Seni Silat Maha Guru Championship 2011

Thursday, 23 June 2011 12:08

By Guru Scott McQuaid

Kejuaraan Seni Silat Warisan Maha Guru 2011

There are various seni silat events held in Malaysia and Indonesia but the modern world has stripped these gatherings of their true meaning.

In ancient times warriors from various tribes would gather to showcase their combative skills in front of the elder Maha Guru’s datuks (clan leaders).

There was hand to hand combat and precision blade demonstrations, the pesilats respected each other and more importantly they learned from one another.

The pencak silat events held today are based around sporting rules and regulations, and these restrictions have damaged these gatherings. The demonstrations are based on how many strikes the participant used, points for their attire, points for a precise time frame and points for their choreography.

Maha Guru Jak Othman is renown in the silat world for his deadly blade work in pencak silat, he has held seminars across America, Ireland and England. He continues to teach and promote silat in his native home of Malaysia.

His vision was to bring back the original seni silat gathering of pesilat’s from across the world with old adat (traditions) but nothing more. The clans that entered would not be restricted in silat style or weapon chosen to showcase. Maha Guru Jak Othman literally went around Malaysia’s peninsula meeting different Gurus and asking them to be apart of this historic event.

On June 11th 2011, the gathering of sixteen silat clans from all over Malaysia met in the state of Perak. And through the day various pesilats showed their skill and cultural customs that have long been forgotten or misplaced. A panel of elder gurus sat elevated over the matt. These were not men of sporting commissions, they were wise warriors that had experience and knowledge of the art of silat.

As the night closed in, the chosen few finalists stepped onto the matt once more to test their skills and perform for their seniors.

One of these clans consisted of Guru Jak’s international team's Guru Scott McQuaid and Guru Ed Chards demonstrating the Harimau Berantai Silat blade system, using the parang (short sword) and the infamous keris.

“I was very honored to be asked to represent Guru Jak Othman and his family system,” said Guru McQuaid who relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 2009 and began his extensive blade training under Guru Jak Othman.

“My background is predominately in bela diri silat. This is the first time I have done anything seni. I’ve only been studying under Guru Jak for just shy of two years and all his blade work is very grounded in reality. So in that he had to retrain me in applying it to a seni approach with all the adat trimmings and bows and ribbons.”

Guru Jak’s apprentice Guru Ed Chards immigrated to Malaysia three years ago, but he has been studying under Guru Jak for twenty-four years.

“This event is bringing back some of the old traditions and how silat use to be showcased.”

The two masalay’s (non-Malaysians) impressed both the judges and the crowed with their earlier demonstration. When they stepped onto the matt for the finals, the Malay audience erupted into applause and cheers. It was clear that these foreign underdogs had won over the respect of the crowd.

After their blade demo, Guru Jak embraced them as did the spectators. As the ceremonies came to a close, the winners of this competition were announced. Amongst the two Malay teams, the international Harimau Berantai Silat clan were mentioned placing Guru McQuaid and Guru Ed as silver champions in the Senjata (weapons) category. This was the first time any foreigner outside of Asia had won a medal for silat in this championship.

“I think its a great achievement and its an honor to be recognized amongst the other Malay pesilat champions,” said Guru Ed.

Maha Guru Jak Othman had this to say about his students: “I’m very proud of these guys,  they are my sons and hopefully we have put a spotlight on silat, I’ve achieved fifty percent of  my aim for this event.”