A person may have a lot of skills that he has learned throughout the years. Or perhaps mastering a variety of skills in handling weapons with a collection of them in the wardrobe. Some are written nicely in the manual book or being recorded in the hard disk in order to capture the memory so that it will not fade in the future .
However, usually people don’t carry them all in their pocket, in case they face an emergency. This is when a person need to choose which one he prefers the most. The one he is comfortable with and the one that he believes most effective among all that he has.
Then comes the practice to sharpen the skills in order to create better confidence when he encounters the real situation. The training should be made countless time until the person can do them in any situation with anybody even with the eyes closed!
Some martial art schools do not have much many moves yet their few moves are practical in many situation. The key secret is the drilling until it ripes. They need to really master just a few moves in order to survive.
On the other hand, Silat Gayong is known for its countless number of movements in its syllabus. Furthermore, the syllibus can be vary from one master to another. However the disciple (including me) might be trapped in trying to grasp the skills as much moves as he can. At the end of the day, the disciple might become Jack of all trades, master of none. Poor him…
This situation usually happens to the amatuer level. If something bad happens, he starts blaming his teacher or the school that he went for not preparing him well to the real world. He himself should be blamed first for believing that quantity means quality which rarely true. Poor him…
Quality is the priority and quantity means bonus. It is like having a pocketknife in your pocket which is already ok, but having a multi-tools swiss army knife or perhaps a few more gadgets is a bonus. However, having a picture of knife in your pocket which you think as a real one might give you a big problem!
What he should be doing is finding the one that he really likes and practise it until he becomes one with the moves. He should make the muscles in the body save the data (not the youtube). It will come out automatically (with the will of God) when he needs it.
The great thing being in Gayong Meor Rahman is that you are able to choose, from different schools to different teachers to different hundreds or thousands of moves. Don’t be too greedy to master all at once. But be greedy to learn and preserve the art. The masters are losing their age. Better we be hurry or else it will be too late.
Perlahan-lahan makan anak Sayang
Jangan sampai tercekik paku seluruh alam.
(Oh Anak!, Phoenix Bangkit, 2001)
Besilat means able to hit and not being hit (too much), the others are just the accessories. At least that is what I syoksendiri believe, Therefore, put a few skills in your pocket so that you won’t get embarrassed if you encounter a fight on the street (with the will of God). huhuhu
Picture taken from (here– the writer has also written a critical review on silat)
ajik
Hafzan Lazim
hafiz lazim
paih
sitizainab
Noor
My Mute Monologue 