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12 Day Silat Training Camp

Friday, 14 May 2010

Q & A with Maha Guru Richard Crabbe de-Bordes

Q: What made you want to hold this pencak silat training camp?

Maha Guru de Bordes: It is to fulfil an old desire of the stakeholders of the Lumpat Harimau Minangkabau from various destinations meeting at a common place, sharing their common interests with the supervision of their teacher and grand teacher. It is also in memory of the first Lumpat Harimau Minang luminaries to "Track the Guru" such as Dr. Lee Wilson, Uanu "Tal" Sheshmi, Charles Gore, Patrick Graham, Randolph Carthy, Panikus Klitou, Scott McQuaid, Kelly Smith and other important orders.

Q: How does this event differ from your yearly seminars you hold in England and the States?

Maha Guru de Bordes: The difference is that everybody is coming together not just those from England or USA but those from Italy, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and not forgetting people from the African continent and being supervised by myself and chosen esteemed masters of the style with the blessing of the legend Grandmaster Sultan Adityo B. Mataram Hanafi.

Q: What can the recruits expect from this twelve day training camp?

Maha Guru de Bordes: They should expect the real deal from different perspectives. They will see the manifestation and attributes of the feline in different forms. Remember in the feline family you have the tigers, lions, cheetahs, jaguars etc. And all these felines come up with their unique specialties in bringing down a prey. The mentality is as follows: explosive kicks and feet tactics, lightning hands and upright close quarter combat, ground fighting and grappling, using the Teflon mode, Lumpat Lumpat and you are out and the wrath of Machan Hitan.

Q: Your advertisement for this event reads as a challenge to the modern craze of MMA (mixed martial arts) is it?

Maha Guru de Bordes: It is not only a challenge to MMA but a challenge to us as practitioners of Silat in general and Harimau in particular. Are we hiding behind legend or we are basing our Silat on practicality and applied science and modern battle tested experience. Can our Silat hold its own and be victorious in this urban jungle war theatre. To answer these questions, our resolve during the "Tracking of the Guru" will be no holds barred, perception check, reality check, in your face and soul searching but also lots and lots of fun and adventure.

Q: You have many of your disciples attending this camp, what can we expect from them?

Maha Guru de Bordes: Trust me you will see different perspectives of the Harimau Minangkabau from modern great masters of our dearly loved leaping tiger that will not take any prisoner.

Q: The guest of honor is your teacher Grand Master Adityo Hanafi, what can visitors expect from this living legend?

Maha Guru de Bordes: I think this living legend will be there to put the icing on the cake and to crown the Lumpat Harimau Minang of antiquity as the true King of modern all round close quarter combat.

Q: Ghana is historically renowned for its warriors both past and present, so what does it mean to hold the event here?

Maha Guru de Bordes: The gathering of today's Silat warriors in Ghana means everything to me as a warrior chief of the Ga tribe of the Greater Accra region where the capital of Ghana is situated and means a lot to the great warriors of Ghana past and present. As such there will be a grand durbar of chiefs and warriors in honour of this Silat gathering in Ghana. It is also to honour the memory of the great friendship between Ghana and Indonesia’s first presidents, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Gen. Sukarno. Not forgetting this will be the first of its kind on the African continent.

Q: What separates the harimau silat style from other pencak silat styles?

Maha Guru de Bordes: There are hundreds of Silat styles and tens of Harimau styles around the world today all propagating their uniqueness which I do respect as a member of this large family. However I am only here to talk about the Lumpat Harimau Minang which is from the Hanafi lineage of the great warrior Poyang Lebeh AD 1610. May peace be unto his name. What I am talking about is a style with a mentality based on the ability to safely subdue, decimate and annihilate its prey(s)/ attacker(s) with lightning quick speed in absolute stealth as large as its self or larger, either stationary or preferably in locomotion, armed or unarmed. Lumpat Harimau Minang is a style that does not base its combat prowess on legend only but on modern day battle harden results tried and tested globally by its faithfuls.

Q: During your years practicing and teaching harimau silat what has been your most memorable moment?

Maha Guru de Bordes: Every time my students or a student of mine positions himself or herself at the highest pedestal of life is my most memorable moment.

Q: This event promises to not only promote this rare Indonesian art but to show its effective combative applications in todays urban jungle, how do you intend to show this?

Maha Guru de Bordes: I and the fine masters that will be present to support the "Tracking the Guru" event will take Silat in General and Harimau in particular into the combat laboratory, dismember and reassemble our beloved Harimau into effective combat ready components that is practical in todays’ urban jungle and pass it on to our esteemed recruits without destroying the core structure and the Adat and Hormat of the style. These effective combat ready components can be used by combat sport athletes, self defense enthusiasts and practitioners and also elite and special forces personnel.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add in closing...?

Maha Guru de Bordes: Folks if you can see this dream and believe in it, I will say no mountain is too high and no lands are too far to reach. Come and be part of this History. Will this gathering happen again, I don't believe so.

"Experience the lethal, tearing, hand tactics of Lumpat Harimau Pencak Silat. Practical, battle tested applications developing explosive, confrontation-ending striking whether facing single or multiple opponents." - Pendekar Paul Bennett

"The explosive ground kicks of harimau silat are unrivaled, for those who choose to attend this rare event, they will learn something that may save their life." - Pendekar Scott McQuaid

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About the Seminar

1) All inquiries regarding the training camp shall be directed to Maha Guru Richard Crabbe de Bordes ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) at the De Bordes Foundation of Combat Science.

2) USD100 reserves a place for the seminar.

3) Hotel accommodation will be booked for by D.B.F.C.S. only upon the instructions of  the participant. Therefore, participants are responsible for their own accommodation. Prices of air-conditioned rooms including breakfast start at USD35/night. Participant will have to advise D.B.F.C.S. about his or her budget for the hotel.

4) All participants must arrive on or before October 14, 2010.

5) All participants will be picked up from the airport and transported to their hotel if their hotel is booked through D.B.F.C.S.

6) Participants will have to fly into Kotoka International Airport from their home towns, states and countries.

7) The camp participation fee of USD800 covers:

• training for the duration of the camp
• lunch or snack during training breaks
• transportation to and from the training venue
• certificate of participation plus a sword of participation.

8) A tour and sightseeing is included in the camp program and covered by the participation fee of USD800. Night life activities, dinners, shopping, etc. by participants shall be taken by the participants at their own expense.

9) All participants will require letters of visa clearance from D.B.F.C.S. to be attached to their Ghanaian visa application. All persons require a visa to enter Ghana. To acquire the letter for visa clearance, participants will have to reserve their place for the seminar and furnish D.B.F.C.S. with their name as printed in their passport, their nationality, and current address of residence. To avoid delays in reservations, flights and visas must be looked into by participants.

10) The reservation and seminar fee to be sent to the following account:

Bank: Standard Chartered Bank Limited
Account name: De-Bordes Foundation of Combat Science
Account number: 8701534561700
Branch: Osu-Accra
Swift code: SCBLGHAC

Thank you for your interest in this historic event.

Ghana beckons you!