Silat

At 4.15 on a Sunday morning at London’s Heathrow airport I was stunned. Check in was shut, shops and café’s were shut, and when I eventually did check in the gate to departures was also shut. For some reason I thought facilities at Heathrow never closed. Now I had been up for over 4 hours. Those of you who know me will have realised my dilemma. I cant go that long with out a cuppa! (so I wont be flying that early again!).

Finally I got a great cup of coffee on board my Alitalia flight and settled into the rest of my long Journey to Barlad in Romania. I flew via Milan, and when I waited among the crowds to board my second plane I was stunned again. It was packed! I hadn’t realised it but apparently Romania has become a popular holiday choice for Italians (I remember the days when the planes were nearly empty).

I was met at Bucharest airport by Miky and Petrica, and it was great to be back again, and amongst good friends. It’s kind of tradition that Myosotis guests are taken to MacDonald’s en route (as its somewhere we recognise) but as I’ve been many times now the guys suggested a traditional Romanian place they new and we stopped for an excellent meal. Unfortunately the weather was not so good. Dark and raining very hard it was difficult to believe it was August! The positive side of being up so early was that instead of arriving in Barlad at the normal late hour, we were able to go for Pizza and a few bears at the bars in the high street. Barlad has changed so much and its great to see so many new business’s and so many people out enjoying themselves. I even bumped into a few people I know (probably more than I do in Luton!). But when we said goodbye and I began to settle into my room, I decided I needed another cuppa. So……I went into the health centre to get some coffee and……promptly set off the burglar alarm. Apologies to Miky and Petrica for having to come all the way back to the health Centre, what a pain the English are! Also thanks to Ana who upon hearing the alarm also came around to make sure I was alright.

Next morning and onto business. Camp time. We collected the children for the placement centre and set off for Poina Sarata. The Camp had already been running for two weeks as each week hosts a different group of children. So when we arrived some of the volunteers finished their stint at camp and had to return home. This brought the inevitable tears as strong bonds are forged there. In hindsight though you probable realise how lucky you were, as at least that got you out of training with me for the next five days!!!!

When we started the Silat lessons the following day I was delighted to see the level of skill that now exists in Romania. Each detail is listened to by the volunteers, and they have also taught the children well. I managed to get the REALLY keen volunteers to complete the gruelling night time training session. At three and four AM It’s not easy, but it proves your dedication and seriously increases your fitness. Well done to all those who took part!

The camp site has also progressed. Now complete with benches, picnic tables and even a covered roof area! A far cry from my first visits! And even better……a new toilet block has been built. Now we can shave and shower, all be it in cold water nearly every day.

The volunteers had everything under control, and Simona and friends did themselves proud once again as the caterers. The most impressive thing about the volunteers and this camp though was the theme. The volunteers had prepared a week long treasure hunt for the children. This even included radio news broadcasts and nightly characters who gave clues and pieces of the treasure map. Great thought, planning and performance had gone into this, and it showed. The children were delighted. It was also great to see the volunteers and children singing their hearts out at the traditional campfires. Those nights at Poina Sarata are magical, complete with shooting stars that light up the sky. The weather for the most part also held. However, the river was deep and quicker than normal……..which resulted in it being EVEN MORE FREEZING than previous years. I normally make it in eventually, but not this year - only paddling.

At the end of the camps training, we held various Silat Grading tests. Congratulations to all those volunteers and children who passed. Unfortunately one child behaved badly and I did not let me grade. Another behaved SO badly I withdrew his previous two grades. Not a pleasant experience for any of us, but Silat is meant to teach the tenets of Honour, Humility, Dignity, Respect, Loyalty, Brotherhood and Friendship. And I’m afraid that even children with problems have to learn that. Even if that means learning the hard way sometimes.

