World War II Silat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

The year is 1942. The Japanese have invaded the Indonesian archipelago, they advance into West Sumatra and encounter some resistance from the Minangkabau people. The Minangkabau are a matrilineal tribe credited with the invention of Silat Pau, a deadly form which was used by the Jago, a semi mythic figure who would appear for assassinations and generally to make havoc for occupiers trying to take the Minang lands.

The Arts of Mars

by Guru Scott McQuiad

Martial arts is the generic term used for combat systems of codified practices used in self-defense. The term martial arts derives from Latin being the ‘Arts of Mars,’ the Roman god of war and although this term has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of Eastern Asia, the phrase actually originated from Europe sometime during the 1950s. The term was used in regards to the combat systems of Europe back then. In a 1639 English fencing manual the term martial arts was used in reference specifically to the ‘Science and Art’ of swordplay.

The Chained Tiger - Origins of Harimau Berantai Silat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Foreword:

I immigrated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to study blade fighting with world-renowned blade master Maha Guru Jak Othman. My preferred pencak silat style is Minangkabau Silek Harimau and I wanted to evolve the blade work within the style. Guru Jak accepted me as his student and I began my training in this Javanese system, Harimau Berantai Silat. Over the years I did manage to evolve the Minangkabau Harimau art while still maintaing the styles structure and mindset towards combat. But I also became efficient as a student in Harimau Berantai. This Indonesian art is both old and rare and the knife techniques are very real and extremely deadly. With the blessing of my blade teacher Maha Guru Jak Othman I am opening the doors of this silat style, giving an insight into this closely guarded secret art. Life’s tragedy is that we get old to soon and wise too late.

Kali Silat - The Origins of the Stick

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Stick fighting is as old as man. The very object of the stick has been constantly used as a tool for survival, in hunting, farming, gathering, measuring, laboring and fighting. The martial arts are a blend of cultures and ideas from around the world, there is no singular creation, there will always be influence from somewhere else. There are various terms for Filipino stick fighting but for the sake of this article and my preferred theory I will use the phrase Kali.

This stick fighting art displays a rich heritage from various sources upon the Philippines shores. To understand this stick style, we must examine the history and importance of stick combat.

Silat Adat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

The word 'Adat' refers to the indigenous traditions and customs practiced within the Pencak Silat tribes. The adat comprises laws and guidelines regulating in aspects of life that are woven into Indonesian historical facts, legends and proverbs.

The Indonesian forms of pencak silat are a practical combative system that incorporates the concepts of change but the rituals and customs remain rooted in tradition. Preserving the adat in its complete and original interpretation from a physiological and psychological standpoint should ensure that the style of silat will not divert from its root of origin.

Kapak Warriors

by Guru Scott McQuaid 

Foreword

I first came across the Kapak Kecil weapon while I was on my merantau traveling through Sumatra. This was back in 1996 when I was visiting Lake Toba in the North of Sumatra, this region is Batak tribe territory. I saw the small axe in a shanty type store on the remote island. I had seen images of pesilats holding this weapon in books about the art but never actually seen one up close. This weapon is unusual and even more rare to find a teacher that actually knows how to use it in combat. It would not be until 2009 when I immigrated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to train with Maha Guru Jak Othman in the weapon based pencak silat system known as Harimau Berantai Silat or Tiger Chained Silat, when I would come across this vicious looking weapon again. Maha Guru Jak was showcasing the various weapons the Berantai clan warriors used back in the day and it was then when he demonstrated the deadly applications of the kapak kecil. Since that time I have continued to train with Guru Jak in the various weapons in silat and continued to learn the traditional buahs and movements of kapak kecil.

The Making of "Silek Harimau: The Minangkabau Art of War"

by Guru Scott McQuaid

This demonstration film was always a part of my initial intention to spread the word of harimau silat and secure its legacy. I first wanted to document the historical aspects of our art with the ‘Dark Gift’ documentary and then start production on ‘Silek Harimau: The Minangkabau Art Of War’ as a follow-up film. The Dark Gift took seven years to produce and as I was coming to a final cut on that feature I immediately started to shoot this demo film.

Majapahit Silat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Many scholars consider Indonesia to be the cradle of Pencak Silat, the word silat is believed to have come from the word sekilat meaning "as fast as lightning". This is a common theory used to describe the motions of combat before eventually shortening the word to silat. Some believe that the origin of the word pencak comes from the Sanskrit word “pancha” meaning five, or it may have come from the Chinese phrase “pencha” meaning avert or deflect.

Ali-vs-Lee

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Foreword

My first introduction to combat was when I was only six years old. I followed my older brother to our local boxing gym and it was there I learned the basic principals of punching. I soon turned my attention to the martial arts after seeing the Bruce Lee movie ‘Enter The Dragon’. I began training in karate but after two years I found myself back in the boxing gym working the bag.

I would not step in a dojo again until I was fourteen years old when I took up Ju-Jitsu; shortly after I started to train in Muay Thai boxing alongside the Japanese style. After two years of both these arts I resorted once again back to the western pugilistic square ring.

