Silat Secrets

Black Belt Magazine
September 2003
“Divining the Secrets of Silat”
Joseph Simonet Finds that Innovation Is the Key to Preserving the Ancient Indonesian Art
Pg. 83-85
By: Michael Janich

The Indonesian martial art of pentjake silat serek is one of the most fascinating yet under appreciated fighting systems ever created. It was purportedly developed by a member of the reclusive Badui tribe of tury. Originally known by his Badui names Aliya Hasan and Grat Zapah, he’s more commonly referred to as “Pak Serak.”
Unlike most founder of martial arts who are credited with possessing great physical prowess, Pak Serak was physically challenged. Standing a mere 5 feet tall, he suffered from two birth defects: an underdeveloped arm that was considerably shorter than normal and a clubfoot. Despite his disabilities, he actively pursued the study of pentjak silat and combined a knowledge of several styles with his own perspective to give birth to the serak system. He later passed his art down to Mas Djut, who adapted its techniques for use by people who were not physically challenged.
During the ensuing two centuries, serak remained secretive. Even though some of its most prominent instructors settled in the United States and openly taught derivative forms of it to the public, true serak had been taught to only a handful of advanced practitioners. Sadly, when those practitioners attempted to share their skills with others, they were disowned—and often discredited by their own instructors as part of a desperate effort to cling to outdated traditions.
Fortunately, one American martial artist chose to break this cycle and transcend tradition. The result of his bold and innovative effort is the martial science he calls “silat concepts.”

INSPIRATION FOR CHANGE
The man who founded silat concepts is Joseph Simonet. A veteran martial artist with more than 30 years of experience, he’s earned advanced teaching credentials in kenpo karate, doce pares escrima, eskrido and Yang-style tai chi chuan. He also holds a black sash in wing chun kung fu and a second-degree black belt in pentjak silat tongkat serak.
Simonet’s inspiration for the creation of silat concepts started several years after he began his formal study of serak. After comparing his instructor’s expression of it with that of experienced practitioners from another lineage, he noticed a significant disparity with respect to the finesse and precision of his line. When his questions regarding the variations went unanswered, he took it upon himself to explore the other lineage to perfect his own understanding and expression of the art.
Simonet’s methodology was simple, yet painstaking. He first assembled all the reference materials he had collected during his years of silat study: books, magazine articles, handwritten notes and hours of videotape. Then, with help from his senior students and other noted martial artists, he began an in-depth analysis of the structure, movements and techniques of traditional serak and its derivative forms.
He also compared the instructional methods of various senior practitioners—first to find differences between one man and another, and then to find changes in the way each man executed his moves at various times in his life. Alone the way, he noted inconsistencies, deliberate changes and simple errors. Throughout the process, he remained focused on the martial function of serak, methodically reducing it to the fundamentals of physical and anatomical structure, leverage and angles.

GOING PUBLIC
Simonet distilled serak into a true martial science that focused exclusively on the functional elements of the system. Like any good scientist, he then sought to validate his research through experimentation and comparison to similar bodies of knowledge. To do that, he turned to senior practitioners of the art and its variations. They not only validated his conclusions, but also encouraged him to continue his efforts and share his brand of silat with the public.
The final phase of Simonet’s research was to examine the art from the perspective of its founder. By simulating the physical disabilities of Pak Serak, he envisioned how the art had enabled him to overcome his limitations. Then, like Mas Djut, Simonet applied those lessons to an able-bodied person. However, unlike Mas Djut, who seemed to have focused primarily on giving serak bilateral symmetry, Simonet sought to take full advantage of all four limbs and further enhance the martial application of serak.
He called the result of his research “silat concepts” and shared it openly through a two-volume instructional video. His intent was to honor the art’s lineage and ensure its continuation. Rather than receiving praise from his instructors for getting unprecedented exposure for the art, he was criticized and ultimately removed from most versions of the serak family tree.
While Simont’s serak elders attempted to deny his very existence, his newfound students and followers praised his efforts and clamored for more. “Although I was very disappointed when I was purged from the lineage of traditional serak, I was extremely encouraged by the positive feedback I received from my students and those who viewed by videos,” Simonet says.
“Probably the most gratifying feedback I received was from active students of several different styles of silat. They commented that my silat instruction was the most organized and lucid they had ever seen. Compared to the traditional follow-the-leader approach, they said, my explanation and analysis of the art made it much easier to learn.”
Simonet claims his ability to teach silat concepts in a clear and concise way stemmed from his analysis of the parent art and his ability to cross-reference it with other styles. “Although I learned silat in the traditional manner—through pure mimicry and trial-and-error application—my real understanding of it came through objective observation and research,” he says. “To be honest, the most important things I learned about silat were never part of my formal instructions in the art.”

