Can anyone tell me about Pukalon-jamente

[SahBumNimRush]

My best friend from childhood is now training in Pukalon-jamenta (I have no idea if I am spelling it correctly), he lives a good 7 hours away from me now and I would like to learn more about the art so I can converse with him about the art.

All I know is that it is a Phillipino art, and from what my friend has told me, is truly a military type of art in reference to the techniques (i.e. they focus on kill strikes).

Can anyone shed some light on this art for me? I cannot find anything about it on the web.. .

 

[Carol]

It's one of the styles of Silat. Your friend's lineage doesn't look familiar butI can tell you a bit about Silat in general.

Silat is a word that translates quite literally to "self defense". Its a style that is indigenous to the Malay Archipelago, so just about all the countries in that region have several styles of Silat. Its particularly popular in Indonesia where schoolchildren are taught Silat as a dance, then when they become of age they learn the combat applications.

It might sound strange to hear of a combat art referred to as a dance. Like many of the older arts in the area, Silat predates the invaders to the area. When foreign invaders/occupiers came to the islands, the local people blended the movement in to dances, to keep their fighting secrets hidden from the foreigners.

When the Muslims reached the archipelago, they adopted Silat in to their culture, and adopted the fighting arts in to not only systems of combat but also in to activities at the mosque...which is something that you can find even today. There are a good number of Silat stylists in the US that are either Muslim or under a Muslim teacher.

The system that I partially learned is headed up by a man (GM Edward Lebe) that was a green beret and a red beret in the Indonesian military. The battlefield applications of Silat are applications that end with the death of the attacker. It is a bladed art, but the mechanics are such that what is done with the blade can be done should the defender lose their blade and has to subdue the attackers with empty hands, often with death coming by way of a broken neck.

The style that I learned was very soft and fluid, with much more attention paid to leverage than striking.

Here is a clip of GM Lebe, the clip will show him going through his jurus (techniques) in an open courtyard, and has been edited to show GM Lebe executing the exact same move on a partner in the gym. This particular style is Harimau (Tiger), which incorporates a lot of low stances. Its....not the best for someone with a bad back

There are a few of us that train in Silat here, please don't be afraid to ask questions.

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[Carol]

I just realized, your friend probably trains in Poekoelan/Pukalan Cimande. That is one of the combat lineages of Silat, and it largely nore Indonesian than Filipino.

I'd be curious if he's in Willy Wetzel's line.

 

[SahBumNimRush]

I think I found the correct spelling if this helps Carol, it's pukulan tjiminde

This is what I've found on the web so far.. .

Poekelan Tjimande- This is the style of Pencak Silat propagated by Willy Wetzel, a Dutch-Indonesian immigrant to the United States. A handful of schools in the United States teach variations of 'Poekelan' as it is also known. Pendekar William Sanders initially studied this style under the direction of Guru John Malter, a direct student of Master Wetzel.

 

[Carol]

Pukulan means combat, tjiminde means flowing waters (spellings vary), so its one of the softer styles of Silat, and with combat applications. I suspect that is one of the Javanese lineages, it may have more influences form the Chinese and Japanese than the Sumatran lineages.

This might offer some more background:

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40997

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Thanks Carol for the clip. I have seen this one before but it is a joy to watch GM Edward Lebe move!

 

[SahBumNimRush]

yes, he is of Willy Wetzel's lineage Carol, I remember him talking about Willy Wetzel, albeit I have no idea who he is.. . Thanks for the info, I think I've found a site that describes more about his art

http://www.poekoelan.com/?page_id=30

So how does poekoelan compare with other styles of Silat?