ANIMAL MAGIC PART 3

MONYET (Monkey), MAIAS, MAWAS, KERA (Ape)

Hello again ;)
It was hard to resist calling this article "Monkey Magic", but I did manage it thankfully.


Monyet or Monkey is an animal that as influenced all styles of Pencak Silat to some degree and indeed most martial arts from around South East Asia, China, India and Africa; almost every traditional warrior culture contained movements either directly mimicking the Monkeys movements and mannerisms, or using techniques influenced by our
our primate ancestors.

I will be dealing here with the view, born out by evolution through DNA evidence, that we evolved from a species of bipedal primates of the Hominid family found in East Africa somewhere around 200,000 years ago.
For more information on this please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

Sorry to all you Creationists out there, but your not going to get the most out of this article without the belief in this basic fact. We are “The Fifth Ape”
And it is because of this, that I think the monyet is the easiest mannerism to “get into”
Were not the fifth ape trying to be a snake or big cat or bird, we are an ape already; we’ve just evolved to be the shapers of our environment, not the pinnacle of creation, but just the most successful of a group of successful primates.

The genetic difference between you and me and the East African Chimp is less than those between a horse and a donkey, the scary thought is that if they mate they have offspring!.........

The biology of DNA relationships between the Primates gets very detailed, (please see http://www.gate.net/~rwms/hum_ape_chrom.html for those interested) the upshot is that the chromosome difference between us (Homo Sapiens) and the other Primates is 1, we have 23 pairs they have 24 the smartest other primate according to the latest research is not the Chimpanzee! But is the great ape of Indonesia, Malaysia now living almost entirely on the island of Sumatra and in Borneo the Orang-utan / "orang-hutan" or forest man (pictured at the top of the article).

It is from the orang-utan that the sub-system of our Monyet known as "Kera" or Ape is based; although "Maias" and "Mawas" are more locally used names.

Ok I hear you! "Enough of the biology lesson"!! But I’m trying to illustrate a very important point; in that although we think of ourselves as humans somehow different from animals better or above them
We’re not, we're simply the most successful ones left of one branch of primates we wiped the rest out!
So understandably then, it’s not too hard to get into the mind set or mannerism of the Monyet or Kera as we are basically the same creature! We just have higher level of self consciousness and self awareness
Language and more refined social skills, well some of us ;)
Getting into the mind of a feline, bird or reptile is much more alien to us as primates ourselves, that’s my point.

Fluidity:
The element closest linked to monyet is Water and like water the movements of our monjet are fluid relaxed and in constant motion formless monjet blows can come in from any angle in a smooth yet relentless barrage like a tidal wave pounding a shore line.
There's a huge misconception in martial arts in regard to relaxation in movement; and while I don’t wish to address this in depth now, relaxed does not mean weak! And like wise power does not come from hardness.

Water as the late great, Sifu Bruce Lee said is the softest substance yet nothing can withstand it, it can smash buildings, engulf whole islands and erode mountains, yet
drop the smallest pebble in it and its surface yields.
If you look at how apes and monkeys move and yes there is a difference! Apes don’t have tails, you'll see while apes like gorillas are VERY STRONG incidentally an adult gorilla as 6 times the upper body strength of the average human;
They are never stiff or tense but supple and relaxed.
It is from the mannerisms of Monyet and Ular (Snake) that most of fluidity of the juru-juru are comprised, if we look at Juru tiga (3) umpat (4) lima (5) and tujuh (7) for example we see movements which come from the monyet to name but a few.
The student must learn to relax and by like water water descends and finds its own level, it as no form and can adapt and fit any container, it teaches us to feel and control the flow of energy in our body and also our enemy.

