Wednesday 25 November 2009

Monday Night Training Belati Again

At last, after a short break of silat training, Guru Ed and I resumed our training last Monday night. At last after a long period of time, we trained ourselves the 8 buahs of the Belati Art. We also revised 3 pecahans of the said art. All of which involves switching of the bladed hands. We spent half of the alloted time training this.

The other half of the time was training to use the Sauh, or better known as Tekpi here, and also known as the Sai elsewhere. We trained 8 buahs of the Sauh art taught to us by Guru Jak. The 8 buahs are used to counter long range weapons such as the sword. So, we use the bokken or the wooden sword in this particular training.

Upon being attacked by the sword, the sauh would first parry the attack, trap and destroy the opponent's weaponed hand, then attack the opponent's legs. Proceed with attacks on the head and take out his vision, then continue with attack the groin. Lastly, finish the opponent with a stab or more through the body at any of the main organs. That's a little preview of how the Sauh art looks like.

During the training, we have to take into consideration, the speed of our movement, our footwork, how we position ourselves by taking into consideration factors such as position of the opponent's weapon. We also have to check all possibility for the opponent to do counter-attacks.

To ensure our safety during training, it is imperative that we apply a proper amount of control in our attacks and counter attacks. Wearing safety gears where necessary is important too. We are required to wear our Mr. Mark's safety goggles and I never ever forget wearing my groin guard. I usually put on my knee pad too as some of the attacks target the knee area.

What I hope to train again soon is the 8 empty hands buahs also known as the buah pukul mati, and also the the 8 locking techniques also known as the buah kunci mati. It has been a very long time since I last train those buahs, but, to further complicate matters, the buahs that I learnt and what Guru Ed learnt are different in approach although there are similarities.

Why the difference? I'm not sure. Maybe what he learnt 1 or 2 decades ago was suitable for that period of time when JKD was so big that time, and mine, what I learnt recently, evolved and simplified from his version. Well, that is one of the challenges of learning this art.

That is why I must start writing Silat in this blog. Last time, I had some notes that were written on a few pieces of paper. I couldn't find them anymore and I can't remember where I last saw them. Those are notes about the empty hands and the locking buahs. Hmm.. Hopefully, through patience, concentration and supplication, God will allow me to retrieve all that knowledge back and practise them again. Amin.

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