A Look at Silat

Background Information

I lived in Singapore all my life, except the short time that I spent living in England to complete my studies. Most people in Singapore are not prone to fights. Most confrontations that happened here are generally not premeditated. They are mostly due to simple misunderstandings. At worst they will result in shouting matches or finger pointing. Most importantly, they do not develop into physical fights.

Of course as in all society there exists exceptions. This is why it is not totally impossible for a person to face a situation where physical fights will ensue. There are murder cases in Singapore (in increasing numbers lately), either premeditated or out of rage. There are fights between gangs, mostly teenagers who have gone astray.

But the way Singapore’s Law enforcement and Legal system works is that the guilty will be caught and brought to justice. Fights between gangs happen, but the police quickly bring them to an end. No rioting ever took place in Singapore for the last 36 years. The iron fist of the Law is very heavy.

The reason for me explaining this is that I want the reader to understand that Singapore is a relatively safe country. You won’t find too many policemen patrolling the streets simply because there’s no need for the streets to be patrolled so heavily. You won’t find rowdy gangs trying to disturb the peace (one call to the police and they’ll be hauled away).

All this is well and good. One should even be thankful for it. But for martial arts in general, it does tend to negate the necessity of real self-defense training. This means that classes here tend to be more cultural or sports oriented. In countries like Indonesia, Philippines, and even some cities in the US, however, such ‘luxuries’ cannot be obtained. In these places, knowing how to fight is essential to survival. That is why in these places you tend to have martial arts classes that are more self-defense oriented. Because they fulfill a certain need.

Training in self-defense and training for sports/cultural is different. Sports have rules, referee, and a ring. Cultural oriented training tends to encourage students to follow techniques that they have absolutely no understanding about, although pleasing to the eye. Self-defense has no rules except one; to fight and survive. Techniques, ideas, and concepts associated with self-defense have no place in sports or cultural settings. They are brutal and dangerous. They should not be used in Sports or Cultural environments.

My personal feelings on the matter

Before I joined a silat school in October 1987, I already had 4 years of Tae Kwon Do training. I had seen some silat demonstrations before I joined up, and was very enthusiastic about learning the silat style. Upon joining, I learnt the basic locks, the permainan, and of course the basic jurus and stuffs.

Then came the day I saw a silat sparring session. And you know what? I was very disappointed. The sparring that I saw mimics Tae Kwon Do (so much has changed since then). What happened to all the locks and stuffs? Why can’t they apply it during sparring? Although disappointed, I didn’t quit because the reason I joined is to explore my own culture, not to do sparring. But the sparring session makes me question the use of silat in a fight. Bear in mind, however, that at that time I believe that sparring and self-defense is the same thing. I only just joined the Silat School and I was very naïve in a lot of things.

I took the courage to ask my instructors about why can’t the locks be used during sparring. They just say that if you incorporate locks into sparring a lot of students will have their joints dislocated. I suppose the answer has some merit, but the real question that I’m trying to ask is; is silat locks applicable? I’m not asking for it’s effect, I’m asking is if it can be used in the first place.

You can say that what’s written here in the self-defense section of my website is the cumulative answer to that question, answered in part by research and training, and in part by actually ‘mixing’ it up out there. My initial interest in taking part in competitions is not so much to prove I’m the best or anything like that, but more on the need to answer questions that I have about silat. I had fought hard, I have been beaten, and I have beaten others. And now I’m writing it down.

In his book, "Silat Melayu - The Malay Art of Attack and Defence", Mr. Ku Ahmad bin Ku Mustaffa wrote under Chapter 10 that "Because of its gracefulness, many Silat students, in particular, and martial artists, in general, are deceived by its dance-like appearance and miss the inner significance - its combative functions." I believe that he was referring to the fact that many Silat students don't really understand why they practise what they practise. I also believe that he was trying, through his book, to encourage silat practitioners to understand the underlying ideas within their own silat system.

Although I cannot really ascertain what was on his mind, his book does help encourage me to investigate further the 'Kuncian' and 'Permainan' that are available in Gayong PASAK. I did this in a quiet and discreet way, asking questions carefully and without raising anyone's eyebrows.

A Silat Fighter in action

Silat is a combination of striking and locking and break locking techniques. It is more like the Japanese art of Jujitsu. A silat exponent will naturally be punching and kicking first when a fight starts. If the fight ends there, one would be satisfied. If it progresses and the opponent come too close for striking, locking techniques are used. If locks are applied to the silat practitioner, he will use break-locking techniques to counter. Should he see an opening, he will use striking techniques such as punches or knife hands.

Traditional martial arts, ones that are not oriented to sports, teach their students to kick no higher than the waist. This is because in real fights the kicks are more effective on the lower part of the body. Real fights are very close ranged, and high kicks are hard to execute at close range. Moreover, the kicking leg need not be so flexible, and silat practitioners who kick low cannot have a takedown technique applied unto them. The most favorite targets for low kicks are the groin and the knee.

Striking Techniques

Striking techniques include kicks, punches and open-hand techniques. Kicks consist of the basic front kicks, sidekicks, roundhouse kicks, and back kicks (reverse kick). Punches consist of the usual straight-line punches normally found in Tae Kwon Do. An open hand technique consists of only the ‘chop’. Not much else.

Conclusion

MAY PEACE BE UPON YOU.

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