Combat:
The main core combat aspects of the monjet are the use of elbows and knees at mid-range and head shoulders and biting in close.
It also uses LOTS of elbows and knees for body shielding the short and long elbow shields and the arm and leg blocks for shielding from kicks helps the monyet fighter close down his enemy so as to use these close range tools.
Also seen a lot is the use of attacking high and low and dropping low and springing high.
This calls for good leg strength for the jumping and stamping characteristic of the monjet leaping knees and even climbing the opponent to finish with a waterfall punch or dropping elbow to the top of the head.
Moving through decoy postures designed to create openings to lure in the enemy to strike where the clever little monkey wants him to, giving him the option to "spike" or impale the blow on elbow or knee like our Principle of Thorn, or to grab and pull down into smashing low line blows.
Here the mannerism takes on more of the ape as it gets closer to the ground and the earth element the realm of tiger.
A note on decoy postures these are not just decoys as the name implies there's martial applications in the postures themselves if you play with them enough.
Also there is a good deal of grappling, wresting and throws with this animal if you watch Youtube and see Gorillas fight they don’t kick or punch, they do use there fists to pummel, but they grapple, I find it so funny that a lot of Silat players cross train with MMA or Ju-jitsu to get there grappling when Silat Kera is FULL of it ;)

There’s an old hunting trick used in Asia for catching monkeys, a cage with food is put in a clearing somewhere and a dropping door rigged to a hanging stick.
The monkey comes in eats the food see's the stick and grabs it dropping the door and trapping the monkey.
Monkey's are thus renowned for grabbing and we use many grabbing and pulling techniques.
Sangsot from Juru tiga (3) is a perfect example, the limb is cleverly grabbed and enemy is pulled into an uppercut type blow to his compressed ribs smashing them.
At the long to mid range monjet utilities some viscous double kicks and longer range blows combined with kicks like the Pukulan Wall, figure eights mixed with evasive footwork and decoy postures the monyet is a formidable and cunning adversary (or just a cheeky monkey ;)

As most people know monkeys are very curious and also are great mimics, naturally we utilise this quality so that for us monyet mimics the other animals loaning techniques from the other mannerisms but still retaining the monjets attitude of evasiveness and fluidity
As mentioned previously it’s not so much the "Specific technique" that denotes a mannerism it’s the attitude behind it and the reason it’s used the purpose of the motion; monjet may borrow from Harimau but its still monjet.

Monyet mimic, Naga becomes”

And anyone thinking that monkeys and apes are cute, may be in for a shook the monjet is the most devastating of animal mannerisms I’ve studied, much more evidently destructive than the other close range mannerism the Python, who subtly wraps and envelops its prey before the “big squeeze” as I like to call it, monyet flows and smashes is opponent to smithereens, jumping stamping pulverizing it into the dust, just like a gorilla would.

Attributes:
The movements and postures of the Monyet are one thing but we must have the attributes and correct physical "shell" to express the attitude through technique.
What do I mean by this?
Anyone can be shown or spoon feed a technique, and then reproduce it on cue, but less people are willing to put in the HARD GRAFT that comes from being able to really pull it off
Bodyweight exercises are essential to this mannerism, as is cardiovascular fitness, monkeys are all over the place and never still hyper-active by nature this calls for good old fashioned fitness!
shoulder strength, upper body strength,(an average male gorilla as 6 to 10 times the upper body strength of the average man!) flexibility, lower body strength especially for the Kera, who's movements are performed low to the ground, grabbing and plucking speed and dexterity drills, brake-falling tumbling rolls
all are expressions of a monkey so don’t forget to work them to create the right” Shell" for the mannerism to reside in ;)

So what monyet spirit in its right mind would inhabit the "shell" of someone to out of shape to see his own toes, let alone touch them! Conditioning is in my mind (and several of my teachers) is the dividing line between martial artist and "performer"
as is functionality. Attributes make the man or monkey in this case mindset will prevail were technique fails.
Mr William Sanders rightly said once, if we simply perform techniques and expect them to just "come out" under pressure, without attitude training and an UNDERSTANDING of body movement; we’re simply training to fail.

Mimicry:
As just mentioned mimicry is very important to all primates us included one of the first ways we learn to learn is through observation and copying.
While our style doesn’t have as much of the "clowning” and antics of say Chinese Monkey, we do imitate the monkeys decoys, faints, head movements and mannerisms just not all the acrobatics.
this as many functions, it helps us "get into character" and gives us the vehicle through which the animal takes over and secondly causes confusion and as such leads to uncertainty and fear in our aggressor.
The monyet as I mentioned mimics the other animals copying there "tools" to overcome like waves overcoming a shore continuously flowing and smashing.

