This thread was inspired by a suggestion from TKDMitch (cheers Mitch ) Very recently I decided to dive head first into Pencak Silat. It's one of the lesser known arts and has a somewhat quirky reputation in the West. This is due to poor coverage and some rather tall tales of strange and fantastical occurances. The aim of this thread is to share with you my experiences and hopefully clear up any confusion you might have. (Bear in mind though that this is just one person's experience, and like anything else you should research as many sources of information as possible to make rational decisions.) I've been training in martial arts since the age of four. I'm 25 now, so that adds up to 21 years. Most of that, however, was spent in "sport" styles such as Taekwondo (predominantly WTF), kickboxing and Muay Thai. I'm happy to say I was quite successful on the tournament circuit and sparring had become the main focus of my training. But earlier this year I underwent hip surgery. It would be an event that would shape the outlook of my martial arts training. During my time off to recover I realised that fighting careers have a very short life expectancy - even more so when you have an artificial hip. The orthopaedic surgeon advised that even though I might be able to return to full kicking again (which I've already done ), competing again might be too risky due to the potential of receiving blows to my hip. Even though I consider myself to be a good kicker and ring fighter, I have to admit that my self-defence skills are lacking. I wanted an art that could give me the skillset to defend myself effectively, and having heard of its fearsome reputation from the likes of Dan Inosanto I turned to Silat. Having seen videos on YouTube and watched my wife and mother-in-law (both Indonesians) in action, I like the way Silat looks and moves. The culture of Indonesia plays a huge part of my life already (saya bisa bicara di berbahasa - I can speak the language :woo so it feels natural to extend my interest into the country's native arts. Unfortunately there aren't any teachers in my area so my Silat journey will be a long one, with extensive travelling. My initial training will just involve hours and hours of drilling the basics at home. I'm learning from books and DVDs, which I would usually frown upon but it's just to give me a head start until I train with a teacher. I'll soon start training two days a week at Bob Sykes' academy in Huddersfield, as well as travelling once a month to Luton for a 1:1 accelerated training program with an instructor there. My goal is to be training up to 6 hours per day. Also, next February my wife and I will travel to Indonesia to vist her family. While there I'll be able to train with her uncle (a Silat teacher) and other gurus. I'll also hopefully visit the IPSI Padepokan in Jakarta (similar to the Kukkiwon in WTF Taekwondo). I'll come back to this thread every so often to update you on my progress and hopefully use my expanding knowledge and experience to answer any questions you might have. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I will (hopefully) enjoy writing it
I post a vid on the other thread and really think this looks like a natural progression for you. Now you've explained your family ties to Indonesia I'm suprised you haven't looked into it before. Good luck with your training. PS. I'll be in Blackburn in a month or so for work, PM me your mobile.
You're taking a quick dip? Different ways of looking at it ... the 'West' tends to be club orientated and different life perception. Pencak is supposed to be in all part of life training. It is holistic in its original. This is due to each party not understanding the other. Very common. Unless you 'dive in' after first leaving behind your cultural prejudices (which despite your marriage to an Indonesian, still permeates your posting on silat), you will I think just end up perpetuating the perception that silat is 'quirky' . Ya cukup sekian bang, semoga pengalaman anda baik-baik dan dapat memperkaya pengertian anda mengenai pencak pada umumnya. Saya minta maaf kalau ada perkataan saya yang tidak berkenan ... Rahayu,
I wonder how common hip problems are with TKD practitioners? I did it when I was younger and my right hip sometimes cracks, jolts or even locks. My teacher had dodgy knees. I decided to go while I was still in one piece but have met lots of TKD practitioners with dodgy hips, knees etc. You will be glad to know traditional silat does not involve high kicks which are pointless from a self defence perspective and I feel its what messed up my hip.
There is a lot of debate about the effect of high kicks on hip joints. My answer is "I don't know." But my surgery took place due to an injury I picked up in the army. My stretching & TKD helped the joint last for 6 years before it needed replacing. I'm now back kicking at full speed again. I don't think TKD or high kicks can be solely blamed for joint damage though.
Not just that. I remember reading an article in MAI or Combat a few years ago when a practicioner described training in Indonesia and watching his teacher literally transform into an animal. Not move like one or whatever, but literally transform. I know there are nutters in every art so I don't let it colour my perception of Silat, I just categorise it as one of those arts I just don't know enough about to have any kind of opinion on. Other than knowing that some nutters do it. How're you going Van Zandt? :whistle: Mitch
Yes ... some styles of silat (BTW ... silat is NOT a style ... it's a conceptual framework) ... have that sort of magic practice and some even have high kicks (I agree, they're impractical). Many styles however tend to be boringly efficient and practical . Narrue, good to 'see' you again! Rahayu,
Van Zandt, Just a thought but, perhaps you'll find a lot more silat with the in-laws than you think. From my experience, most will keep quite about it and will not give it away too freely. It's very serious business in the kampung. (Not been 'here' for a while but I still see a couple of old faces!)
Ironically enough I just got back from a 10-day stay with relatives in Indonesia. While there I got to try my hand at a couple of styles, including Cimande and Harimau. Sadly I've got to be honest and say Silat definitely isn't my cup of tea.
Don't be sad about being honest! Mind you, in reality you've only sipped English Breakfast tea. There're a whole lot of other flavours for the sipping ... and in fact what you're already doing now can be considered silat strictly speaking. Silat, very difficult to categorise. :hat: What is silat? The indigenous fighting arts of the Malay peoples of Nusantara? Martial arts? Yes and yes, except that I would say the many age old influences stem from SE to Central Asia.
Silat takes time to appreciate. The secrecy inherent in it, especially towards teaching foreigners, doesn't help in grasping it's true value... It took me ten years before I understood what Silat really is... Mind you, I'm a Malay guy in Malaysia! So keep at it if you can, you'll see it through different eyes in a few years... Hopefully. All the best.