However, another pleasant experience happened. At the beginning of Silat training there is the call to “SEDIA” which means “ready”. This is accompanied by some movement but also by a group SHOUT (something the kids always enjoy!) then a traditional Silat warrior handshake. This handshake is performed by all students with each other when we begin training and when we end. We even perform it when we meet in the street, as it signifies a true warrior friendship. On thursday at 8 pm it was 6pm in England and start of the Silat junior class in Luton. Guru Glenn and myself arranged for a mobile telephone call so the children in England and Romania could perform a joint call to “Sedia”. In Luton it was broadcast on a loud speaker. At camp we heard our friends shout down the phone. All together in perfect time. The feeling of brotherhood and belonging was immense. That night Silat brothers effectively shook hands from one side of Europe to another. A very proud moment for Guru Glenn and myself. Thanks you again to all of you who continue to teach Silat and make such nights possible. Thanks also to all who arranged the camp, and to the staff members Ana and Nina. They are lovely people and a great Educator and Medical Assistant.

After camp we enjoyed some training sessions in Barlad over the weekend, and another grading for those who were not at camp. Again well done to all who passed.

Alas, all good things must come to an end and on Monday we made our way to the airport. At least the café was open, I had a lovely cuppa!

Roy Porteous

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Introducing the KERAMBIT

THE MOST DANGEROUS CLOSE QUARTER WEAPON ON THE PLANET

When the kerambit was first introduced to me, my instructor and I made a decision not to publicise it, picture it or demonstrate it. One person I know tried to make one from a picture he saw in a magazine, but didnt scale it up to the right size so he couldn’t use it properly.

The historians will tell you something different to me, and that’s ok. I’m gonna tell it to you from the coal face, and tell you the oral tradition that I learned from my teachers, and my personal experience.

I have had several arguments with people as to the origin of the kerambit. I once said it was Malaysian. Others disagree. While I was Persilat representative for Britain, I traveled extensively, always taking my kerambit with me. In the whole of Europe, not one single silat practitioner knew the kerambit- none knew what it was. The same applies to Jakarta, Thailand, and Sumatra- west Sumatra. In Malaysia and Singapore, they know, and they laugh when you talk of it. You can also find them in Malaysia. The weapons shops and sellers in Jakarta don’t have them and don’t know what they are. It is therefore logical and obvious even to the closed minded and ignorant that the weapon is not naturally Indonesian, at least now. Where it originated is up for debate. Who knows how to use it is ABSOLUTELY clear. Malaysian silat rules!

The kerambit is known also as the tiger claw or tieger kralle. It is a small hook knife. I was told by my first silat teacher that it was a ladies weapon. Take long hair, tie it into a bun and fix it with the kerambit. If a man got overly amorous as the woman seductively loosens her flowing dark hair and shakes it out to allow him to run his fingers through her hair she would flick the sarong (sheath) off and depending on the situation, apply it to him..

I was also told of the battle kerambit- and saw one in a case at the world championships in Malaysia in 1987. the blade was over a foot long. Obviously this would be a little too big to hold your hair up!

The malays had many pirate groups. With wooden ships they would raid other merchants in the area. They needed to climb aboard and be ready to fight. The battle kerambit worked like the ninja shuko- climbing claws- allowing the fighters to climb the ship walls and then fight without having to draw another weapon immediately.

In silat the kerambit is different. Silat movement is about deception and cunning. If you have an ace up your sleeve you don’t tell anyone unless you are really STUPID. So with silat and the kerambit you DON’T show it. If it is your only weapon it is placed in your lead hand. If not it is a rear hand weapon.. your opponent will come to the party armed, probably something big. Only an idiot (or an American) would try to fight a 6” knife with a 2” kerambit, and expect to win. Too many Rambo films numbs the brain boys.

So you match big with big, and then add the kerambit for fun. In Escrima you have solo baston, and espada y daga. In silat you have the keris, and keris and kerambit. This is the reality of silat.

The kerambit is a tearing weapon. It is double edged so that it cuts in both directions. I understand that double edged weapons are illegal some places so in America they have created a single edged version. I also have the Kempo karambit- with 2 spikes on it. This has reduced the range and efficiency of the weapon, making it prettier, and less useful. WELL DONE! It is also pointy (nice) and shiny (dumb).