Weapons:
Weapons associated with the monyet in our system are primarily the "Kujang"
(a short clip of which can be found at the end of this article)
and also the "Kanching" stick and "Pisau"
Some of this is due to the range monjet works best in mid to close with such fluidity that there’s a lot of overlap with the Ular
just the attitude is different please see previous article on Ular for more on this beautiful animal system.
Also some systems I have studied have the Karambit sometimes spelled (Kerambit) associated with monjet. Again this is partly due to the range that monjet works in, especially Kera, but also as strong historical connections with the great
Hindu epics Marabharata and Bhava gita portrayed a character called "Bimah", who had a magical claw that grew out at will between the fingers of his hands known as "Kuku Bimah" or the claw of Bimah.
When these stories reached the Indonesian peninsula the Indonesians and Malay people instantly took to the character and replicated the claw of Bimah and this is one of the alternative histories of the Karambit and its origins.
For more details on this theory please see Guru Steve Tarani's website http://www.karambit.com/the_history.htm

Sticks and Stones:
Monkeys around South East Asia are inexplicably linked to sticks and staffs a lot of this is due in no small part to the works of the Marabharata and Bhava gita which contain the character “Hanuman the monkey king” which spread throughout Asia to the legends of Monkey and the famous "Journey to the West" in the TV series Monkey.
plus monkeys and apes do pick up and use sticks as everyday tools, and for communication known as "Tree knocking" again some styles have thrown or throwing weapons in the arsenal of the monkey again apes do throw stones to hunt and as a means of communication.
But alas no guns and tanks like in "Planet of the Apes" sorry guys ;)
The Monkey I've been taught previous to my current style had the "Tongat Satenga" or walking staff (equivalent to Jo staff in Japanese arts) and "Tongat Panjang" carrying staff (Bo staff) also belonging to the monyet.

So thanks for staying with me on this “safari ride” through the animal mannerisms of our beautiful system.
As always please feel free to leave feedback and if you’re new here drop us a message in the chat box and I hope I’ve given you a brief glimpse into the monjet as I perceive it
Remember nothing in the mannerisms is gospel it’s about individual expression

Im leaving you with a Kujang clip and some background music as a reward for getting through the text ;)

I guess you could say “It’s all in the swing”!
"Hang loose baby"! lol

Guru Besar Liam McDonald UK Summer Workshops

This summer it is our honor to have my Guru, Guru Besar Liam McDonald over from the Emerald Isle.
He will be teaching two workshops in UK . The Workshops will be held August / Sept and will be in the the city of Nottingham, which will be hosted by my good self Pelajar Sion-Marc Simpson and also in London.
At this moment in time we're just finalizing dates. These Workshops are open to all to come along and experience Pukulan Cimande Combat. If you would like to attend, or host a workshop in the UK, or would like more info regarding Pencak Silat please email either guruliam@hotmail.com or myself simpson76@tiscali.co.uk.

Hope to see you all there ;)

UPDATE! Pencak Silat Concepts: Women’s Self Defence Course's

Hello

I now have provisional dates for the Silat Concepts Women's Self Defence beginners course.
Start date will hopefully be Tuesday May the 5th 6.00 - 7.30 pm and will run every Tuesday for 10 weeks ending on Tuesday July 7th.

Thus far, response as been slower than expected and this may may be a deciding factor on the course, which while the maximum is 15 places
does have a minimum, to cover hall hire and time etc.
Should this minimum not be meet I will of course contact all those who have kindly given me a definite reply and either arrange lessons on a private basis
or re-direct them into the normal Tuesday night Pencak Silat Class were they will cover the same material, alongside more pure Silat.
Costing for the ten weeks is £90 payable in advance of April 27th and £100 thereafter.

I hope it doesn't come to that, as I know it would be a great course either for a complete beginner to self defence / Martial art or as a useful refresher course to build on an existing base.

Pukulan Cimande Pencak Silat Concepts: Women’s Self Defence Course's

Hello

Pukulan Cimande Concepts are proud to announce our first of several course’s in Women’s Self Defence. These courses are intensive 10 weeks courses aimed at giving all women regardless of martial background, a very firm basic in self defence and front line personal protection.

