Empty Hands for Warm Up, and the Sakti Pencawangan Night

Last monday night, we had two more new students joining in our Silat class. Both of them are girls, one who has been with us in Kickboxing class and now going through apprenticeship to become a new instructor, while the other, i met for the first time as she flew in from Australia. The latter is a Kickboxing instructor in her home country and has some experience in Filipino Martial Arts.

We started our session with a warm up session doing the empty-hands combat Buahs. I'm so glad that I get to revise those Buahs again, together with the new guys.  This is my chance to recollect all the Buah that I have lost. Note to self, "Must Write Down". The unarmed combat Buah is slightly different from what I have learnt, but the gist is still the same. The approach is slightly closer to the moves that has been taught to Guru Ed. Parry the jab, cut the incoming cross with an immediate eye jab, destroy the arm by breaking the elbow, multiple blows to the body with hand and leg attacks, go behind the opponent, grab the balls, destroy, follow through with more attacks until he or she is rendered immobile. Well, that is to give some ideas on how some of the Buah looks like. I guess the keyword here is, Overkill. Don't settle with only one or two counters but with multiple blows. Besides the Buahs, we also get to do some Pecahans, which are combat moves derived from the main Buahs.

Then, Guru Ed and I do our usual drill with the Sakti Pencawangan. Last night Guru Jak briefed the new students about this weapon. He said Pencawangan means suggestions. Must be an old Malay word, because currently, the Malay word for suggestion is Cadangan. Then he explained to us that the tonfa-like part of the weapon, is not a Tonfa. He used a Thai traditional weapon  where the tonfa-like weapon has two handles, one to hold and the other one in front is to protect the fingers. A rope is attached around one end so that it stays still on the forearm.

Mai Sok. Image grabbed from http://www.tonyjaa.org/muaythai_ongbak.shtml

I looked up the Internet, and found that the said Thai weapon is called Mai Sok.  Well, last night, Guru Jak pulled a blade out of the modified Mai Sok.  Our traditional Malay weapon, or Javanese weapon to be more precised, he did mentioned Javanese, Sakti Pencawangan has one handle with the length of the main shaft extending slightly behind the elbow, with a concealed blade, that can be pulled out of it. From one or the other end, depending on where the owner of the weapon wants it, I guess.

That night, I could see that many of the new students were amazed. Me, personally, I still am.

Salam.