The Forward Roll

Pukul Pelaga's Forward Roll is radically different from traditional forward roll. The majority of silat practitioners use the Tiger Forward Roll, some use the slightly to the side version, while there are others who said that it was not necessary.

When Pukul Pelaga came out into the open, other silat practitioners laughed at us. They said that the technique which we used was dangerous. They said we could break our arm, or even worse our neck.

In reality none of my students ever received any injury. It is more practical. The proof?

Many silat practitioners are now using the same technique. As usual they claimed the technique has always been theirs. Even modern Kalaripayat also uses the same technique, introduced by its teacher in Penang.

One major difference with Pukul Pelaga's Forward Roll is that it is straight to the front, and uses the forearm instead of the hands.

Demo at Nilai

About two weeks ago we were invited to perform a demonstration at one international college in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. It was to be part of Malaysian Culture festival. Our slot was on last Wednesday night which we duly attended.

The invitation was rather late, and I had to look around for members who would be free to participate. Praise to Allah a group was assembled, but two had to withdraw due to other more pressing commitment.

There were two silat groups on that night. We were the second to perform. Even though there were only five Pelaga our demo was slightly longer than the first group. We had more variety. I was the photgrapher. Unfortunately being in the backstage the angle was rather limited.

I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Chong who invited us. Presumably it was his own decision on picking us.

Traitors in the midst

Pukul Pelaga is a small group, yet there were traitors who had their ego to satisfy, and did not really care what the consequences of their actions would be. There were traitors who joined Pukul Pelaga to extract whatever they could. There were two traitors who exposed all the secrets of Pukul Pelaga to other silat organisations. In this posting I would like to write about these two traitors, since they were the ones who caused maximum damaged to Pukul Pelaga.

It was partly my fault, because I prefer trusting people unless it is known that they are unreliable. So was the case of the two traitors. In fact I was hoping that one of them would become one of my successors, at least in Seremban. As it turned out silat practitioners from another organisation used their mental immaturity to encourage them to give the secrets ofPukul Pelaga to them.

One of them has passed away. The other has been ignored those who pampered his ego after they have received the Tahap 1 book and other secrets.

Guru Rosli said it is my decision on what to do about this matter. His words were witnessed by two other Pelaga. My decision was to still use the traitor mark on them, and disdown them as students. This was because the damage done by them is extremely difficult to repair.

By the way the second traitor is teaching silat and claimed it to be Pukul Pelaga, and claimed that he had the blessings of Guru Rosli. What he is teaching is far from what it should be.

Stolen books - An Indirect Admission?

In late January 2010, one of my students, referred to as Pin, met the founder of one of the latest silat school, who shall be identified her as SF  He was on stand by duty, and had coffee with one of his friends when SF joined him.  His friend is also a friend of SF.

Out of the blue SF told Pin that one of the books that I wrote had fallen into the hands of other silat practitioners.   He said that I asked him to look for Mee (not his full name), and ask him to return the book. 

Pin suspected that SF had a copy of the book, given by Mee to another silat organisation.  His suspicion was based on the way SF talked.  SF was on his way home from silat training, and his  trousers were dirty around the knees.   Years ago it was only Pelaga practitioners who had to do training with the knees on the ground.   In addition to that Pin knew I never asked anyone to look for Mee.  Mee bought a copy, and I gave it to him because he was my student, and with the promise of not showing it to other silat practitioners.  So there was no  question of asking for its return.

When Pin asked further SF changed the topic to football.  It made him wonder, and so do I.

 

 

 

No wrong technique in Pukul Pelaga

In essence Pukul Pelaga recognises the fact that each technique has its value. The word 'wrong' is rarely used for any technique. The focus is on the practicality of a technique in certain situations.

When a correction is made on the moves made by a Pelaga, what would be pointed out are the weaknesses or practicality of the moves in the situation envisioned by the Pelaga.

Why is there no 'wrong' technique?

We have different capabilities, and some of us have physical disabilities. As a result one technique which works well for several people would most probably be impractical for another group of people.

Let us take an example. The Lion style is not suitable for everyone, because of the hard training involved. As long as a Lion Style practitioner knows the limitations, and concentrates on the positive aspects, then he or she can at least defend himself/herself in many situations.

