Thursday, February 21, 2013

Getting Creative

Thanks to our good friend in Chile for this!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Be Flexible

Special at SMAF!

At SMAF This Year








 From Blade to Buah: The Integration of Filipino Kali and Silat Melayu
This unique training experience will utilize a very basic close-quarter attacking pattern with the knife – taken from the Pekiti-Tirsia system of Kali - as a basis to teach an unarmed student how to ‘enter’ (using tangkisan or “soft parries”), disrupt the flow of the opponent’s knife, and place the opponent into various kuncian – or full-body immobilizations drawn from a very rare form of Malaysian Silat.  Various follow-up techniques such as buangan (throws), pins, and knife-disarms will be integrated into practice.  This is a very “tactical” form of grappling that is ideal for scenarios involving multiple, armed aggressors.

The Core of Malaysian Silat.
An exciting opportunity to learn some of the fundamental tactics and strategies of a unique close-quarter system of Silat that is very rarely seen outside of Malaysia! Students will experience langkha (footwork), tangkisan (parrying techniques), kuncian (locking and controlling), and buanghan (throws).  This system of Silat Melayu is renowned for its effectiveness in combat and is presently used by the elite Malaysian “Special Branch” units of the Military and Police, and is highly favored by undercover officers – who due to the nature of their work do not carry firearms.  

The Yoruba Martial Art of Gidigbo 
”Gidigbo” is one of several martial arts indigenous to the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria.  It is a unique method of grappling, striking, and edged weapons practiced primarily by hunters, blacksmiths, and bodyguards to the traditional village Elders.  There is a “ceremonial” expression of the Art which is performed for the public during annual festivals.  There is also a competitive expression performed at regional tournaments. This session will introduce students to the theory and application of traditional striking and throwing techniques from this Yoruba martial art and their application to modern combat and self-protection.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Sunday, February 03, 2013

Silat Melayu Class Notes




The fun and learning just never stop here on Sundays.  What we (hopefully) learned today in Silat Melayu: At the beginners level you learn the all the buah from a fixed frame of reference – the straight, thrusting feed. 

Now, at the more advanced level when you are putting combinations together (pecahan) there will be feeds from many different angles.  Instead of trying to match a buah to a particular feed (slash, thrust, etc.), use the tangkisan to maneuver the opponent’s attack into whatever kuncian is appropriate.  Ta-dah!   

Today’s featured buah:

Panglima Kiri
Jerai Menumpang
Kepak Belalang
Puter Tali