Salam hormat, Thank you for the response. However, allow me to make a correction. 'Bersilat' is and was never a term used in Malaysia either by the Malays or non-Malays to describe silat. This was an error on the part of the late Donn F Draeger in his reporting. Do not misunderstand, the late Draeger sensei was a remarkable man whose research was ahead of his time. Unfortunately, the language and cultural barriers of the time forced him to record the term 'bersilat' incorrectly. Silat is still the term used to describe the indigenous arts of the Malays in Malaysia. Salam persilatan, Saiful Azraq
questions from a fellow malaysian Peace to all, Dear Saiful, Have you ever seen Silat Cakak (Brunei) in action? How is it different from Silat Cekak Hanafi or other Cekak styles (like those in Pahang)? I didn't know that Silat Cekak Hanafi have 'kembangan' in its early days! Was it the same as Silat Kalimah's tari? That's all the time i have... peace
Salam hormat, Hello Amirul. It's been a very long time. I heard Omar has been screaming his head off after being locked by cikgu Lan in the yellow belt level. Serves him right for practicing his locks on me! Thanks for the questions. My answer is something that I've been wanting to write on for quite awhile now. However, my time limit will ensure I write a complete version based on my research for another day. Yes, I have seen Silat Cakak Brunei in action. Unfortunately, that's all I managed to do. I didn't have the opportunity to study it and cannot say for certain in what way it differs from the others. However, my best answer would be to say that they are apparently unrelated and were named for different reasons at different times in different places. As far as I can tell, there are four distinct Cekak styles running around Nusantara (maybe hundreds more). The first one is the famous Silat Cekak Pahang which is derived from the teachings of Pendekar Ahmad. Howevr, as I understand it, the 'cekak' in this silat is a term for the movement and not so much the name itself, which came later. Cekak or Bercekak, means to fight in a close-quarter pukulan fight, culminating in locks. Some Cekak teachers don't agree with this, instead preferring to use the term 'lintar' or 'spado' to describe the locking after the initial 'cekak'. This particular style is said to come from Sumatera since that's where Pendekar Ahmad hailed from. The second is of course what is represented by Silat Cekak Malaysia and Silat Cekak Hanafi today, the art that was taught by the late Ustaz Hanafi. The late Ustaz studied this art from the late Yahya Said, who later founded Silat Kalimah (some quarters say that this is th original name for the silat, but my sources say that both names were a novelty identification sake). This (these?) is a very close-quarter pukulan and locking style and comes closer than any other martial art on earth (I base this on guro Omar Hakim's observation). However, the pukulan aspect is not as apparent as in Silat Cekak Pahang even though cikgu Baharin Ibrahim (former national silat olahraga coach) mentions that much of the locks in both arts are highly similar. [Silat Cekak Hanafi did have kembangan or 'pencak' as Ustaz Hanafi termed it. However, he didn't feel the need for it since in this case, the perfection of the buah wasn't dependent on the training in kembangan. Rather, the perfection of the kembangan depended wholly on the accuracy of the buah. This is why Pak Zohdi, the current principal of Silat Kalimah Yahya Said mentioned that the buah was taught first, then the tari. Another teacher, Pak Jauhari reverses the traditional bunga-buah order by saying 'Selak daun, makan buah, ludah biji ke tanah. Jika buah itu elok, cantiklah bunga yang tumbuh'. 'Push aside the leaves, eat the fruit, spit the seed on the ground. If the fruit is good, then the flower that grows is beautiful'. Since I have not seen a Cekak man do these kembangan, I cannot say for sure that they are similar or not to Silat Kalimah] Silat Cakak Brunei on the other hand is very different from the latter and former (my initial impression), seeing as it is a pukulan system without any apparent locking. It was demonstrated to me by Pengiran Anuar from Brunei (he was featured in both SENI BELADIRI and SENI SILAT WARISAN BANGSA) and he told me that the strikes are delivered with a bent arm, ala a western hook punch but at solar plexus level. This is at odds with many other pukulan silat which deliver their strikes as an uppercut or backfist. Given the opportunity, I would definitely want to study more of this. As for the 'Black Magic' aspects of silat, if the question of my belief was referring to Cakra Alam, I have absolutely no proof that they practise such elements in their teachings. Therefore, I do not believe so. However, many people claim that their practices are of 'Black Magic' and they say this because of several incidents whereby the master himself has claimed to have several Djinn in his employ to carry out his healing and teaching work. Weird? Truly. There have also been claims of his selling (yes, no inverted commas) Djinn for personal use. Add this to the fact that his right-hand man left the organization for reasons unknown and you'll have full-blown rumours about the supernatural run around town. That's why Malaysians believe them to be practising 'black magic'. Salam persilatan, Saiful Azraq
Forgive my ignorance.....Djinn to my knowledge was an ancient, free-willed race created from the essence of Fire, much as man was created from Earth. They prowled the land at night, vanishing with the first rays of dawn. Myths surrounding the Djinn paint them as many things: benevolent champions of mankind and slaves to mad sorcerers, malicious incubi / succubi and energy vampires, or malevolent harbingers of madness and disease. The Djinn are ruled by Iblis, the Prince of Darkness, who bears unspeakable contempt for man. They bore the scent of black smoke, of crackling flames, and smoldering ashes.
