Silat is an ancient & deadly combat fighting
art from South-East Asia in the region known as the Malay Archipelago which
encompasses approximately 13,700 islands around the following countries; Indonesia,
Malaysia and Southern Philippines but Silat can reach as far West as Burma and
as far East as Papua New Guinea.
Each Southeast Asian country has its own term for
Silat pronounced (see-lot). In Malaysia it is called Bersilat, In the
Philippines its called Silat and in Indonesia its called Pencak Silat (pen-choc
see-lot) by the Indonesians and Pentjak Silat (pen-jock see-lot) by the Dutch
who occupied the country for about 300 years from the 16th century until the
20th century when in 1949 Indonesia claimed its independence. All of the names
mentioned here are just generic terms used to describe the indigenous fighting
arts of the Malay Archipelago much as the term Kung Fu is for the Chinese arts
and Karate is for the Japanese arts.
Silat is a weapons system that employs empty hand
techniques based on weapons usage and the most common weapon being that of the
knife/sword (keris). Silat is a natural flowing art utilizing techniques that
move naturally with ones skeletal and muscular systems in ways that you
normally move your body & limbs throughout everyday life. Two such examples
are Brush Hair and Slap. Brush Hair is an upward elbow strike simulating
combing your hair and Slap is an open hand palm strike that is done similarly
to slapping someone in the face.
The Malay Archipelago has approximately 250
different Silat systems encompassing everything a person needs for
self-protection from stand up fighting techniques to ground fighting techniques
to weapons training. Of these approximate 250 systems there are literally 1000s
of individual styles that have been created. Each system has its own number of
particular styles that make up that unique system and some systems of Silat
have been created using as little as 5 styles while others may have been created
using as many as 50 different styles to formulate their system.
Some masters have even blended techniques from
100s of different styles together to create their own personal Silat system of
combat and it is not uncommon to find Chinese (Kuntao & Kung Fu), Japanese
(Karate & Aiki) or Indian (Kalarippayattu & Silambam) arts mixed into a
particular Silat system as the Malays borrowed & adapted anything that was
useful and worked in combat.
All Silat systems adhere to similar principles
& concepts, which makes for an easy transition when learning multiple
styles. This is apparent in the fact that all true Silat systems have a
multitude of styles woven together to make up that system and in a true Silat
system its styles flow together as one void of any transitional discrepancies.
A Silat practitioner can go from Blekok (crane) a stand up fighting style to
Harimauï (king tiger), a ground fighting style in such a smooth transition that
it would have the viewer believe that they are seeing the exact same style
performed instead of a completely different one.
A Silat style can be taught in a relatively short
period of time unlike most martial art styles that require many years to learn
and to be able to apply effectively. Silat is very defensive, yes but it is
also quite offensive and is therefore quite brutal in its application. Unlike
most martial art systems stylist who fights in tournaments for trophies, medals
or glory a Silat practitioner fights in the real world to preserve their life!
In Silat there are no rules, no un-sportsman like conduct, no such thing as
low-blows and nothing referred to as cheating that Americans & Europeans
are use to. In fact a Silat practitioner is encouraged to use weapons,
trickery, sneak attacks and anything else that will ensure their victory in
combat.
Here is a little known historical fact about
Silat; In WWII the .45- caliber pistol was introduced to the United States Navy
in order to combat the lack of stopping power that the .38-caliber pistol had,
which was virtually of no use against the charging attacks of the ferocious
Moro warriors on the Philippine island of Mindanao due to their effective use
of Kali-Silat.
Lets think about it this way for a moment, most
martial art systems from Japan, China, Korea or other modern countries do not
use their fighting arts the way they did 100s of years ago to fight or war with
and have graduated to preserving their fighting arts through sport competitions
but the remote areas of the Malay Archipelago still use their fighting arts in
much the same manner as their ancestors have for 1,000s of years. Yes, the
Indonesian & Malaysian governments have in recent years promoted Silat as
their national sport and brought fourth Silat competitions both nationally and
internationally, however Silat still remains a vital part of the average Malays
daily life in order to insure their continued physical existence in the harsh
jungles and remote islands.
Understand that most of the inhabitants of the
Malay Archipelago still live hundreds even thousands of years behind American
& European industrialized technology. Even in the new millennium as you
read this there are still head hunters on the remote island of Borneo
(Kalimantan) and many inhabitants of the Malay Archipelago still hunt with spears,
blowpipes, bow & arrows and live in grass huts. They have no running water,
no electricity, no telephones, no indoor plumbing, no modern transportation and
rely on walking or canoes as their primary mode of transport. If a tribal law
has been broken or a conflict between villages and/or villagers arises they
can’t dial 911 and instead must rely on their own physical ability to handle
the situation. If it calls for policing, fighting or war then they need proven
reliable combat fighting techniques that will ensure their victory in any
combat situation. Situations like that of an attack by a wild animal such as a
tiger, a sneak attack by a lower rank in the caste system trying to raise his
status, or an attack by multiple warriors of an enemy tribe. All of which are
part of the daily reality in the Malay Archipelago lifestyle of today.
Since an attack can come at anytime from anywhere
they can’t spend years or decades learning a style before being able to protect
themselves so the training has to be streamlined and easily learned. As a
result they have developed ingenious training methods that allow you to be able
to learn a system in as little as three years and some styles can be learned in
as little as a few months and still yet there are styles that can be learned in
only a few weeks. Of course true mastery of a Silat system can take a lifetime
of study.
Since the early 90’s and the introduction to “No
Holds Barred” tournaments and “Mixed Martial Arts” the new fad was to cross
train in Brazilian Ju Jitsu for ground grappling, Muay Thai for knees &
elbows, American Boxing for punches, Karate for kicks, and Kung Fu for hand
techniques. While this is a well-rounded approach to training for tournaments
it still lacks the necessary arsenal needed for combat self-protection in real
life encounters. The one thing that combines all silat systems together is the
fact that they are a complete combat fighting art encompassing every type of
training that one will need for a life & death confrontation.
The following 10 training components are what
make a Silat system complete:
Stand Up – hand strikes, kicks, elbows, knees,
head strikes, stepping patterns, ranges and more.
Ground – grappling, strikes, takedowns, weapons,
offensive & defensive postures and more.
Grappling – throws, sweeps, pressure points,
joint manipulations, holds breaking and more.
Multiple Attackers – stances, evasions, strikes,
body placement, escapes and more.
Spatial Awareness – ranges, angles, heights,
stances, stepping and more.
Weapons – knives, sticks, staffs, swords,
clothing, offensive & defensive techniques and more.
Terrain – styles that work best for mud, jungle,
grass, concrete and more.
External – calisthenics to build & tone
muscle, increase tendon strength, toughen skin, enhance cardio vascular system
and more.
Internal – breathing methods to manifest &
control the electrical current in the body for health, longevity, power, speed,
striking, blow protection and more.
Spiritual – mind abilities for healing purposes,
hypnosis, altering reality, distorting time and more.
All of the above 10 components are what make
Silat a complete combat fighting system for any self-protection situation
whether it be in a remote jungle, a big city alleyway, a suburban night club or
a rural country town.