My first silat teacher used to say silat is not for white people. Silat uses a lot of wearing down limb destructions. Sometimes you hit someone and don’t know if you got it right. He’d say that on a white person you can see where you hit them cos they go pink. With the kerambit, you are most likely to use it somewhere dark at night. You don’t want it shiny cos that’ll reflect light and announce to your opponent that you have a blade. (dumb).It is a dark weapon, which against dark skin at dusk will not show as easily. It is a weapon of stealth, of cunning of deceit. You don’t let them know you have it till they’re bleeding and scared. Now that’s MAGIC!.

Why is it double edged I hear you ask. Tear in one direction, cut on the reverse. Why waste an opportunity to cut your opponent. The rip does more damage so is the primary way you use the weapon- why allow him to come back at you? Maximum damage with minimum effort.

Malaysian silat doesn’t block. We counter, we strike we do not block so if someone is teaching you to block ESPECIALLY with the kerambit- run. Run fast away from that instructor, cos he doesn’t really know what hes teaching you, and the techniques he is teaching you will probably get you killed. He is more dangerous than the guy you’ll face on the street.

My style particularly focuses on evasion. The kerambit works to chip away at the edges of the defence, to nick, rip make him bleed, wearing him down for the killing blow. It works the same as the defanging principle in arnis. Here we have the tendon snag here, a muscle rip there, nere a nick, there a bleed everywhere is carnage as the kerambit goes to work.

I was taught to work in triangles with this most beautiful of weapons. Covering rear hands rip and tearing as you go, disemboweling at will.

Mauled by a tiger? You have been!

Technically, the kerambit has many virtues, it has the ability to tear and cut, to add penetration and blood release to a simple punch; it is very hard to lose the weapon without losing body parts, and if that is happening, methinks the best place for you is somewhere else anyway.

It has the ability to be used in a variety of grips, and added onto fast flicks with devastating penetration and destructive ability. No other weapon has the ability to do so much with so little.

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The Minangkabau people are from West Sumatra. For centuries now the whole area has paid testimony to the Minangkabau the “victorious Buffalo”, by adopting the pointed style of head dress and architecture characteristic of the area.

About 600 years ago the king of Java sent a messenger to the people of West Sumatra informing them of his intention to invade the island. they were invited to surrender, or be killed.

The people of Sumatra were unwilling to capitulate to this act of aggression, yet did not want to fight. the King of Java had an awesome army, and would surely have defeated the Sumatrans. the elders got together to plan a course of action.

There were many ideas put forward as to the best way to defeat the Javanese king, and eventually one was chosen. the messenger from the Javanese king was told to submit this proposal to his king. Rather than face a war which would bring wholesale destruction on both sides, they proposed that instead of the peoples fighting, that the fight should be contested between two buffalo. Should the buffalo of the Javanese king be victorious, then the Sumatran peoples would submit to the rule of the Javanese King, and should it lose, then the Javanese king would withdraw from Sumatra and never again lay claim to it’s land.

The Javanese king agreed.

He sent out his men to find the most fierce and powerful buffalo in the land. and so they came to West Sumatra.

The people of West Sumatra heard about the buffalo of the king of Java and came to see it. great was their awe of the beast. never before had any of them seen such a powerful and magnificent animal. the mere sight of it filled them with despair.

The elders met again, to try to change their plans, for they felt that they would never find it’s match. they came up with many plans and proposals, and rejected them all as useless. finally they hit upon a plan which was agreed upon by all.

One man had a new buffalo calf which he took from its mother. another fastened iron to the tips of the horns. they waited three days, and then sent the message to the Javanese king to say that they were ready for the fight.

The next day the Javanese brought their buffalo to the arena, and the villagers brought the little calf.

the Javanese laughed at the sight of the little calf. the Sumatrans paid no heed to this, and waited.

On the signal, both buffalo were released. initially nothing happened. the people were bemused. then the calf started to run. he had not been fed in three days, and was hungry. to big buffalo to him could have been his mother so he ran straight over to the big animal to start to feed. as he pressed his nose up against the Javanese buffalo the sharp pointed iron that had been attached pierced the underside of the big beast, and gored it’s belly. it roared with pain and reared, and began to run away. the little calf ran after him. the large buffalo ran with greater and greater difficulty, bleeding profusely from it’s wounds. then the king’s buffalo fell, and a great roar went up from the people of west Sumatra. “Minangkabau!! Minangkabau!! Minangkabau!!”

