, strikes and throws based off salat, the Muslim prayer. Hmmmm.... any takers? Taker? You taking? Salam persilatan,
Salam taklim, Silat Sekar Wana is my own silat distilled from my father's influence, R. Suyono Pryosusilo, the influence of my other respected teacher Prof. Li Pei Dong and practical experience. It is now my family silat ... Most silat teach technique/application first ... sometimes through jurus ... and the pesilat gradually understands how to move following that ... We learn how to move first in relation to body structure, tonus and gravity, then gradually unfold technique/application from that. I call the process lelaku (the way we follow) and it is the foundation to our gerak nurani (inspired movement - movement from the light of the eye). Cheers.
Hmm.. this is inteesting Terima Kasih Saiful... i dont know how much my input would contribute to this thread but i hope it would be useful in Pukulan melaka, we have only one jurus. the jurus is only taught at the end of the first level, wich acts as an index (in most silats is the case) to the movement and technique learnt in each level. the jurus then evolves at the end of each other level, in the sense that additions are made to the original jurus. Application is taught before jurus. what i like of this method is that more emphasis and time is dedicated to the practicality of the art instead of 20 or 30 jurus's. we have less than 10 hand to hand techniques, and less than 10 defensive technique in kicking. its very easy method to learn. This flows into Seni and weaponry as well. i have learnt some Kaedah of Silat kalimah, and very interesting to learn the Takbir Technique hehe (Saiful will know what i mean). when i think of other unique qualities of our silat, then i'll post again. Salam Persilatan
No offense taken Krisno, I'm a pakde a few times over anyway Glad to see you haven't completely moved on yet. I stumbled on this video yesterday. Youtube and the like have squillions of clips of silat, but this is only the second one of Guru Jak doing Harimau Berantai I have ever found. Then I see my teacher sneak in at the end of the clip and realise it's one of his videos Just thought some of you guys might like to see it. As for uniqueness, I think it has to be the nut wrenching or Guru Jak's trademark hairdo.
I thought it was a move depicting the slashing of femoral artery ... but a flick in the nuts is preferable . What's wrong with the hairdo? It looks just like mine used to ... although now I'm nearly Pak Botak lol! Cheers!
Rambut boufant! Of course Om Krisno, With pisau it is a slash across the eyes, slit down the stomach via the crown jewels and cut to the femoral. Getting caught in the nuts practising that with an aluminium trainer......ouch my biji! Umm, starting to get a bit botak in the dahi area myself but abu2(?) is more of a problem for me.:cry:
Salam hormat, Ahhhh... guru Jak. I don't mind saying that I have had the privilege of having his buttocks sandwich my head into the mat. (We were practising Harimau Berantai drills in a free seminar at my university where all the martial arts clubs turned up when I accidentally flowed from one of his drills into a Silat Cekak buah. He goes, "Hey! That's interesting! Now everybody watch, I'll show you how we can make that hurt more. You boy, punch me...") I used to hang out at his studio in Taman Setapak Indah until he moved it to Ampang (and now to Sunway). Sad to say, the trademark bouf is gone, but the curls still bunch at the end. His speed remains constant, if not improving. I sometimes wonder just how much faster he would become after a detox. What's unique about Pencak Silat Harimau Berantai? -Jak Othman's smile -Jak Othman's voice -Jak Othman's laugh -T-Shirt and Batik (at least unique in Malaysia) -Jak Othman's students' Malaysian/ world records -Jak Othman's legs in Muay Thai shorts. With respect of course... Salam persilatan,
Salam hormat Pak Krisno, I have an article here http://silat-melayu.blogspot.com/2008/01/buah-born-or-barakah-nurture-nature-and.html that might be relevant to what you mean. Would you mind telling me if what is written in this article as Expression Method describes your process of Lelaku? Could you also describe Gerak Nurani more for me? Terima kasih. Salam persilatan daripada adikmu,
The drunken master or the Sane man style? We only use human styles. And we use it to fight the animals within us. Is than unique?hehe..