A Student's Journey

by guest writer Brendan Lanza

I have been involved with silat for a number of years now; it is a passion and a way of life. My background included other martial arts as well. I have seen a number of teachers and have been in a number of sparring matches in my time. I came to Malaysia in an attempt to find out more about how modern silat was progressing, first hand, in the “cradle of silat,” (Southeast Asia) so to speak. 

Tongkat Pesilats

by Guru Scott McQuaid

The region of South East Asia is renown for their blade and stick fighting systems, despite all martial art styles being practiced today from an unarmed hand-to-hand approach almost all combative arts were developed with a weapon in hand first before adapting to the unarmed last line of defense.

The most basic and first weapon adopted to the preferred style was the stick.

Save the Harimau: A Message From The Harimau Guardians

by Guru Scott McQuaid

At present, there is roughly as low 3,000 tigers left in the wild on this planet, however there are an estimated 5,000 tigers in cages just in the U.S.A. and there are no legitimate reintroduction programs. The reality is that if we do not protect this animal from poaching, the only tigers alive will be the ones behind bars.

Tomoi Silat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

I have been training in the Minangkabau Silek Harimau style for over two decades and in that time I have been fortunate enough to cross train in many pencak silat systems. While training with my blade teacher Maha Guru Jak Othman in the Harimau Berantai Silat art, I was privileged to be introduced to the rare Malaysian style of Tomoi Silat. Guru Jak is one of a very few that was taught the original form of Tomoi during his years in Kelantan. He produced a demonstration film on the art in 2010 with his senior student Guru Ed Chards and myself. Late last year Guru Jak held a weekend workshop on Pangkor island in Tomoi Silat. It was here that Guru Jak to his silat students or Kru Jak to his Muay Boran kick boxing group trained his class on the beach in this art that bridged the two combative styles together benefiting both martial teams. Since that time I have furthered my studies of Tomoi both physically and historically. I have documented my research to date in this article. So hear what is said, retain what is important, speak what is worthy and attach to nothing.

--Foreword by Guru Scott McQuaid

The Mythical Origins of Pencak Silat

by Guru Scott McQuaid

During my travels across Indonesia studying and researching the art of silat, I have come across many myths and legends of the origins of pencak silat. These are merely folklore stories but entertaining nonetheless, and like any myth, there may be some truth to the tale. So I have decided to share these stories with those interested in silat and the martial arts.

Pesilat Bruce Lee???

by Guru Scott McQuaid

"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it”.
--Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee remains the greatest icon in martial arts. He is a key figure of modern popular culture and a pioneer in martial combat. Although his fame is synonymous to kung fu cinema, Bruce Lee was considered a genuine real fighter on and off the screen.

When reviewing Bruce Leeʼs fight accounts we can see how versatile he was as a fighter, a visionary that developed his own style of Jeet Kune Do (way of the intercepting fist) that solidified him as a modern MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter.

One question that still arises within the pencak silat community is, did Bruce Lee practice silat?

Silat Pulut - The Silat Wedding Dance

by Guru Scott McQuaid

I was recently asked to perform a silat demonstration at a traditional Malay wedding in a village near Melaka. My exposure and focus in silat has always been grounded in the reality base of bela diri (self defense) aspects of the art, I have had very little experience in the seni elements of the art.

Minangkabau Silek

by Guru Scott McQuaid

Sumatran silat or silek as it is known in its original dialect is regarded as rebellious silat, particularly in the Minangkabau provinces where the Minang tribes refused to pay poll tax to the Dutch government during their occupation of Indonesia. This rebellion on the Sumatran island was lead by Guru Neko Raj Api, a practitioner in the Minangkabu Silek Harimau (tiger) system.

The Scriptures of Hang Tuah

by Guru Scott McQuaid

The cultural town of Melaka (Malacca) is famous in Malaysia for being the trading hub of Asia during the 16th century, opening Melayu’s spice trade to the West and bringing much wealth and foreign culture to the island. For many visitors today the town is a historical center, filled with market stools, old China town’s art shops, ancient mosques, chinese temples and a reconstruction of Melaka’s palace. But there is another domineering presence in this town, a figure that is celebrated on every road, building, sign post, art canvas and many tourist products. This figure is Malaysia’s most famous warrior known for his ferocious silat, his keris skills and his loyalty to the Sultan. This warrior is Hang Tuah.

The Journey of a Traveling Tiger

by guest writer Brendan Lanza

“Kahir lived in a village of Cogreg, Bogor. He became a feared pendekar around the year 1760 which was when he first introduced to his students the maempo Cimande moves. ... In Batavia he was able to get acquainted with other silat pendekar(s) from Minangkabau and Cina - masters in the world of silat, and he traded experiences with them. His meeting with other silat pendekar gave him an idea to broaden his horizon by accepting other cultures into his own.”

--Quoted from Gema Pencak Silat Vol 3 no. 1:18-19

The Making of Dark Gift

with Director Scott McQuaid

The initial idea of the ‘Dark Gift’ documentary was just to be a reference point for silek harimau practitioners within our aliran (tribe).

I just wanted to have a visual document of the pesilats (silat players) that had gone before me so I had a reference but then from a very small project it started to expand into this epic documentary that took over seven years for me to shoot and produce.