The Javanese king and his followers left the battlefield, and never returned.

This is the reason that the houses and head dresses of the people are made into the shape of buffalo horns.

slat people who do Minangkabau silat still adhere to the traditions and wear the typical attire of the area. there are a few people teaching genuine Minangkabau silat in Europe- in fact three of whom I am aware in Europe. one is in Spain, Juan Barranechea; one in Holland, Nick Smith; and one in Austria. all of these have I believe actually studied the art at source, and are regarded well as teachers. when this article was written this was the case. many years on i can include Steve benitez in this list too.

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Silat has many stories associated with it and the batin. Many people talk about the death and destruction that can be performed by adepts of the systems, few talk of the good that can be done. I attempt to show people the better side of this wherever I teach, so that people can better understand the good to which we must all strive.

One hostile silat practitioner was interrogating me about my beliefs. Silat is linked with Islam. I am Catholic, and I do Acupuncture also. He could not understand how I could work with three disparate philosophical sources. To me it is very simple. The batin knowledge I have, I am told, predates the arrival of Islam in Malaysia. It transcends religion and religious barriers. It therefore does not affect or offend my Catholic beliefs. Acupuncture to me is also a life philosophy preaching balance and moderation in all things. In itself that is a spiritual path. But what is spiritual?

For me the spiritual path is the one that takes you to God or more to the point that it takes me towards my God. That is all it can be. That means that what many people practice and teach as spiritual is nothing more than Black Magic, and cheap tricks. Naked rituals, (not Wicca), blood offerings, cutting yourself to cause damage to others, are all examples of black magic.

As well as an interest in the Arcane I have been instructed in Ilmu batin by my teacher Maha Guru Haji Omar Din, the only remaining Maha Guru in Malaysia. The title Maha Guru in Malaysia is held in the same awe as the Pendekar in some Indonesian styles. He is the physical and spiritual leader of the system. As such, his power is well known, and I am told he has demonstrated this in many countries. (I’ve seen the newspaper cuttings).

His knowledge is beyond superlatives. I derive my authority from him. As wakil maha guru: as his representative I speak with his blessing and authority. So let me explain the bit you all want- how to do it. The best I can do is tell you how I do it.

Firstly there are two ways: the good and the bad.

The bad you will find easily enough from others. You will not find it in me.

The good then. The central point in all magic/ spiritual silat is focus, intent, and vision. See what you want- feel it, smell it, touch it. I create a special area, not always on my property, which I seal and bless. This is to keep out negative or evil forces. I then cleanse and purify myself, using a smoke ritual. When all is prepared, I then start to concentrate on the task in hand.

For this explanation I will tell you about healing. I have the use of several mantras and prayers for this.

These I recite over the person concerned. There is a technique that I use which is similar to Mesmerism in the true sense, or to aura work. It involves moving the hands over the body about 2-3 inches away from the skin. The purpose is to generate energy and transmit this into the patient. Whilst doing this one must also concentrate on the intent; so for example on reducing a cancer healthy recovery after an operation, wounds knitting together quickly etc.

The process takes anywhere from 5-25 minutes, depending on the problems involved and encountered.

Generating the energy is the next thing. How? This is again a matter of intention. The easiest is to imagine a ball of light being formed from your hand, somewhat like blowing a bubble from soapy water, except this ball is solid, and comes from your hands. Feel the ball, the weight, texture, smell even, throw it to the other hand and catch it. This process takes time. In ilmu batin there are no quick fixes, no easy options. You obtain the ability by studious adherence to all that is good- a strict moral code. For the easy way out look to ilmu sihir. It is the way to know what your teacher is giving you, but you then need the strength to walk away.