Dimas Saiful, you are a very good writer, there is no doubt. The article is right on the spot, very scientific! As you know silat is a survival response that grows from a perceived need. I see the need for my children who are growing up in a culture that is foreign to me in many ways, and my driving concern is that they will not properly understand their Jawanese heritage, therefore I have a duty to the spirit of my ancestors and family. The aim of our training is 5 fold: 1. To live according to our family principles of humanity and compassion, that all life is from a single source and will return to that source. 2. To develop maintain and sustain a healthy, clean mind and body infrastructure. 3. To develop risk assessment techniques applied to any potential situation using the OODA loop process as 2nd nature. 4. To develop a deep level of body-mind intelligence & intuition whereby the physiological and psychological reaction is appropriate to the situation when it is time to act ... and this at its purest level is what we call gerak nurani, or inspired movement. 5. To develop a quiet confidence in our own abilities, with humility and sobriety. I come from a village background, my people have been rice farmers for generations as well as being warriors during the colonial era against the Dutch till my time. I changed the pattern and now live in Australia away from my ancestral home, so the way of training that I have at my disposal is necessarily different in this era and place. To attempt to answer your question, lelaku is a combination of Impression Method (IM), Expression Method (EM) and Activation Method (AM). With regard to AM, the searcher will eventually reach the place whereby they 'self-activate' in response to necessity, completely physiologically and psychologically. I think all people reach that point at some time in their lives, the crunch time where one is required to act ... no other way out! To address our stated training aims, I focus on the development of : 1. Our understanding of Kejawen philosophy, which forms the framework (EM, AM) 2. Responsiveness to surrounds (tanggap sasmita). (EM, AM) 3. Rasa - the requirement for being able to follow (tutut), stick (nempel), borrow (nyilih) and contribute (nyumbang). (IM, EM & AM) 4. Body knowledge of empty (kosong), full (isi) & fulcrum/balance (titimbangan) through dynamic relaxation of musculo-skeletal system. (IM, EM & AM) 5. Understanding stress management when facing aggression. (EM & AM) The lelaku is the actual mind and body activity itself incorporating : 1. Simple but effective latihan with roots in neigong (body core strength building), qigong (for feeling and tonus) and some specific yoga (body core strength building). (IM then gradually EM) 2. Standing exercise (zhan-zhuang or latihan ngadeg) (IM then gradually EM) 3. Circle walking (nglankah) (IM then gradually EM) 4. Partnered sensitivity and balance exercise that I call nyimplung (describes the sound made when swimming in river making rythmic sounds with cupped hands just under the surface of water), which is arm and palm sticking and/or bouncing. (IM then gradually EM) 5. Two man and multiple sparring, wrestling (gelut) & stick fighting (palu) ... our system tries to avoid drawing blood. (EM) 6. We now do kembangan (EM & AM) 7. Gerak badan, hobby, sport etc ... incorporating what is available. Judo (my eldest), Running, football, soccer, bal-tangan (hand-ball) & skate-boarding, piano, history, art ... heheh ... all helps centering & body core development as well as diversity of scene. (IM then gradually EM/AM) Note : All AM is self realisation or epiphany. I hope I have answered your question satisfactorily ... a post on gerak nurani to follow, Salam my friend. Krisno
to continue ... on the subject of gerak nurani ... to explain, gerak is movement, nurani indicates that which originates in inspiration on an instinctive level, but the word is a joining of two Arabic words (if I'm not mistaken) which means light (nur) of the eye (aini). I have posted in the past on how we use certain mythical characters from the Jawanese wayang pantheon & mythology as a visualisation tool in the gerak badan portion of our silat. For example Hyang Antaboga, the serpent (naga) deity is used to describe the components of the arms during expression of technique of a sinuous (ngulet and ngiter), joining/following (nutut), sticking (nempel) and extending (sodok) nature ... whereas Garuda is used to provide the imagery for splitting (sigar), sweeping (babat), chopping (bacok) and driving (gebrak). Hanoman is used as an example to visualise indomitable spirit, stepping and alacrity of movement, Singa Barong is used to visualise unstoppable power etc. These are just tools with no other significance other than they serve to be a method to align psychology with physiology ... a practiser can also have a favourite identifier and make all expressions fit that identifier etc. We use 17 specific parts of the body as weapon and express energy in 8 separately identifiable ways, some of which I've described above. The is a series of laku or jurus pendek if you like that describes possibilities of using the 17 body parts in different contexts drawn from the 8 ... but they are there as an initial template. Laku is