Ijazah for Silat

Ijazah for Silat
Authority, control, power and status are refracted through creativity and authenticity, through ijazah and movement.

Ijazah in silat is the permission to transmit establishes silat styles or techniques.

Some silat styles are secret or reserved (amanah) and may only be transmitted within the bounds of kinship ties, unlike more open styles that can be publicly disseminated to the community from gelanggang.

Gerak as a form of “sympathetic magic” is a mimetic ability to simply watch a silat player or silat teacher for a short period of time and then be able to summon forth the movements of the style into one’s own body.

Movements, states of movements and whole styles of silat emerge through gerak, themselves then subject to the “mimeis and alterity” of gerak, consequently re-invoking issue of ijazah.
Ijazah for Silat

Silat cekak

Silat cekak
Silat cekak was originally developed in the Kedah Court to counter the Thai fighting style known as the tomoi.

It is not a style of silat which is ceremonious in nature used for performances at traditional Malay weddings such as Silat Pulut or Silat pengantin.

As such Silat cekak does not have any musical accompaniment such as the traditional Malay drum or Gendang and does not perform graceful dance-like movements for public amusement such a Silat pengantin.

Now one of the most popular silat styles in Malaysia, it was first registered as an association in Kedah in 1904, and for Malaysia generally in 1965.

Cekak means to “claw” or seize the opponent.

It is renowned for its series of buah which have been influential in the development of more recent silat styles in Peninsular Malaysia, including silat gayong.

Silat cekak also known as papan sekeping, is an Islamic martial art that originates in Peninsular Malaysia.

Silat cekak began with the famous Panglima Ismail of Kedah who invented the silat and taught the technique to another warrior of the Kedah court, Panglima Tok Rashid.

The latter then taught the art to a certain Yahya Said from Perak, on the condition that he agreed to return the silat to the Kedah Malays.

Yahya Said himself never made it to Kedah but kept the knowledge of the art for forty years until it was finally taught to Kedah Malay from the district of Sik, Guru Hanafi.

Silat cekak is different from other martial arts in that it doesn’t employ any evasive or side-stepping moves. Instead, the practitioner advances forward in order to defeat the enemy making an effective style for fighting in tight quarters such as as in a boat or inside an airplane.

A prominent feature of silat cekak is is straight postured stances meant to teach calmness, patience and courage.
Silat cekak

Minangkabau Silat

Minangkabau Silat
Minangkabau is well known for its pencak silat (martial arts). It is customary for Minang youth to spend a lot f their time practicing pencak silat.

Pencak silat is an ancient martial art form likely originating in western Sumatera in the seventh century.

Historically boys had to master silat before permitted to venture to other lands.

They use legs more than the hands and when they attack it is very swift and violent.

The Harimau silat is the most aggressive and dangerous style of Minang martial art, which originated in Painana district of West Sumatra.

Harimau means tiger, and the steps imitate a tiger stalking and killing its prey.

With their bodies as close to the ground as possible the two fighters circle around menacingly, springing at each other from time to time.

The Minangkabau combine martial arts with dance. They created a dance called randai which is a unique drama performed at weddings, harvest festivals and other celebrations.

The randai combines the movements of pencak silat with literature, sport, song, and drama.
Minangkabau Silat