The course planned to run from May, while targeted at beginners will prove invaluable to women from complete novice to those with some back ground within either martial arts or self defence.

Regardless of where we live our status or career having some understanding of personal protection in this day and age is becoming sadly more and more essential. Our course while not claiming to protect you from EVERY threat; will give you a strong, functional understanding and skill base to counter most common threats in a practical, pragmatic and efficient way; greatly bettering your odds of survival should the event arise.

So has to give the best possible tuition and due to numbers, places are on a “first come first served” basis with a maximum of 15 places per course.

For those willing to try and test their skills learnt, the final week of the course will feature a “Realistic Assault / Rape Scenario”

The hope is that these courses for run periodically along with other shorter Intermediate and Advanced course’s for those completing the first course and looking to strengthen their skill set.

For more information on anything above, including venue start dates and prices please contact myself Sion-marc either via email simpson76@tiscali.co.uk or 07867777484.

New training venue!

Hello again

We now have a regular public training venue for Pukulan Cimande Pencak Silat here in Nottingham
Classes begin this Tuesday and every Tuesday after then; from 6.30 till 8.30 pm.

The venue will be the Hyson Green Community Centre in Hyson Green area of Nottingham.
This is situated on Gregory Boulevard across the road from the Forest tram stop, giving 5 minute access from the city centre of Nottingham and 10 minute direct access from the train station.

We are also planning some regular workshops on the art of Pencak Silat and hope to have my Guru Besar Liam McDonald of Combat Silat International over in the summer.
I'm also planning the first of several 10 week Women’s Self Defence courses in Cimande Concepts.

The classes are open to people of all levels and whether a beginner or an advanced student of any art, our only requirement is that you come with an open mind, warm heart and be over the age of 16.

For more details please find my contact details at the bottom left of the page.

CUTTING EDGE

Pisau applications of Juru Satu (1)

“A note on the Jurus”

Hello again I wanted to take a brief brake from the "Animal Magic" articles to look at one of the main "Jurus" in our system of Pencak Silat.
Our system as at its core 18 Jurus or Forms/Katas if you like the meaning of Juru in the Malay language is "Upper body movements". These, in conjunction with our various "Langka's" or "Lower body movements" create the backbone of our system. The Jurus all begin with either Juru Satu (1) which is the focus of this article or Juru Dua (2). These two Jurus are referred to as the "Male and Female" or "Mother and Father" the "Male" beginning all the odd number Jurus and "Female" the even ones.
So for example Juru Umpat (4) starts with Juru Dua as "4" is and even number, also this "Male female" nomenclature refers to the Jurus attitude either "Male" attacking and aggressive in nature or "Female" counter-attacking using more drawing and decoy methods in most cases.

The Juru format usually starts, as we said with Juru satu or dua and then adds other new concepts or techniques to the beginning, the concept being that these "movements" are really concepts and ideas to be mixed and played with to create a myriad of possibilities reliant on the "million variables of combat।" Guru Sean Stark once said “Combat is abstract and ever changing” and we MUST be creative in our use of “techniques” or we simply fail to be functional; a point which cost us our lives! Another important point to make about the Jurus and this is VERY important is that these Jurus teach us a number of "possibilities" and "theories" rather than set counters to "specific" attacks.
Let me illustrate if an opponent was to attack with the obligatory "right lead" using Jurusan (Movements taken from the Jurus) we could do any number of things we could use for this example the "Pukul" which means to collide from Juru Satu which is the position the hands start in at the very beginning of the Juru the "salutation" similar to Chinese Shaolin hand gesture. Creating a triangular "wedge" to collide and penetrate using one of the systems "Principles of destruction"
Equally we could go straight to the "pukulan tukul" or Hammer fist from the same Juru and smash the attacking limb or we could use the “Sangsot” (uppercut) from Juru Tiga (3) and this itself , could be applied to the body as a punch or to the groin as a slap because the “concept” behind the “Sangsot” is and upward attack on the same trajectory as Western Boxing uppercut the same attack line but not necessarily just an uppercut. And this “concept” is more important than the specifics of the techniques taught. All would work there's no right or wrong, just what works as long as the "Attitude" of the Juru remains intact your free to mix and match.