our action, how we bear ourselves in any situation in every moment ... it is meditation upon what is in the present. When we focus on the requirement of "now" there is no room for any other emotion ... thus we can act in accordance with the requirement. The process of ngukir (from mengukir which means to carve) is the process whereby the practiser/searcher explores different exptrapolations and possibilities of usage/technique or application ... and this is where natural preferences and abilities (high, low, ground, powerful, lincah dan sebagainya) start to become noticeable. As I am Jawanese from a rice planting culture. I organise the journey of a practiser of my silat using the traditional rice planting project management tool (ilmu padi) that describes the rice planting process from beginning (cok bakal, making the first offering i.e. stating intent or making purpose known) to harvest (panen), with all the points in between such as susruk wangan, gawe pinian, alisan/pupuk galangan, ider-ider, ngluku, nggaru, nggrabaki, angkler, nyebar, nanat, ngrabuk , matun and panen. The practice is inseparable from daily life, how we talk, eat, communicate etc ... it is all part of the silat, ensuring that our action in every aspect is continuously honed until we begin to uncover aspect of our original nature ... any action that comes from that is gerak nurani ... inspired movement from Gusti, nature, the Tao, from the source. All of this from beginning to end is basically the process of lelaku - the way we follow, from a nuts and bolts perspective. Wassalam.
... a bit of addendum ... Our philosophical approach is kantong bolong meaning hole in the pocket (so the pocket is empty), lose the preconceived ideas, attachment and ego etc ... we aim for greget (with feeling/meaning/fullness etc), sawiji (unity and integration) & sengkuh nora mingkuh (unshakeable) ... that describes the character of good lelaku ... because lelaku actually can also transcend concepts of good and bad ... it just means the way we follow to get to enlightenment or some other place .
Salam hormat, Kertas "We only use human styles. And we use it to fight the animals within us. Is than unique?" It could be unique, but most traditional styles in Malaysia claim the same thing. Most pukulan styles are already non-animal influenced (if they ever were) like Sendeng, Buah Pukul Mersing, Hulubalang Melaka, etc However, the only overt claim to being a 'human' style ever made in Malaysia is by the Silat Cekak schools. Its founder, Allahyarham Ustaz Hanafi Haji Ahmad sought to distance his school from other schools. Among other rationale that he came up with, was that other schools like Silat Gayong, Silat Helang Putih and Silat Harimau were based on animal movement, whereas Silat Cekak is based on human movement, which is salat. Most of these rationale were quite well accepted and contributed to an increase in their memberships in the 1970s through the 2000s. Walang Kadung Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, Pak Krisno. I have some questions and interesting comments on what you wrote. "3. To develop risk assessment techniques applied to any potential situation using the OODA loop process as 2nd nature." What is OODA? "I come from a village background, my people have been rice farmers for generations as well as being warriors during the colonial era against the Dutch till my time." I guess your ancestors, being the hardier ones, won. My ancestors got thrown out of Acheh and exiled to Ceylon. "4. Body knowledge of empty (kosong), full (isi) & fulcrum/balance (titimbangan) through dynamic relaxation of musculo-skeletal system. (IM, EM & AM)" I wish to know more about this, if you may. In return, I share the 7 Petua of Gerak Silat, which in my mind (and those masters I consulted), are the maxims of movement that guide pesilat in their lives. 1. Ruang (space/ emptiness/ void) - Hampa Gerak 2. Titik (dot/ static/ unmotion) - Diam Gerak 3. Alif (linear energy) - Punca Gerak 4. Lam Alif (recursive energy) - Asas Gerak 5. Jantan Betina (male/female) - Aras Gerak 6. Mata Angin (compass points) - Arah Gerak 7. Jengkal (measurement) - Ukur Gerak "I have posted in the past on how we use certain mythical characters from the Jawanese wayang pantheon & mythology as a visualisation tool in the gerak badan portion of our silat." This is still true for quite a few styles in Malaysia, but they are seen as controversial for keeping to what are seen as Hindu practises. For example, there is a style in Pulau Pinang right now called Silat Tua, originally taught in Fatani by religious school headmaster (!) that uses imagery of figures from the Mahabharata in their training. (See http://silat-melayu.blogspot.com/2000/01/silat-tua-malay-dance-of-life.html) These figures represent different attitudes that need to be instilled within the pesilat being trained. If the pesilat has problems with posture and core development, the master will prescribe meditating on Rama (and all of the fighting templates and techniques of Rama), the archer. If the pesilat has problems with supplemess, the Sri Devi is prescribed while if there are issues with energy and spontanaeity, Hanuman is prescribed. It's been an enjoyable discussion thus far. Hope it continues. Salam persilatan!