True freestyle

Pukul Pelaga is a true freestyle martial art system. Bear in mind that I am not claiming it is the only one. Nevertheless there is one major difference between Pukul Pelaga and other freestyle systems.

There are many martial art organisations claiming to be based on the freestyle concept. They share the same basic trait, where their members are encouraged to take whatever technique they think is suitable from other martial art systems. There is validity in this argument. There is one downside to this approach. Techniques suited to us may not be relevant to other martial artists. This could be the main reason why the number of freestyle schools is increasing, each taking a different approach to self defense techniques, each having different opinions.

Pukul Pelaga has a different approach. Every Pelaga has to learn the same basics and the theoretical aspects related to them. As a result each Pelaga has his or her own fighting methods, which depend on several variables. This is the main reason why many people failed to understand what Pukul Pelaga really is. Most tend to make a judgment after seeing one or two Pelaga in action. When they see other Pelaga behaving in a different way, they start accusing Pukul Pelaga as filled with inconsistencies.

In essence there is no stereotyping in Pukul Pelaga.

1 Pelaga vs 40

The effectiveness of a fighting or self defence system should not be based on winning tournaments. The situation in real life is different, where there are no rules. There have been many cases of Pukul Pelaga members challenged or attacked in the real world. I decided to make the 1 vs 40 incidence as the first narration because it was recorded, and thus can be corroborated.

It happened one Saturday night in December 1999. The Pelaga involved requested anonymity to the general public, so I shall refer him as Tiger.  At that time he was studying at one institution in Pekan, Pahang.

For some reason tudents from Kelantan had an ongoing dispute with students from Negeri Sembilan. Tiger did not want to be involved. Nevertheless the Kelantanese students thought he was the leader of the Negeri Sembilan group, because he was always seen with them, and his quietness gave an air of secrecy.

That night the Kelantanese group wanted to settle the score. They managed to get the Negeri students to go to their dormitory, under the pretext of wanting to discuss something. They were all beaten up.

Tiger was the last person to be summoned by them. He was told to sit on a chair in the middle of the dorm, surrounded by 10 Kelantanese students. Without warning the leader slapped him. He asked for the reason, and received another slap. He asked again. This time he blocked the hand strike, and retaliated. All 10 moved in, but somehow he survived, giving them some lesson which they should have taken to heart.

Unable to beat hin in the dorm, they dragged him to the field. More Kelantanese students joined in.the fight. Initially he was able to strike back, but when there were too many of them, he was only able to make defensive moves.

The fight when on for some time until the Kelantanese leader called it quits. In the morning Tiger reported the incidence to the warden, and the matter was then referred to the police. The police came, and took all of those involved to the station.

Tiger only suffered one bruise on his left arm. He did not want to press any charges, and the Kelantanese students were let off with a warning. The case increased Tiger's trust on Pukul Pelaga.

There are silat practitioners from other groups who refused to accept the story. They also refused to make further enquiries.

Can an incident which was investigated and recorded by the police be regarded as fabricated?

Devil worshipper?

In 1976 Pukul Pelaga was accused to be satan worshippers by members of one silat style. They claimed to have proof, but up to now have not furnished any.

In 2006 the claim was Pukul Pelaga worship Iblis or Lucifer. Again no proof was submitted.

The result was many young and mature people avoided Pukul Pelaga. This is one of the reasons why the membership in Negeri Sembilan, and maybe to a certain extent other states where the other style has many members, is still small.

Compared to other silat schools Pukul Pelaga has no initiation rituals, and other compulsory meditation with incantation activities. The stress is on performing one's duties to God, and respecting other people. Is that devil worshipping?

There were members who continued to practice or do things which they learnt somewhere else. This does not mean that their practices were an integral part of Pukul Pelaga.

Silencing Pukul Pelaga

Since the late 1970's there had been efforts made by certain silat groups to silence Pukul Pelaga. They have reasons for doing so, and I have identified one main reason.

They desire to hide the fact that they have changed in order to portray themselves as the greatest. Many silat systems have added new techniques taken or copied from other styles, but those responsible simply refuse to admit it.

