Silat Practioners questions?

[Karatedrifter7]

Not knowing anything really about Pentcak Silat other than one video-tape, I'm in the dark about it. Also there's no schools in my area.
But I would guess that most practioners in the United States had some other kind of art before hand? So my question is, if you studied something else before going into Silat, such as Karate, Taekwando etc. Did it get in the way for you? Also how do you like this art?

 

[tellner]

Not knowing anything really about Pentcak Silat other than one video-tape, I'm in the dark about it. Also there's no schools in my area.
But I would guess that most practioners in the United States had some other kind of art before hand? So my question is, if you studied something else before going into Silat, such as Karate, Taekwando etc. Did it get in the way for you? Also how do you like this art?

Still sticking with it for about sixteen years with the same teacher. Stevan Plinck is an exceptional teacher by any standard, but he's not the only reason.

I was a dojo bum for a long time - Judo, fencing, Okinawa Te, Arnis, Kajukenbo, JKD/Muay Thai/Kali, some submission wrestling, a little of this, a little of that. Some of the earlier training was useful, especially the saber fencing remarkably enough. The stuff that caused the most cross-training problems should have been the most similar, the FMA and Taiji.

 

[Karatedrifter7]

So youre sold on Silat? Interesting. But the Okinawan Te didint cause any problems crosstraining? Silat seems pretty different has alot of groundwork huh?

 

[tellner]

The Okinawa Te was a fair bit of time before. And Kajukenbo, JKD, FMA, Muay Thai, and some Kendo came in between. Most of those cross-training issues were already taken care of.

Yep. I'm happy with Silat. It suits my temperament. It's versatile, practical and has a lot of depth. A lot of what I like is due to what and how the system teaches. A good bit is the teachers. I've been privileged to be with three instructors. All of them have been very very good fighters, practitioners and instructors as well as really wonderful people. Since taking the Shaykh's dirham :wink: I've found that the Silat and Sufi training have great commonalities. It's nice when several important things support each other.

 

[silat]

But I would guess that most practioners in the United States had some other kind of art before hand?

Not necessarily all pesilats trained in Martial Arts before starting Silat!

I have found that a lot of my students never trained in Martial Arts because they didn't see the combat effectiveness with most styles but liked the Silat when they were introduced and started training.

So my question is, if you studied something else before going into Silat, such as Karate, Taekwando etc. Did it get in the way for you? Also how do you like this art?

For me it wasn't a hindrance as much as an eye opener. I was looking for what Silat offered and when I found the style of Silat I learned it and dropped whatever other style didn't work as well until I had enough Silat to say I am now a Pesilat and can rely on Silat as my primary fighting style.

I have been studying the Fighting Arts for 31 years now and have a lot of systems & styles under my belt and just as the Silat Practitioners of the Malay Archipelago have for thousands of years I retain what I think is useful and complementary to Silat.

Also not to mention that most of the Silat I have studied was mixed with some other form of fighting like Kuntao, Muay Boran or Chuan Fa by Asian Masters from South East Asia.

Sincerely,
Teacher: Eddie Ivester

 

[Trent]

The only art I practice and train now is Kun Tao Silat De Thouars. I received teaching credentials in other arts before starting silat (i.e., Cinco Teros Escrima, Cheng style Baguazhang, Muay Thai, a small family style of kung fu). They all helped in some small way by exposing me to physical conflict, assisting with coordination and conditioning and other basic, foundational things, but they also did provide some things to require "practicing out" of my learned reactions. There was some overlap in all the arts with Kun Tao Silat, but Uncle's view of combat is entirely different and requires a new way of perceiving and moving in a combative context than anything else I've come across. I also have a bit of experience with other arts for which I have not received teaching credentials, but had a few years of experience in training contemporaneously with other arts I was learning. (e.g., tae kwon do, isshin-ryu, wrestling, boxing, aikido-- I'm old :wink1

While trying to refrain from style bashing, as that is not my intent at all, but the arts that caused the greatest problems for me were the ones that separated me the greatest from the principle type of movements in my current system. Those would have been tae kwon do and aikido with isshin-ryu causing it's share of grief as well. Admittedly, each one created some conflicts including boxing and wrestling to some degree as well, but not as much as the previously mentioned three; however, they all assisted in my development in some way. You just have to find something accessible to you that speaks to you on every level. Your experience will undoubtedly be different than mine.