There’s no set counter for a jab or cross, some work better than others, sure but its our freedom and expression of our intention and real understanding of what the Juru’s are trying to tell us that’s correct, just don’t get hit ;)
This is one of the beauties of Silat we learn the Jurus to learn the body mechanics and muscle memory to be able to punch, kick, evade etc once we "know" the technique we forget it and set the movements free.
The Juru individual techniques should be likened to learning letters of the alphabet the Jurus "attitude" to vowels and consonants, these when learnt are forgotten but we still keep the ability to "write" with them. Constructing words and sentences we can "express" various emotions like writing, we could "create" anything from beautiful sonnets to propaganda of hate and terror the kind we see too much of in the “popular” media these days.

When we write a letter we don’t write the alphabet over and over we take the letters we need, to convey our "intention" as second nature; this is how Jurus should viewed. We extract the letter/s or techniques we need instinctively, by second nature without having to reproduce the Juru move for move. The secret is in the "understanding" of the specific Juru and what its trying to teach its "message" and not the individual specific letters in isolation.

"There's no Silat, without the Blade" (Pendekar William de Thouars")

That said I'd like to draw your attention to the “Pisau” the Pisau is a small knife similar to the old cut-throat razor, but is used generally for all small knives used in Silat and it’s these applications in Juru satu I’d like to discuss and illustrate। Please note that the Pisau is usually linked to the “Ular” or Snake and in some systems the “Monjet” or Monkey mannerism’s I WILL ;) cover these “expressions” of its use in further articles। Here I’m looking just at Juru satu’s use of it.
Its my opinion that Pendekar De Thouars was correct when he said that there no Silat, without the blade. When we look closely at Juru satu without even having to "fudge" or "reach" for techniques from Kali or Escrima to use in the name of Silat we have our own techniques and concepts brutally LETHAL and efficient, let beautiful in their simplicity and literal in their interpretation straight out of the form!
I've posted a couple of lengthy clips to illustrate this belief. One showing Juru satu without the blade as we all know it and then performed with the blade to show you the differences...... there's none!
The second showing some applications that are literal in exactly the same order as in the Juru no "fudging" As always I welcome and feedback and flak ;) you guys and girls my have
Enjoy
Train safe, play hard।

ANIMAL MAGIC Part 2(b)

Patience and Power

(Ular Sawa Python)

Salam Datang

I'd like to talk in this article about something close to my heart and that is the Sawa mannerism.

I'd like to re-iterate before I start, what I said back in my first article, and that is that anything written in these articles are MY opinion.

My take and my expression, this for me is one of the beauties of our style of Pencak Silat,, in that expression of techniques, of flow and of spirit; are in my mind what separates this art from all the others.

For me Silat, is a liberated state of mind, where mind body and spirit which are not divided anyway work in union to express the movements.

So please do not take to heart anything I say, unless it resonates with you.

That said I believe the Sawa mannerism is one that is misunderstood by a lot of practitioners with the label of "Oh it’s just a sub-system of the Sendok"

People who take this approach in my view either just haven’t bothered to look beyond anything other than the techniques in the syllabus or what was "spoon fed" from their Guru, or are just to lazy to do the extra study, to their loss.

To me the syllabus is a great starting block to give the overview of the animal a “taster” for students to then go and REALLY study the animal, drill the drills and "seek".

If we want to call these animals kin, then we owe it to ourselves to put in the study and work, not just learn to pass the grading, we sell ourselves, the mannerism and ultimately the art short.

I've spent hundreds of hours (No exaggeration) on Animal Planet and Discovery Channels video feeds and YouTube studying the hunting and feeding habits of the Python and its cousins the Boa

I recommend all readers go and check out this link of a African Giant Python feeding now on

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVYgYlfRYs&feature=channel_page

Before reading on so you can see my point and watch the stages of the kill.

The Python like most snakes is a ambush killer and the constrictors are a good example of this, due to their body mass and weight it would be ineffective use of energy to chase its prey, even the way constrictors move is designed for there body shape.