Methods used include spreading lies or slandering, twisting sequence of events, abusing the authority given to them, and twisting words to achieve their goal.

In 1976 one master from Gayung Malaysia and living in Port Dickson told his students that Pukul Pelaga are Satan worshippers.

In 1993 I was threatened by several members of Gayung Fatani for voicing out about what I know, and giving out my opinion. Several silat exponents from several other styles had told me to shut up.

In 2006 Pukul Pelaga was accused of worshipping the Fallen Angel, resulting in me losing most of my students because they or their parents believe in the slander.

For the time being Pukul Pelaga is still alive and kicking. Whatever, I believe that the true story should be exposed, and all wrong activities should be pointed out.

Out in the open

Pukul Pelaga used to be taught not in the open. The fear was that the secrets will be stolen or given to other silat practitioners more interested in self-glorification. The main disadvantage was that without exposure, not many people knew about Pukul Pelaga.

Things started changing in the early 1970's. At that time the seconf Grandmaster, Ismail Ahmad, was also teaching Silat Sunting, of which he was instrumental in introducing changes to make it a more potent self defence system. The introduced techniques were taken from Pukul Pelaga. This intrigued several of his students. They pestered him to teach them Pukul Pelaga. Initially he was reluctant, but finally he relented.

Once out, there was nothing to stop it. My guru expanded the move by opening two training centres. As for me, I can be considered as the one where many secrets of Pukul Pelaga passed through. My intention was to show to the others the differences between Pukul Pelaga and many silat styles. Unfortunately many silat practitioners from other styles copied or stole the techniques, integrated them into their system, claimed that the techniques were their original moves, and many claimed that Pukul Pelaga copied from them.

What was feared, happened as expected. Since Pukul Pelaga is not a household name, many people believe the accusers. I believe that God will eventually expose the truth.

Sample: Front Kick

Years ago when Pukul Pelaga was still relatively unknown all silat styles knew or realised only one or two aspects of the Front Kick. It was fine because almost every silat practitioner were using the Snap Front Kick version. Then came the exposure of Pukul Pelaga.

As stated before Pukul Pelaga stresses on the basics, or more accurately on the building blocks in building a martial art system. As a result for the Front Kick alone Pukul Pelaga has identfied more than 500 aspects related to it. This means that it will take more than a few days to understand, familiarise, and becoming proficient in all the aspects.

It is true that silat exponents do not use all techniques. The more a Pelaga understands, the better he or she is in adapting to different circumstances. It helps the Pelaga to understand what works and what does not in a particular situation.

By the way Mawi and many members and ex-members of Pukul Pelaga have not reached this level of understanding.

The Unbeliever changed his opinion

There was one Malay who did not believe that silat can be a potent fighting or self defense system. He made this conclusion after observing many silat practitioners not applying their silat moves when fighting in the outside world. This was true even for members of well known silat styles.

When his friends invited him to join Pukul Pelaga, he was reluctant. He had also heard that Pukul Pelaga was an inferior self defense system. Nevertheless he decided to join for his friends' sake. Even though sceptical, he was prepared to see how far Pukul Pelaga can go.

Initially he felt that Pukul Pelaga was the same as the others. His opinion on Pukul Pelaga started changing when he realised that a true Pelaga does not change his or her fighting methods when fighting in the outside world.

A few years later, in December 1999, an incident occurred, convincing him on the effectiveness of Pukul Pelaga. The day that he had to defend himself against about 40 attackers shall be related in the future.

Pukul Pelaga Tahap 1

This is a manual on the basics of Pukul Pelaga. 'Tahap 1' can be translated as Proficiency 1.

The manual has three levels. The First Level can be completed in 8 weeks, but it also depends on the individual. The Second and Third Levels go deeper into Pukul Pelaga, and require a longer time to complete. Most Pelaga know only the training in the First Level, and bits and pieces of the others.

The main difference with other manuals is the focus on the underlying aspects of Pukul Pelaga. Anyone repeatedly reading it will gain some understanding, and will be able to form his or her own system. Add this to the understanding of 400 Corak Tempur (of Pukul Pelaga), and the person can easily brag about his.her prowess in silat. That is why the manual is not to be distributed to the public. Those who understand the contents will be able to understand most martial art systems.

