Welcome to THE BALISONG JOURNAL An online journal of Southeast Asian Martial Arts, Culture and Spirituality from Guro Jeff Davidson and Detroit Kali-Silat. We will focus on Filipino Kali, Batangas Knife, and Silat Melayu (especially Silat Kuntau Tekpi) - along with Yoruba (West African) fighting and healing arts- and other interesting diversions along the way.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Silat Melayu on the Move
Cikgu Mohd Nadzrin Wahab
For an outsider coming to Silat Kuntau Tekpi (or any Silat Melayu) it is not sufficient merely to learn the physical techniques of buah, tapak, kuncian, pukulan, etc. In order to truly grasp where the Art “is coming from” both historically and conceptually, one must endeavor to understand the culture which spawned it. For one who is so far removed from the Source - namely Malaysia - this is can be a daunting and often frustrating task.
Without a doubt, the greatest blessing on this journey into the hermetic world of Silat Melayu has been to make the acquaintance of a generous and enthusiastic teacher, practitioner, and eminent scholar of Silat Melayu named Mohd Nadzrin Wahab, known to many as Saiful Azraq. Any foreigner who has done even the most cursory research into Malaysian martial arts from the available resources in English knows this young man - primarily because Nadzrin is personally responsible for translating and making the information available to us!
It is no cliche to say that this young man is a veritable encyclopedia of information on the history, customs, traditions, lineages, masters, people, places, events, milestones and just about anything else significant to Silat. Luckily for us, he is a painstaking and patient guide. If by chance he doesn’t have the answers...he knows the folks that do.
I invite you to his blog: http://silatmelayu.blog.com/
Tell him ‘JD Tekpi’ sent you!
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4 comments:
Hmmmm... who dares to unmask the Spider-Man?
apasal muka uncle macam tu? Sakinah
Guru, is this the guy you're always on the phone with before Tekpi class?
Yup. The reason SKT training is so expensive is to cover the long distance phone bill.
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