First of all, lemme introduce myself. I'm a Malay guy, born and bred in Malaysia, in my mid thirties (and going 18!)... I'm a Professional Actor and a Magician (as in David Blaine, not sorcery..). Btw, I'm in Malaysia as I type this. In Selangor (near Kuala Lumpur) to be exact, to those who are in the know about Malaysia... I've read with great interest the thoughts and experiences of the many here on their "journey" in learning Silat, my Native Martial Art... We all have to walk our journeys, hope yours is filled with happiness and meaning... Now, for my thoughts on Silat as a person of the heritage here in one of Silat's native Countries (Indonesia and Brunei being the others)... My experience has been in my Family's Silat style (no name to it as yet) and Silat Harimau Berantai under Guru Jak Othman... Some might know Guru Jak quite well here... Right as of this moment, I'm studying another Silat style but will tell you more about that once I "tamat" (finish the basics)... I also do a little JKD/Kali and BJJ here so I've an idea of other disciplines... Was once upon a time a TKD Black Belt in my schooling days... Silat is certainly the generic term for the Malay Martial Arts here... There are so many styles and they are so different from one another that we'd be forgiven if we start to get a little lost on what Silat "really is"... I've found, imho, Silat to be the best and the worst Martial Art at different times. It can be the most effective self defense tactic out there or the most close-minded "Classical Mess" there is... But that's my experience though... But I will contradict myself now... While it's great to learn how to protect yourself with and against bladed weapons in an unrehearsed real life scenario, I actually love the whole other "flowery" aspect of Silat... They both serve a purpose imho... Just as soldiers are dug in trenches, they are also spotless while marching... Both sides of the training reinforces the other methinks... But that's just me. Feel free to disagree. And the fact that it can actually affect the lives of people thousands of miles away is astounding to me. Well, that's just my thoughts for now... Selamat!
You trained JKD? Where? I agree on your findings on Silat. Refreshing view. Normally Malaysian Malays, as opposed to the Indonesian and Dutch Malays, are very unrealistic, religiously-fanatic, political and nationalistic about Silat and its history. Mostly making stuff up in order to grandify Malaysia and its significance. I have great respect for the exceptions, of whom there are only few these days.. By the way, there's not one history book to be found in Malaysia. Most are blacklisted by the government. Even the dictionary that explains where all the Malay words come from has been blacklisted. They didn't like the fact that only 15 percent is truly Malay. They don't realise that all languages in the world have this feature and it is nothing to be ashamed about. Keeping people ignorant about who they really are is the real crime here. If you are interested in some real history it is a great idea to travel to Indonesia and buy some books there. 1000s of books available there aswell as in Holland about South East Asian history. Interesting stuff...
I trained JKD with some guys here who have done it overseas. The Kali I picked up here and in Aussie... Well, I just flow with the tide... If you know what I'm sayin'...
