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Martial art: Silat and Taekwondo in Malaysian

Taekwondo and Silat are both martial arts. The term martial art refers to various systems of

training for combat that have been arranged or systematized. Both are designed in order to

physically defeat opponents and defend someone against threats. In Malaysia, there are two

famous martial arts are still being practiced, which are Silat and Taekwando. Both have

similarities and differences in the aspects of ranks and promotion, organization and achievement,

acceptance, and technique.

The rank system in Silat depends on the Silat stream such as Silat Cekak, Silat Gayong,

Silat Lincah and others. In the Silat Gayong curriculum, the syllabus is divided into seven

levels. Each level consists of seven topics or disciplines, each level is divided into 3 elements,

which are lower, medium and higher together with 5 coloured belts (each belt has their own

name and several ranks depend on the individual level achieved). Not much different from Silat,

Taekwondo also uses the system of levels and belt ranking. There are 19 levels in taekwondo. 10

of the 19 are coloured belt ranks known as kups. The rest belong to the black belt level, known

as dan. Coloured belt level begins at 10th kup (white belt), the lowest level, and works its way up

to 1st kup (red belt black tag). Black belts begin with 1st dan, and works up to the ultimate

attainment in taekwondo, the 9th dan (Grandmaster level). All exponents are separated into

junior and senior section to learn and pass the syllabus of Taekwondo belt levels.

For level promotion, it is different in every Silat stream. Usually every beginner that has

just started Silat class will be given the name 'Anak Gelanggang' and wore a black belt. In every

Silat, trainee who has completed the syllabus and pass the test will receive a title ‘Pendekar’.

On the other hand, the promotion level in Taekwondo start from junior level which consists of

ten ranks known as geup and their ranks will be identified by belts of various colours, depending

on the school. Trainee will begin at the tenth geup (often indicated by a white belt) to the first

geup (often indicated by a red belt with a black stripe).

After the junior level, trainee will go for a Silat Coaching Course to be a Silat “guru” or

instructor. In this division, their rank and belts colours are based on the level of their

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achievement as a Silat instructor. Time to achieve every level is different depending on the

individual strength and it is also different in every Silat stream. In Taekwondo, the senior section

known as dan are made up of nine ranks. Black belts begin at the first level until the last level.

In order to succeed from one rank to the next, students must complete and pass the promotion

tests in which they demonstrate their proficiency in the various aspects of art, then they will be

evaluated by judges or their instructor.

In countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei where silat have been practiced,

there is one national federation that promotes the development of genuine Silat and it has been

approved by PESILAT ( the official Silat organization ). In UK, Pencak Silat Federation (PSF

UK) is the only national organization that has been approved by PESILAT. On the other hand,

more organizations manage and coordinate the development of Taekwondo. Both ITF

(International Taekwondo Federation) and WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) are the two

biggest and the popular organizations of Taekwondo in the world. However, both of them have

different functions. The ITF is an independent organization that is responsible to create the

curriculum for teaching and promoting students. WTF is not an instructional institution for

taekwondo and does not teach a curriculum nor they promote any ranks of taekwondo.

Both Silat and Taekwondo have held competitions. The major international competition

for Silat is Pencak Silat World Championship, organizes by PESILAT. More than 30 national

teams competed in the latest tournament in Jakarta from 12 th to 17th December 2010. In Indonesia

SEA Games 2011, the latest tournament, Malaysia won three golds, one silver and 7 bronze

medals. However Taekwondo receives more publicity especially since its introduction as an

Olympic sport. The styles and rules being used in the Olympic version of Taekwondo came from

WTF.

The differences about the acceptance of both martial arts are apparent especially in the

countries involved. Silat is a Southeast Asian martial art that has roots in the culture of the

Malay world. This martial art is well known in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei

and Singapura. Silat also reached Europe and is well known in the Netherlands. However, Silat’s

acceptance among the west countries is limited to certain places only. This is due to Silat

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characteristics that have traditional elements that represent the Malay world which not all people

can accept.

On the other hand, Taekwando is more acceptable among people from all over the

countries. Taekwando is usually popular in the western countries and Korea. The high

acceptance of Taekwondo among most countries have qualified Taekwondo as one of the sports

in summer Olympic. This might be because Taekwondo itself is not related to any spiritual

practice so it attracts people to learn it. The acceptance of Silat and Taekwondo in schools are

also different. Most schools offer students Taekwondo classes rather than Silat classes. As we

can see, in Malaysia, Taekwondo and Silat classes are not limited to secondary schools but also

for primary and pre-school students. However, not many schools offer Silat classes compared to

Taekwondo. This shows that Taekwondo is more accepted among most schools in Malaysia.

There might be some reasons that lead to this situation. Limited number of Silat coaches may be

one of the reasons. There are not many people who have the qualification to teach Silat.

Moreover, the perception from Malaysians about the practice of spiritual events also becomes the

factor that influence people in chosing Silat. As we know, there are many types of Silat such as

Silat Cekak, Silat Gayung, Silat Lincah, Silat Sendeng etc but not all of these Silats being taught

in school are suitable for all.

Martial arts fighting techniques comes in many ways. The Silat fighting techniques

emphasize on self defense moves. There are seven self defense moves that silat trainee need to

master in order to be the best fighter : punching, kicking, elbow, sweeping, catching, locking

and counter attack. All seven self defense techniques use all body parts and ^ very powerful ^

can kill the attacker. All Silat trainee are not allowed to use any of these killing techniques

unless ^ desperate. Taekwondo fighting techniques emphasize on attacking the enemy. The

most important techniques need to be mastered are direct attack, indirect attack, counter attack,

and the continuous attack. All this four techniques use a lot ^ legs ^ ( 60 %) compare to other

parts of body and punching (40 %). Both silat and taekwondo techniques requires strong

physical and mental condition, body flexibility, co-ordination, agility and reflexes.

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Both martial arts Silat and Taekwondo also use several types of weapons. The primary

weapon of most Silat is keris or dagger. Other weapons include the sword (pedang), broadsword

(golok), axe (kapak), cleaver (parang), spear (lembing), truncheon (tjabang), fan (kipas), and the

Chinese sword. In Taekwondo, one does not use weapon. Some experts also consider

Taekwondo to be an "unarmed" martial art. However, since 1982, weapons such as nunchaku,

bo, jo, sai, tonfa, tanto, katana, oar, yawara are used in training.

In conclusion, both of these martial arts have their own unique privileges. Both martial

arts represent their traditional root and have become a symbolic art that represent the culture of

their community. As younger generation, we should preserve this martial art so that our next

generation will have the opportunity to learn about their traditional martial art.

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References

1. Grading Syllabus. http://www.inta.ie/taekwondo/syllabus.aspx [ 23 March 2012]

2. Master the Silat Martial Arts Form. Cikgu Nizam. http://ezinearticles.com/?Master-the-

Silat - Martial- Arts-Form&id=4855649 [ 23 March 2012]

3. Pencak Silat Fedaration United Kingdom. http://www.pencakSilat

.co.uk/pencakSilat .html [24 March 2012]

4. Peringkat Pelajaran. http://Silat gayong.org/pelajaran/peringkat-pelajaran [23 March

2012]

5. Salamakha A.Y. http://tkd.ucoz.co.uk/index/theoretic_section/0-109 [24 March 2012]

6. Taekwondo Belt System. http://www.taekwondo-network.com/tae-kwon-do-belt-

system.html [23 March 2012]

7. My Martial Art School. http://mymartialartsschool.com/martial-arts-styles/Silat .html [17

March 2012]