Djinns are also believed to be formed from the fallen spirits that fought on Lucifer's side that lost the battle in the Heavens.
3? i thought you said 4? Peace to all, Dear Saiful, If i'm not mistaken, you mentioned that there are 4 different Cekak in Nusantara, but you only explained 3 namely Silat Cekak Pahang, Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Cakak Brunei. Please and kindly add my friend To answer your question, Omar was screaming alright! And so was i due to the fact that i had to become the demo partner for Cikgu Lan The title that he gave for Cikgu Lan was the 'Minister of Pain'. Another question, and not Cekak related, is about Silat Kura-Kura. Have you ever come across their practioners? If i'm not mistaken, in this forum, krys and Wali are learning this style from Guru Steve Benitez. Do you know if this silat is still being practiced in Terengganu or is it on the verge of extinction? I remember seing them in action in the Majalah 3 slot a couple of months back by some elderly pesilat. Have a wonderful weekend. Peace
Whatever they are, they are best left alone, and not invoked. I heard of a few Djinns's in L.A causing havoc recently. Have you heard about this?
Ha Ha the centre of light in the world has awknowledged their presence and awaits their return in May. Auspicious times my friend Wali.
Dear Sabr Silat, Kura-kura is the turtle system which develops both an internal and external shell for the practioner. It was developed as a means of defense against the shooting styles of silat like Harimau. Think of how the English used to hunt tigers and you get the idea - dig a pit fill it with stakes and wait. Not that brave. The kura-kura must be used in conjunction with the other ground arts. For instance Kucin, Harimau and Buaya would be used after the silat man pulled off a Kura-kura technique. What's so special about kura-kura is that it follows the same priciples as all other silat styles - the emphasis being on hands and feet moving as one held together through the gelek - the coiling and twisting motion you see used for any movement in silat. Also what is so devastating with the correct application of kura-kura is that the practioner does not become stuck or held in a grip - rather he remains mobile on the ground using the posture to get back to an upright posture if (s)he wishes. Remember that when you learn silat for the first time you remain close or even on the ground. This allows you to develop a strong foundation by conditioning the body and also breaks the fear inherent with falling or being swept to the floor. Consequently when one is in a more upright posture one is able to deal out the same techniques more quickily and with more internal force. I must say that this is largely due to the breathing techniques found in kura-kura, the time of day to practise the system and some other methods that are known only to the practioners. I have seen for myself a very good demonstration of this external shell/protection and can vouch for its practicality. If you need more information or would like to see an example please email me directly. Best wishes in your training, Milamber
I never trained with Steve Benitez. Once in Kuala Terrenganu (1995) I met somebody who practiced an old turtle system (said to be the familly style of the bodyguards of the Terrenganu sultan). I don't remember how it was called because I practiced it only for 3 days and never returned there, training wasn't public and very tough, involving rolling on marble floor....
oppss Peace to all, Sorry for the mistake krys. Do you remember the name of the person that taught you? Also where in Terengganu did you learn the style? Thanks peace
Yep.. sounds like the Kura Kura system alright! Lots of rolling on the back and some extreme conditioning exercises! What makes the Kura Kura different from most ground systems where you lie on your back (bjj etc...), is that you are never in a static position, and the aim is always to be able to move and keep the motion. If properly trained, it develops some really amazing ground strength.
I don't remember his name (he was a tourism official) and have reasons to believe he doesn't like people knowing he practices silat. I met this man in Kuala Terrenganu town and trained with him in a room behind his office, but his group trained outside the city. I was supposed to train with them but never had the opportunity because I had to return to Thailand and afterwards never returned to Malaysia. This silat is very effective, I liked the way they punch and deflected...they use a kind of breathing that sounds like the hissing of a turtle...
thanks Peace to all, Thanks for the info krys. Do they use weapons such as keris, parang etc in their arsenal? I once heard that this style employs the use of a shield, is this true? peace
I am sorry I can't help you; I didn't see their weapons, all the instructor showed me was empty hands.
Deta, Salendang, Sarong, keris and pisau would be used as required. The sarong would have a blade running the length of the edge - lethal in close quarters. The salendang would be used to choke and take the opponent to the ground. The deta - the head wrap would be used in other ways too. :bang: Milamber