SUPERSTRUCTURE
Although silat concepts shares some elements with its predecessor, it transcends the traditional form of the art in several significant ways. Like traditional serak, silat concepts is built on a foundation constructed of the 18 juru (hand forms). However, they’ve been modified to emphasize silat concepts’ enhanced structure.
Those forms are important because they provide a convenient and easily referenced institutional memory of the movements and structure of the system. Once they’re learned, the significance of their movements is revealed to the student through the practice of selected sambut, or techniques. However, rather than focusing on rote technique, students are taught how to identify the physiological potential of them to form their own techniques.
“The juru provide an alphabet for the language of combat,” Simonet says. “But rather than emerely copying the classic writings of our ancestors, silat concepts is a course in creative expression with a focus on modern issues—specifically, practical self-defense.”

FANCY FOOTWORK
Another unique phase of training in silat concepts is its approach to langkha (footwork patterns). Traditional serak requires a student to devote years to learning patterns that emphasize 45-and 90-degree angles. These angles make the execution of techniques more difficult and less efficient; they were used primarily to create an impression of weakness during the elaborate stalking ritual that preceded traditional fights in Indonesia. Because the true application of silat techniques is based on the angles of an equilateral triangle, the footwork of silat concepts focuses on the powerful dynamics of this platform.
Perhaps the most significant improvement Simonet made involves two-hand supported techniques. “The use of the supporting hand was probably critical to Pak Serak’s ability to overcome his physical limitations,” Simonet says. “However, in traditional serak, its role is largely symbolic or limited to a sectoring function much like the wu hand of wing chun.
“By taking full advantage of the supported hand positions in the juru, I’ve supercharged the hand techniques of the art, doubling the power of the offensive techniques and creating watertight defensive frames. Most important, I’ve drawn from my knowledge of wing chun and applied the concept of simultaneous attack and defense to silat structures.
“For example, I used the bong sao (wing-hand block) to create a hybrid corkscrew punch that offers both attack and defense in a single movement.” Curiously, this technique, which was never part of traditional serak, has been adopted by Simonet’s former branch of silat and is now taught as an element of that art.

IMPROVING ON TRADITION
Simonet’s silat concepts is not just another attempt to create a new art. Rather, it’s an objective approach to understanding a functional yet often overlooked traditional style. It’s also a means for all martial artists to experience and appreciate the Indonesian arts.
“Silat concepts is a complete and functional martial science, but I don’t expect people to abandon their current arts to study it,” Simonet says. “If a judo player who trains in silat concepts adopts our principles of angles and unbalancing, he may use silat to make his judo better. A wing chun practitioner might use our reinforced hand positions to strengthen his close-range blocks and punches. In this way, I hope to use it to promote a widespread appreciation of silat and motivate more people to explore the traditional Indonesian arts.”
It’s important to understand that silat concepts is not traditional serak, nor does it claim to be. It also does not adhere to many of that arts ancient practices. However, it does follow the most important tradition of serak, as established by its founder: overcoming adversity through research and diligent effort to develop an effective fighting system that matches the practitioner’s needs and attributes.

About the author: Michael Janich is a free-lance writer based in Boulder, Colorado. He has more than 29 years of martial arts experience and is one of America’s best—known knife-fighting experts. For more information about silat concepts, call Joseph Simonet at (509) 662-7983 or visit http://www.kifightingconcepts.com.