Newbie here, from Malaysia, saying hi!

thegoodguy · Feb 13, 2000

Greetings everyone! I'm a newbie here and am posting for the very first time. I've been steadily reading the forums for the last couple of months and have been very impressed by your discussions of the South East Asian MAs especially Silat (and have learnt quite a bit from you guys!). Coming from Malaysia and having a little background in MA (I've studied Silat, Kali, JKD, BJJ, TKD) I found it really surprising that you guys in the States (& everywhere else) are so very much into the South East Asian MA especially Silat as it is something that I, as a Malay in Malaysia, take great pride in.
From what I can grasp from your discussions, it is clear that your knowledge of Silat would put even certain Silat practitioners here in Malaysia to shame! To see words like kerambit, parang, jurus (etc.) on this forum was nothing short of a mind-boggling revelation to me as I wasn't expecting that other than the Malay-speaking people (in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei) would know these words and terms (guess I just have to admit that it's a small world after all, right?)! Kudos to all you guys (& gals)!!!!!
I do have a question though, how widespread is Silat in the States anyway really? If the demand is there I might just pop over there with my Silat masters, I'm sure they'd be interested. So any info would be great, thanks. Again, great work guys!!!!! Selamat.

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" Fight only for that which you are willing to die for."

Wileen · Feb 14, 2000

Hello Good Guy!

Welcome to the FMA fourm!

Have fun!

Barong · Feb 16, 2000

thegoodguy,

While many on this forum may be familiar with silat, in the United States as a whole, silat is very rare. There is a fair overlap between Filipino martial arts stylists and silat players though, and silat is closely associated with blades. I suspect that's why you see a relatively large number of silat-related posts in a Filipino martial arts Blade Forum.

If you hunted down a non-Filipino, non-blade type of forum or newsgroup, you'd see far fewer silat-related comments and much more space devoted to other styles. If you looked at the "martial arts" or (in some places) "karate" section of most U.S. phone books, you'd probably find very few silat schools listed.

Barong

Donna Barnas · Feb 16, 2000

Hi Goodguy,
I second Wileen's welcome and hope you will post regularly on this site.

What style of Silat do you and your masters practice? Can you tell us about it?

bayani · Feb 17, 2000

Welcome to the Forum! There is much interest amongst the educated North American martial community in ALL the SE Asian war arts, Silat included... Managed to catch a demonstration of Silat Seni Gayong at an Asian Heritage Festival in New York City and was totally impressed...by any chance, is that your system? At any event, please keep posting and visit when you can! Take care, selamat, and Peace!

bayani

thegoodguy · Feb 19, 2000

Hey there people,
So very sorry I took so long to reply but I've a bit busy lately with work. Thanks for the welcomes everyone! Glad to be here! What style of Silat do I practice? Well, I've dabbled in two different styles namely Silat Cekak Hanafi and Silat Harimau Berantai. Both were good in their own way(s) but I've stopped both due to work pressures and things in those Silat styles that I found didn't work too well for me (because of my mental, emotiona, spirituall & physical makeup). I have found a great style that I'm trying to persue right now. Seems perfect for me. Now, if I can only convince that Master to teach me as he doesn't really teach that Silat much and it is his family's Silat & I'm not family, so you see the problem, eh?. However, I'm willing to wait until he gives in, 'cause I know I won't! (he, he,) So any of guys ever been to my country, Malaysia? Want to come? Oh, yeah, another thing. Just so you guys are aware of it, Silat in Malaysia is not as big a thing as even I used to think that it was. It's a bit sad but we're trying to build it up the best we can.So, if I was told that it wasn't that huge in the States, well, I wouldn't really be surprised, It's just that there are people discussing it over the Net in great detail that really surprised me, more so since you guys are not from the country of Silat's origin. So, that's all fer' now, I guess! Selamat & Peace!

Donna Barnas · Feb 19, 2000

Goodguy,
Why do you suppose that Silat is not that big in your country?

BTW, I have never been to your country but it looks like a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

thegoodguy · Feb 20, 2000

Hi again,
Well, I suppose it boils down to the fact that Malaysian youths would rather do other "cooler" things as opposed to Silat which is deemed too traditional. The fact that Silat practitioners have decided to give Silat a "commercialized"-feel (by making it more available to the masses)has backfired somewhat as it had never really been done well enough to seriously capture the attention of the youth here. As such, other MA'S such as TKD and Karate get more attention. Technically speaking though, I personally believe that a lot of the Silat styles have been diluted/watered down as the essence of Silat is lost even to the Silat Community itself. It has become too stylized for its own good and has lost some of its edge as the older generation diminishes, taking their too closely guarded secrets with them to their graves. Well, that's the way I see it anyway. So, that's all fer' now! Selamat berlatih, Berlatih selamat! (Safe training, Train safely!)