All other snakes use what’s known, rather predictably "Serpentine" movement bending their body and pushing with there ventral scales at the point of the bend pulling the animal in an almost diagonal movement, best viewed by the Sidewinder a type of Viper.

Large constrictors use what’s known as "Rectilinear" movement the snake tenses and relaxes powerful muscles around the ribs in a wave like motion and using its ventral scales to pull it in a forward wavelike motion, this is slower than serpentine movement but uses a LOT less calories hence being much more energy efficient for such a large snake and with no real natural predator it doesn’t need to move fast.

There's SO much material in the Sawa if we only just looked, I've found hundreds of applications in the movements of the Plate Dance, which is one of many drills.

And one doesn’t have to just rely on Sendok for entries, the Sawa bites and fang strikes make great entries as do blows to the throat and face with the Sawa hands (See video for details) nerve pinches and flesh grabs to hold the opponent, mixed with trapping kicks, utilizing Sempok and Depok footwork one can stay just in Sawa hunting mode without having to always start out in Sendok.

A python in the wild doesn’t pretend to be a Cobra to bite its prey before becoming a Python again to feed! Why should we?

It is more than capable of being itself and they eat well!

A Reticulated Python now in an animal park in Indonesia was found three years ago measuring a staggering 50 feet! And weighed over 940 pounds!

It was kept in captivity by a local tribe on the island of Sumatra and wad revered as a tribal leader!

Back to the stages of the kill, the Python has we’ve mentioned moves in a liner rather than serpentine way, but uses its length to block its preys escape moving very slowly it tracks the movements of its prey by heat sensitive pits under its mouth and through vibrations picked up from the ground, these are felt through its jaw when placed on the floor picks up its preys footfalls.

Due to its mass the Python doesn’t need to coil to strike and can strike much faster than its size would give away, holding its prey fixed with a powerful bite while it throws its body over its prey for the next stage.

The big Squeeze:

Here where I step up onto my soapbox ;)

Contrary to a LOT of Sawa practitioners, applications, PYTHONS DONT CRUSH THEIR PREY! I'll say that again just to be clear PYTHONS DONT CRUSH THEIR PREY! They don’t brake their bones either!

It’s a general misconception that as found its way into many Sawa techniques that are all locks and brakes and that’s it. This is wrong.

Wraps and wrench’s to temporary immobilize your prey for the coming move’s is ok, but still like I said before, DONT go looking or “gunning” for a lock or wrap, you’ll learn a very painful lesson, remember this is not a sport, where the ideal is “not the winning or loosing but how you play the game”! in the ring this is ok, but in reality it could get you killed! We don’t play for trophies to our manhood, we aim to survive.

This as sadly meant that a lot of really good movements have been lost or forgotten in order to teach what’s looks more ”Snakelike” but isn’t in true alignment with how the animal your trying to imitate really works.

Its all in the name "CONSTRICTOR"! All constrictors kill their prey by suffocation they bite, hold the prey still with their teeth, wrap the torso of the prey and coil around the chest tightening slowly as the

Prey breathes out and every time it breaths out it tightens some more until the prey cannot expand its diaphragm to breath and passes into unconsciousness.

If you haven’t checked out that link please do it now, to illustrate by point

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVYgYlfRYs&feature=channel_page

The under belly of the Python is so sensitive it can detect the heartbeat of its prey and may constrict a little longer until it feels this stop.

The Python, then working against the grain of the fur; moves to the preys head to begin swallowing its food whole.

IT may happen that in the powerful squeeze a rib or to may be broken but PYTHONS DONT CRUSH THEIR PREY OR AIM TO BRAKE BONES! So all this locking and braking we see is only PART of the true spirit of the mannerism!

My old Sifu used to say locks and brakes are "incidental, if not accidental" Pythons don’t kill this way, so why are we looking to lock or wrap for the sake of it, look at the animal as well as the syllabus for a while and see.

if on the way into your opponent you get a limb obstruction you may through the Principle of Adhesion want to stick and brake but ALLWAYS make these ballistic brakes. Don’t hold it on and try to muscle it, adhere to the limb and blast the brake through the limb, but NEVER look to just brake.