begin quote from http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_boyd_ooda_loop.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act) is an information strategy concept for information warfare developed by Colonel John Boyd (1927-1997). Although the OODA model was clearly created for military purposes, elements of the same theory can also be applied to business strategy. Boyd developed the theory based on his earlier experience as a fighter pilot and work on energy maneuverability. He initially used it to explain victory in air-to-air combat, but in the last years of his career he expanded his OODA loop theory into a grand strategy that would defeat an enemy strategically by “psychological” paralysis. Boyd emphasized that strategy should always revolve around changing the enemy’s behavior, not annihilating his forces. The parallel between Boyd’s ideas and Sun Tzu’s masterpiece, “The Art of War,” are obvious. Both Boyd and Sun Tzu advocate the ideas of harmony, deception, swiftness and fluidity of action, surprise, shock, and attacking the enemy’s strategy. Colonel Boyd viewed the enemy (and ourselves) as a system that is acting through a decision making process based on observations of the world around it. The enemy will observe unfolding circumstances and gather outside information in order to orient the system to perceived threats. Boyd states that the orientation phase of the loop is the most important step, because if the enemy perceives the wrong threats, or misunderstands what is happening in the environment around him, then he will orient his thinking (and forces) in wrong directions and ultimately make incorrect decisions. Boyd said that this cycle of decision-making could operate at different speeds for the enemy and your own organization. The goal should be to to complete your OODA loop process at a faster tempo than the enemy’s, and to take action to lengthen the enemy’s loop. One tries to conduct many more loops “inside” the enemies OODA loop, causing the enemy to be unable to react to anything that is happening to him. Colonel Boyd stated that the the enemy’s OODA loop can be lengthened through a variety of means. Boyd’s aim is to generate “non-cooperate” centers of gravity for the enemy through ambiguity, deception, novel circumstances, fast transient maneuvers, and the use of Sun-Tzu’s idea of Cheng and Ch’i. By isolating the enemy’s centers of gravity and developing mistrust and cohesion within the system (making them “non-cooperative”), friction will be greatly increased, paralysis in the system will set in, and the enemy will ultimately collapse. By attacking the thought process of the enemy / competitor, his morale and decision process can be shattered. ----------------------------------------------------------------- end quote. Banished to Srilangka? What period? I'd be really interested in hearing the history of your ancestors from Aceh if you are willing to share. We lost (the edit .. snipped irrelevencies) Sure, no problem. The 7 petuah is very true ... in laymen terms we have: before creation/movement/10,000 things there is the void, differentiation and will leading to the germ of movement, covering 6 axis of freedom, within it's limits, has binary opposites in terms of character, has direction and a quotient for energy. However my approach is less pedagogic ... I will have to reply re kosong, isi dan titimbangan at a later post because the computer is needed by my wife right now. Sampai nengok di ruang forum ini lagi, salam. Krisno
Salam and hello to all.. SHEW! What an interesting discussion. My fiancé who studied Setia Hati Terate asked me in the week, "why are you talking silat? When are you going to practice?" hehe.. I guess one main ingredient a pesilat must have is consistency hey. Brother Saiful, thank you for enlightening me about the animal and human style thing in Malaysia. Following the discussion,its nice to know that Encik Walang K still holds on to his family heritage. Many concepts you speak of is taught in Sufism. When you speak of coming from and returning to a single source, the 1st step to attain the Gerak Nurani would be to recognise that source and surrender your devotion, your sacrifice, your life and death for that source. This is the begining of the journey (suluk). There is