sila-silat-southern thailand

[destructautomaton]

hi
my friend is looking to head down to southern thailand to study silat or sila as they say. Anybody have any experience training in the south? heard there was trouble there & not really safe to go to far south. i havent heard much about silat there so its intriguign and fascinating.

 

[VASI]

hey da
checked with my cuz but nobody knew anybody
seems people were scared like you said about going down south for some reason
will check around some more for any classes or teachers

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

I have been down through southern thailand all the way to the tip then to penang, malaysia to kuala lumpur, malaysia a couple of times.

There is tension down in the south so I believe one should take caution especially if they are not familiar with thailand and traveling. But that aside I found everyone really cordial and very helpful. The south of course is mostly muslim as opposed to rest of thailand and even if its not since someone reported the numbers dispute that, the feeling is of a Muslim community especially the further down you go.

I think the best bet as you mentioned is to get a lead or a name of someone to see or train with and begin there. So you have a set agenda then you can fan out from there.

There is alot of sila/silat masters and some are open to teaching and some are not to outsiders.

I am finishing a DVD called the village of the keris; the art of bun dai sara on a southern thai master who teaches how to make the keris as well as the art of training and learning to use the keris. He was very open and nice and introduced me to two sila masters.

If you watch the dvd you can get a glimpse at sila and keris training as well as look at footage of malay systems since malaysia has a huge influence over southern thailand because of its close proximity.

of course as you know Chaiya as in chaiya boxing is called southern boxing because Chiaya is in the south of thailand. But its own thai system and to doesnt resemble or train like silat though others see it differently. The systems that look most like silat are the northern systems and those resemble and have a flavor all their own as well as some closeness to burmese systems.

I found many interesting masters in the south so its well worth a trip. Just plan it out ahead of time the first trip so you make friends and they will give you info and steer you clear of any problems from there you can venture out and know the terrain better without any further problems.

If your friend personally contacts me I can possibly help with some leads depending on what he is looking for. But i suggest taking a look at the dvd before he goes if he can, so he gets an idea of the area and teaching, it will be very helpful to him. you guys can also email about the dvd if you are interested, the site www.thaikeris.com should be up in the next week or two I hope.

Very interesting and worthy topic by the way.

 

[destructautomaton]

Thank you for the info BDC-sent a message to you
seems there is interesting things being taught in the south

 

[VASI]

looks interesting. think there is also a class in Bangkok tryin to find out for you
but probably better to do it in the south where the
real mofos are--if you can

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

There is a class in bangkok hopefully its still running. I sent the info to you. Just check that the message went through. If your friend winds up in bangkok , he can try it and see if its to his liking. I didnt attend nor see the class so I cant help much.

 

[VASI]

Going on vaca down south might ask around and see if anybody knows anything i wont run around down there without knowing where to go but if i find anything i'll let ya know for sure. i am definitely gettin the dvd so save me one!

 

[destructautomaton]

thanks all --i passed the info on--i also found it interesting there wasnt much to read or see about southern thailand so its kind of cool to see whats going on down there martial arts wise

 

[destructautomaton]

my friend is thailand nowchecking things out he will get the dvd as well to check out what he can get from it. so more news when he gets back to me

 

[VASI]

quick report:
didnt get to see too much
saw one sila master - he was kind of secretive and stuff
it looked cool but he wouldnt demo on me
tell your friend to hit me on the email when he is in thailand

 

[destructautomaton]

Thanks, Vasi.
I might take a trip over to thailand in january and will send you a message.
ifind the whole sila and silat thing very interesting personally

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

Just a quick update on the Village of the Keris; Art of Bun Dai Sara, the dvd will be shipping next week for those who ordered or who want to.

There have been alot of emails and interest i guess maybe from this thread about silat training in southern thailand and malaysia, so hopefully the dvd will spark more interest and further investigative looks at it.

 

[VASI]

got the dvd yesterday!
insightful and very well done
lots of stuff on there
i enjoyed that it showed malay side of things some indonesia and the thai side of it
it explores something never shown before
i want to go down south and really expereince it for myself now
i'll let you guys know if i make it in jan!
happy holidays if i dont hit you guys back before then

 

[destructautomaton]

finally watched mine and i thought it was really good its kind of different place down in the south but it seems very fascinating place to visit and train and the teacher it states is open to teaching people the dvd is out and budovideos has them now too. well worth owning i have more questions but i will get to them wehn i wwatch it again

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

Hopefully when I return to Thailand shortly I will do an update about the South and see if I can dig for more information to add beyond the DVD.

I would like to visit the other parts to see the kind of keris making and sila they are practicing.

One of the dvd stores is finally open at www.thaikeris.com, there were some delays in getting things set up and dvd finalized. the second store www.thaikris.com will open shortly.

Thanks for everyone's support.

 

[Stickgrappler]

Hello all:

*Bows deeply*

When I think "Thailand martial arts", Muay Thai, Krabi Krabong and the various bareknuckle styles comes to mind. Little did I know that in the Southern region of Thailand, Silat is practiced instead of the indigenous Thai arts. In the "Village of the Keris" DVD, some of the Sila (Thai Silat) as practiced in Southern Thailand are demonstrated from the various lineages.

The meat of the DVD has Guru Atabu instructing on the making of the Keris as well as a form and application. Like Muay Thai's 1-2-Round Kick, the "Village of the Keris" DVD is a good combination of overview, history, and technique. Excellent production values and good information makes this a good DVD. I highly recommend the "Village of the Keris" DVD to anyone with interest in Silat, Keris, Thai arts, as well as to any martial artists who contemplate travelling to different countries to train from the source.

~sg

 

[VASI]

stick i dig your site
its a nice storage of a ton of info
cool review too

 

[Stickgrappler]

Hello Vasi:

*Bows deeply*

It's been ages since I've had a chance to work on it due to various reasons. Looking to 2011 to be when I am actively updating it again.

Thank you for your kind words!

Very truly yours in the martial arts and self-defense,

~sg

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

A friend just sent this to me of an interview in Thai with Guru Atabu from my Village of the Keris: The Art of Bun Dai Sara DVD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec5Ao2MiG9M&feature=player_embedded

Good to see him wealthy and still working hard on promoting Keris culture. I hope to see him again when i return to Thailand.

 

[Fede]

Thanks for sharing the link Vincent.

It's good that a Thai university is also helping him send his message out, it shows that they really give value to different cultures even if they are not well known.