Obviously we aren’t 28 feet long and over 300 pounds so stopping our opponent this way is impractical but we can imitate this in a number of other ways.

Choking:

I've looked at a lot of Sawa from a lot of systems and have almost never seen a choke used! This is the easiest way to imitate the Python or Boas Squeeze.

Using our limbs and I mean legs too, to encircle and cut of blood supply or more closely to the animal oxygen to the brain to the lungs!

Think about it for a while do we study the animal or the syllabus?

Our style IS the closest I've seen to the real movement of the Sawa and our use of mannerism allows us the freedom to really look and study the animal and express that in our techniques and this is what I’m doing, not picking at our style, I love it or I wouldn’t be doing it and all the work I put in for promoting it over here.

I’m just giving what I believe is a "closer "interpretation of the Sawa; so go look learn your chokes, there are hundreds of different chokes and cranks that are very effective and mirror the movements of the Sawa very well, yea you may have to look to other styles to learn them but when you look back at the plate dance and Kembangan movements there all there, they where there all along, just you went looking for them, because you thought Sawa was a locking subsystem to the better Sendok!

In fact one of the best way’s to bring down a huge guy is by cutting off the blood to his brain, or oxygen to the lungs; it doesn’t matter how big he is he needs blood for his muscles to work

In my research a well placed choke can cause black-out in 3.5 seconds regardless of attacker’s size, think about it again.

Also using the Sawa hand as a blow to the windpipe as a similar effect as does chops to the carotid arteries, nerve pinches applied to the carotid and bites to brachial and vagas nerve with the fingers or with your teeth , fang strikes to the eyes etc will drop the most determined foe, you cant build muscle on these targets.

So look at that YouTube clip again, and think about it.

I've found dozens of ways of using the Sempok and Depok for neck traps and chokes and the selor posture to is great for this

Due to the fact that the Sawa as more of the earth element to it, than the Sendok it follows, that using it to bridge between Cobra and Harimau IS OK! So spend some time looking at groundwork and ground choking the "Anaconda" technique (Hence the name) from Brazilian JuJitsu (and also in nearly every grappling style around,) is closer to the actual animal than a lot of Silat I've seen I'm sad to say.

So look around, just don’t get tempted to study BBJ instead ;)

Legs:

I'd like to mention the use of the legs.

Just as the Sawa is a much longer snake than the Cobra I think that using the whole length of our bodies to effect rather than concentrating on just the upper (discounting the kicks for this example) is again closer to the Python.

Whether these are used for foot trapping and trips or entanglement or for ground choking, look at how they can be used to disrupt your enemy’s structure using the Principle of Destruction, and Adhesion to best effect.

using the weave step to trap a leg and then sticking to the trapped limb and twisting the hips and dropping into a Sempok posture will bring him down and brake his knee and leaves you in a perfect position to apply your chokes.

Sempok step is good for getting behind an opponent period; from here the applications are limitless.

Training:

There are so many training methods I've discovered that showing them all would be pointless, the clips show some of them.

All the drills mentioned in the last article apply to the Sawa but Chi-Sau type drills for sensitivity and fluidity, leg Chi-Sau for the same on the lower line.

Energy drills are invaluable for all Snake styles but probably more for the Sawa the ability to wrap and lockdown your opponent without him realizing until the chokes on,

Ball training is another good drill for sensitivity and adhesion, finger grip training for the bites wrestling with the heavy bag on the ground is also good for low choking techniques and just playing. The Indonesians and Malay have a word “Mi-ing” which means to play, like a child a high spirited free flow played against another like we played as children just innocently without preconceived ideas , not looking for applications or opinions just get into the flow with adhesion and fluidity will help get into the Sawa mindset and you’ll be amazed what you come out with ;)

Apologies to anyone offended by my take on Sawa, but remember it’s just that; my take or expression on what I believe to be a "Truer" Sawa mannerism.

Until next time train safe and play hard;)

Any thoughts or feedback or for more information on classes, workshops or private tuition please don’t hesitate to drop me an email simpson76@tiscali.co.uk