I trained with one teacher who started teaching me some magic. He told me that he wanted me to fight a particular well known teacher, and started to psyche me up for this. He gave me a badge with Mohammed written on it in Arabic, and instructed me to wear it daily. I later found that it made me very aggressive, and edgy, and I would unconsciously try to take it off. I finally had it checked and was told that it had had something bad done to it, and that it was evil. it was not the badge, but what had been done to it that was the problem-it was a corruption of something good. I disposed of it. From that time my teacher’s attitude changed towards me. He was less friendly and open, and at times actively hostile. I stopped training with him. I am happy to be following the straight path. Later I talked to other teachers on the Continent, who told me that this particular type of sihir was typical of this teacher’s school. The purpose is to control and subjugate the wearers, giving them no will of their own. It is a process very much akin to Voodoo.

There are many other examples of uses of batin. In Malay history, is a Keris called Tameng Sari which bestowed invincibility on it’s wearer.

Warriors wore amulets to protect them from harm. I was told that when the Dutch invaded Indonesia, the silat practitioners ran to the beaches to ward off the white invaders using their batin. The Dutch, unaware of the niceties of this type of attack, failed to oblige, and instead shot them in their thousands. Sometimes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be!!!

Now most information about silat batin is well shrouded in myth and mysticism. I have seen demos of supposed batin- Children breaking steel or iron bars, people fighting blindfolded, and taking repeated blows without injury. I know them for the tricks they are- the iron is chemically treated to be brittle; the blindfolded fighters move the blindfolds so that they can see. The most impressive is actually the receiving of blows of the Tenaga Dalam. Kateda had a similar way of operating till it’s leader fell into disgrace. One of my friends saw a chap he had hit the day before- sporting 2 broken ribs. So they are not quite as invincible as they make out. But then image is everything.

The basic plan for actually generating the energy is to visualise it. You start by sensitising your hands to feel this energy. Hold your hands a couple of inches away from each other, and slowly move them away from one another. Quickly return them to their starting positions. Repeat continuously. You should start to feel a pull or push between them, like a soft ball. Once you can do this, increase the distance between them, and continue.

To learn to scan for disease, run your hand over an area and see what you feel. One Chinese doctor I have met describes a gentle blowing sensation, like a draught or an emptiness. Strong energy will return heat to you. By moving your hands slowly over an area you may distinguish a different sensation in different areas.

To affect an illness, you need to clear that coldness, and replace it with warmth. Now one of the major problems arises at this point. With what do you replace it? If you are a good channel, or transmitter of God’s force or energy, then you have little problem. If however you are sick yourself, or a poor quality individual, you will transfer your sick or bad energy to your patient, making them sicker. The way to make yourself the best carrier that you can is to pray, meditate fast, and live according to strict rules. Then, the energy that you generate will be “clean”, and you will get good results. This is where the spiritual side is involved. To be able to do this requires effort, practice, diligence perseverance and dedication. That doesn’t come easy. This is why so few people actually practice this part of the art.

The next problem is that if you do practice it openly, then someone practising the dark side may want to stop you, which can lead to things like psychic attacks and then you are back to the things in which I will not deal here. Many people feel that to open themselves up to such forces is to lay themselves open to attack, and if you just do what I have described you are vulnerable. You therefore need a guru who knows about this subject, who can deal in it, and with it, and who is prepared to take you on as a student. If you do not give yourself to his care he cannot care for you, and then you are truly alone.

One student of another silat told me that some healers had come to England but that his teacher would not permit him to go and see them. Healing is not restricted to religion or style. One of the best teachers I have met says that you can learn from everyone.

There is too much said about the destructive side of the batin. I will touch on it now. If somebody attacks you with batin, you are entitled to defend yourself with it if you have the knowledge. Often people have the knowledge, but do not have the practice to back it up. I have been called upon to remove this type of problem from people. I am not a great fan of “Ghost Busting” and didn’t even like the films. It is not a major part of the silat spiritual knowledge- but it is there.

If you go to Indonesia you will find many people will talk about the magic and the tricks. Ask them to do it and they will say that they saw someone do it- they were actually there and witnessed it. I was once told that if you are told anything by anyone in silat to get it confirmed by at least 4 independent witnesses BEFORE you start to consider it’s authenticity.

I have seen operations performed by Maha Guru using the power of the batin, under extremely primitive conditions. I have seen a waiting room of 50-60 people waiting for a consultation with him. That is what I want to leave you with. The true power of the ilmu batin lies in using it for the benefit of others.

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