however a more developed gerak,which is from the light of the intelligence. The Nur Ayni and Nur Aqli are different, and when that is established, the journey will be established. To give an example, the light of the eye is only physically experienced, and physical sight is marked by several kinds of defects. It sees others but not itself. It does not see what is very far, nor what is very near, nor what is behind a veil. It sees only the exterior of things,not their interior.it makes many mistakes in its seeing,for what is large appears to its vision small;what is far,near;what is at rest,at motion;what is in motion,at rest. This was taught by Alghazali. Consult Mishkat Al-Anwar . It seems the javanese philosophical teachings aimed at bringing man to his Fitrah (original pure state) although i am confused with using deities such as Naga like you have mentioned. Whichever philosophy we hold to, we must strive to be the Representative of the Ultimate source of Light on this earth. We too adhere to the Ilmu Padi philosophy,in fact the rice stalk forms part of the emblem of our school. This is just an opinion based on my humble understanding. Interesting to learn about the OODA loop. In the recent movie, it was quoted "martial arts is based on deception". Interesting discussion indeed, keep it up terama kasie!
Salam hormat all, Pak Krisno, I definitely await your elucidation on kosong, isi and titimbangan with eagerness. As for my ancestry, I notice you snipped yours My mother's paternity is from Hadramaut in Yaman, which came to Acheh and were conferred the titles of Teuku. They apparently served in the courts as administrators and warriors. I have no dates (though I suspect my brethren in Sri Lanka have details) of when the Dutch exiled them. I knew very little about this history growing up, and have not seen or inherited anything of cultural value from my grandfather, except this: http://silat-melayu.blogspot.com/2007/12/could-anyone-identify-these-weapons.html (The family is now present in Acheh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Canada). To Kertas, my salams to you as well. Thank you for your contributions to the discussion. Now, I'd really like to know from others on the forum: What makes your silat unique? Salam persilatan,
uniqueness sometimes shares similarities salam pesilat in debating on he issue, i found that many silats share techniques and but methodology sometimes differs...its not unique tho. the we have those who have prowess on different foundations (soil, muddy ground, dry etc)... but in my opinion amongst others that i will have to ponder deeper into would my CIKGU DIRECTLY. in my obsevances, for his age he has lightfeet and invisible hands!!! that unique enough??? btw he is now approximately 57...
about the ceylon ppl in south africa, we have had a number of malays exported from ceylon. the dutch concentrated us here...many of Javanese origin, Sumatra, Banten, Cirebon and The Maluku islands...from Madura as well as the Mataram kingdom. Many are key figures within kingdoms and either rulers or advisors to the ruler. it was dutch policy to cripple leadership and banish them. as is the case with our brother from Aceh, Nadzrin. sad to hear but at least we share common grounds now. in silat and in politics...in relation to our colonial history. We called our ppl the Orang Caten...said to mean Orang Kayaan...well thats always a slight linguistic jumble cos of the javanese dialectic influence...bahasa melayu doesnt quite match up to old javanese... not forgetting Walang Kadung...btw i like the sound of it...our ppl used such words in cape town, south africa, even today but we dont know meanings...like if i said he had an accident...or mishap whatever...id say "balang"....maybe malang is related id never know. u guys can tell. im from the anak terlupa remember. getting back....i said getting back...i meant that we too have warrior blood but we lost our skill and knowledge altogether...especially the panglima...a plot was setup against them and they led a rebellion in the late 1800's and they were ambushed and persecuted without any remorse...but cape town's ppl were kept in the dark about this...u know...its media who controls information...they were doing this for longs...but thats my input on the ceylon issue
