Some impressive moves there, Pendekar Steven is very swift and light on the feet. He clearly well deserves the title Pendekar. To my knowledge there is no such thing as Wali Songo Silat in Indonesia. I asked a few friends that live in Indonesia and are knowledgeable about Silat and they all say that they had never heard of Wali Songo Silat. As far as I know this Silat comes from the teachings of an old Indonesian woman who is a Silat expert, it is her family style. She being the Guru may have renamed her family system but I wonder what was the original name for her family style Silat because I don’t think it could be Wali Songo. If Guru Ma had taught in her own school then I would imagine that she must have had many pupils in that time and therefore a number of practitioners which are skilled in her family style Silat. If that is the case then it is unusual that only one school resulted since there must be others she taught who are also qualified to teach. Did none of her other students apart from Pendekar Steven want to set up schools?
I have heard many good things about Steve Benitez. Just wondering though, those strikes he does in the vid, they dont look like they cary much force. I realise its just a vid, but would be intersted in hearing what its like being hit in such a way.
Hi Narrue, The system is called Wali Songo silat, in homage to the Wali Songo, of which Guru Ma is one of. The actual system itself comprises different styles, including but not limited to; Kucing, Harimau, Buaya, Kura Kura & Garuda. A very strong emphasis is placed on the Kembangan. It wasn't practiced or taught by the first original Wali Songos' per se, and this is where some of the confusions sometimes arises from. As far as other of her students setting up schools, etc... these exists, primarily in Holland, but are taugh 'closed door' only. Glad you enjoyed the clip. I didn't post it myself, because it would have seemed like I was trying to advertise, but thanks TomFurman. Where are you from?
Hi IntheSpirit, The strikes hurt like hell! Specially when they are continuously coming. Also, bear in mind that a lot of those strikes are done with a knife, and the effect of them are magnified significantly. Cheers, Wali
Thanks for the info Wali. I’ve been meaning to check out east west studios for a while now, I live about 10 mins, away but I’m a lazy sod.
10 mins!!! You lucky so and so!! I have to travel a 100 mile round trip each time! PM me if you plan to come down...
Wali, 100 miles.. now that’s dedication.. good on you mate! Coincidentally I just pm'ed you on a similar matter.
Hi Wali, What I meant was, does the system go under the name of “Wali Songo Silat” in Indonesia i.e. if I mentioned the name “Wali Songo Silat” whilst in Indonesia, its homeland how many people would have heard of it? Would I be wrong in thinking that the title is recent? Is Guru Ma somehow connected to the original 9 Wali saints i.e. a lineage holder? Would this mean that she continues in their tradition i.e. spreading the Islamic faith and teachings? Does this make Wali songo silat an Islamic system or at least heavily influenced by Islamic teachings & thought?
Hi Narrue, We are dwelving into a can of worms that I am not prepared to discuss on a public forum. Needless to say, the important thing is that the level of silat being taught is high, and open to all. Anything else just isn't important. Cheers, Wali
Hi Wali, Sorry if I offended you by the questions, didn’t mean anything bad by it, just being nosey I have no doubt that the Silat is at a high level, nice video Change of subject, in the video I see that there is what looks like a keris jurus. Within wali songo Silat do you learn keris fighting skills and what are the main weapons taught in the system?
Hey Narrue, No offence taken my friend. Silat has certain areas that are highly contentious, and in the spirit of godwill to all, some areas are best left to other types of forums. Please don't think I was being rude. As far as the Keris goes, we do have several Keris forms. The main weapon is the pisau (knife), and then we have several other non-blade weapons such as the desta (head wrap), and the salendang (shoulder wrap). Feel free to pop down one evening if you ever find yourself in London. Some questions are better answered 1 on 1. Cheers, Wali
Hi Wali, No I didn’t think it rude, I understand and thanks for the invitation. About the keris, I thought that it is seldom actually used by Indonesians in combat.
Thats another point of contention normally Some of us do indeed train with keris in a combat role, others feel it is symbolic and not meant as an actual weapon.
Hi Narrue, The Kerises used in Battle weren't the small ones, like the one in the clip, but the larger sword-sized Kerises. The Keris forms have a deeper esoteric meaning, which cannot be translated onto screen. Somethings need to be safeguarded.
I thought the larger keris swords were called execution keris and were used only to execute criminals. Here is an example http://oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=1398 is that the type of keris you are talking about?
No... the Keris I am referring to are thicker.. something like this... http://www.thesigung.com/kris-sword.html
Hi Wali, A Moro kris, in Indonesia? I don’t know much about keris but I never seen a keris with such a wide blade in Indonesia. I thought the largest of Indonesian keris was the Bali keris. http://perso.wanadoo.fr/taman.sari/keris/collection/moro/morokeris.htm
Clip Wali -- There is a much better clip from this style available -- I've seen it, but somehow misplaced the link -- more steak and less sizzle. The Google clip is for beginners to get a taste and it spends a lot of energy on production and the look. The second clip is plain-vanilla, but shows much more of the real stuff, lot of good ground work, not so much flash. A year or two back, somebody posted the site link on a defunct silat group, and asked for opinions , and a lot of folks weren't impressed, me included. But in response, there was a link to the second clip, and that one was about substance and not style, and gave a much better impression of the art to somebody who had some experience with silat. I wouldn't mind having that link again, if you've got it. You can see the teacher's skill much better in his basic stuff than in the spinning and twirling knife drill. In my opinion.
Hey Narrue, The example I gave was pulled out of a quick Google search... My point is that Large Kerises were used at times, in that dimension, as oppossed to them being those specific ones...