What happened was several Pelaga lost their copies to unknown persons. One traitor gave it to another silat organisation. Several members of this organisation formed another silat school, with similar basic moves as Pukul Pelaga. It may be a coincidence, but there are also pointers indicating otherwise.

Several silat practitioners who were allowed to browse through the manual commented that it is complete. Well, it is not. There are more. Currently I am not prepared to expose them even to members. What the traitors did, and what were stolen, have made me wary, and a little bit paranoid.

Pecahan Buah

'Pecahan Buah' can roughly be translated as 'The Sub-division.Sub-variation of Counter Attack Techniques.

Due to the differences in human size, capabilities including speed, and mental attitude, Pukul Pelaga recognises the fact that most, if not all, counter attack techniques need to have an open ending. Not many, if any, techniques are suitable for everybody. What is inside the training area is usually different from what can be found in real life.

The concept of variations in a counter attack has been part of Pukul Pelaga since its inception, more than 70 years ago. As such each counter attack has more than 7 variation to its ending.

The book that I illustrated in relation to this may be sufficient for serious martial art practitioners to understand the concept. Many silat master/guru/instructor talk about variations, but they are incapable of explaining how this can be carried out. Possibly not wanting to be seen out dated, they claim to have the same concept, but ask their students to think about it.

Pukul Pelaga gives guidance on how to go about it. That was one of the reasons why I was able to do the illustrations. Imagine illustrations on how one basic counter attack move can be divided into more than 50 variations. Imagine the same principle being applied to all other basic moves. This is the reality of Pukul Pelaga.

30 Buah Gelek

'30 Buah Gelek' can be translated as 30 Twist Counter Attacks.

I am not sure about the translation of 'gelek' into 'twist'. Basically 'gelek' is an action where a person turns or twists the body from side to side.

There was an agreement with a publisher to have this book publshed. The owner of the company is a well known person, and many silat practitioners try to get close to him. One of them claimed that I stole the techniques from his school or style. As a result the book was not published, and the manuscript 'disappeared' from the company's office. I knew about it after nearly two years of silence from the day the manuscript was personally sent to the office.

There are two main things to be considered:

1) I have never joined any martial art system except for one training session with Silat Harimau in 1972.

2) Gelek techniques were rare in silat until Pukul Pelaga came out into the open. The reason being was the fighting philosophy of most silat styles, including the use of a low stance. Most silat styles favour the low stance. A silat exponent using a low stance simply cannot execute gelek properly, the way it is taught in Pukul Pelaga.

When silat practitioners saw Pelaga training in the basics of gelek, they laughed at us, claiming that the technique was inferior. That was in 1976. Things started changing when many were hit through a gelek move.

Verily, the truth will eventually prevails.

400 Corak Tempur

The rough translation is '400 Fighting Styles/Pattern'.

One of the reasons why a Pelaga is not easy to be defeated in a real situation, or in a fair tournament, is his or her ability to change the fight pattern. This makes it difficult for the opponent to guess the next move. Of course this depends on the level of training and understanding reached.

Pukul Pelaga is a system where every member has to learn the same basics whether in practice or in theory. After that they are exposed to self-development, where each individual is encouraged to develop his/her own fighting method. We are not the same in terms of physical size and mental setup. Naturally there will be moves which mimic certain animals, and moves which resemble certain human characteristics.

This book is about the possible fighting styles which can be derived from Pukul Pelaga. Because of that each style is given its main characteristics, strength, and weaknesses. Note that most martial practitioners never talk about the weaknesses of their respective styles.

I stopped at 400 because there were other things which needed to be done. Furthermore discussing about them is enough to give an idea on what Pukul Pelaga actually is.

The knowledge on the fighting styles was hinted to me by my guru. and later on confirmed by the second Grandmaster, Ismail Ahmad.

On the accusation that I copied from other books, I put these questions forward.
1) How many books are there in the market? There are many, but the majority talk about the same thing.
2) Do I have the money to purchase all of them?
3) Do I have the time to study more than 400 fighting styles, and giving an analysis on the strengths and weaknesses?