The History Channel Special

[amirulhusnitekpi]

Assalamua'alaikum and peace to all,

Hey, check this out. The History Channel has a new series that started airing on the 20th July. The series is called Human Weapon. Among the martial arts displayed is Silat, but the Malaysian version. Visit these sites to know more.

http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=55011&display_order=5&sub_display_order=15&mini_id=54986

http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=54986

Cik Nicholas,

Have you seen this series in the US?

Peace

[AbdUllah]

This looks like it would be a reallt good program

i kinda wish they would put it online so that we could all see it

Oh well, this is life.... hope everyone with history channel enjoys it

[EricB]

Another thing from people mastering at least 10 arts 

The first thing I noticed was the Mastercard symbol, so pull it out and learn something new 


I'm just sceptic 

[SundaWarrior]

Salam Everyone,

I too am skeptical about this program.  I actually wrote an email to the History Channel.  From what I understand they filmed the whole program in Malaysia.  They wanted to call it Human Weapon:Pencak Silat but I told them they should not
use the word "Pencak" if they weren't going to film any of the show in Java.  I heard they contacted William Sanders about going to Java.  I bet he told them not to go.  I have seen the episodes in the Phillipines,Thailand, and Japan so far but not the one in Malaysia yet.  I personally don't care for the guys they picked as fighters - they seem kinda arrogant.

hormat,
Nicholas

[AbdUllah]

Have you seen all of this on the History channel?
Do you know who the guys that they picked to represent silat were? (i.e. names)

peace bro

[Doc D]

Hello
I am Doc Dority of Dallas Texas USA. Eventually, Pencak Silat of Java shall be shown. I helped coordinate a similar program with a different channel and they are starting filming this week. Admittedly, when first approached, I was skeptical and not terribly enthusiastic. I now believe these shows may have some merit.

As I said, Javanese Pencak Silat  shall find itself represented  in one of these programs. The featured  Pencak Silat will be from the Bandung area. Perhaps ,such shows can not do the arts the justice they deserve , but I do think they help introduce the arts to a greater world public , who are ,largely, not involved in martial arts. My hope is that a special ,featuring even a small bit of Pencak Silat ,will get others to become aware of it, desire to learn it or at least come to appreciate what it offers . Pencak Silat practitioners seem to be aware of all sorts of things going on in the martial arts world and , most especially, the world of pencak silat. What we often forget is that many have never even heard of the art at all and are oblivious to its existence......or if they have at least heard of it, they have never seen any of it. These shows , the agenda they explore and the demonstrations shown can not hope ( especially during a one hour program) to represent all the Pencak Silat styles or all aspects of the art. What it can do is put the art in a program that can be viewed by those who have never even  thought of training and may have never heard of Pencak Silat. With luck, we shall  see a few people who might never have sought out Pencak Silat training ,decide  to seek out teachers.

With Respect

Doc

[JD Tekpi]

Hi Doc,

Good to see a fellow Tekpi-er here (in addition to my good friend Amirul).  The last episode of this Human Weapon show was in the Philippines and it has generated a lot of buzz around here from viewers/prospective students who associated us with Grandmaster Gaje from thanks to that episode.  Hopefully we'll get at least a few quality people.   

Anyway, since the show is primarily for entertainment we can't expect anything in-depth or detailed.  But at least they went to Indonesia/Malaysia (ie. 'the Source') and at least they're giving the Art some much needed publicity.  I think we should be happy at that and hope for the best.

Salaam,
JD Tekpi

[SundaWarrior]

Salam Guru Dority,

It is great to hear you were able to arrange a program for Pencak Silat.  
Will it be through the Suwanda Padepokan ?  Anyways, it is good to see
you on this forum.  We need more American Guru Silat represented here.
Please give Maha Guru DeBordes my best.  It was a pleasure having him
in Florida.  I look forward to talking with you more.  Thank you again for
your support of the association and i hope to get the Texas group info up
on the web soon.

Hormat,
Nicholas  

[Doc D]

Hello JD Tekpi and Sundawarrior!!

Yes, the Suwanda Family will be conducting the training. Pencak Silat groups in our region of Texas also have close friendship with many , many Pekiti Tersia Kali players , so we are waiting on report to see if the History Channel program has any impact on the number of people seeking them out for training.

When I was first approached about the program , I was not sure about helping them. It seemed they wanted more of an MMA approach and did not seem to understand the differences between traditional pencak silat and more modern approaches and I was afraid they might go over to Indonesia and get their heads handed to them by some teacher's senior students. After some discussion, it seemed they were as interested in traditional  silat as they were sport style sparring  and I think they are hoping to create an interesting and balanced program that will be respectful of the art. I think they knew they wanted a feature with Pencak Silat in it, but just did not know much about it. Two people will train....one in a setting in the city ( probably around Bandung or Lembang) and the other will go out into a more rural setting to train.

Of course , this is entertainment for a lot of people and the MMA style fighter is expected to exude a sense of confidence, which could be very quickly read as arrogance in Indonesian culture. I think that the History Channel folks play it up almost as if to say " We've been in MMA and done a lot of fighting ...but when these guys( from where ever they are at the moment) kicked us/ hit us...wow, it was eye opening!" Impressing a MMA player who thinks he has "been there-done that" on camera conveys a certain sense of impact to the person watching the television.  I think that may be the way they are selling the experiences to the television  viewer.....and that is who they are playing to, not the Thai boxers or the escimadors....or the pesilat.....

Any way, I am hoping for an end product that shows a balanced and very positive picture of Indonesian Pencak Silat !

Doc

[amirulhusnitekpi]

Assalamua'laikum and peace to all,

Doc, any ideas on the Malaysian silat that this series will potray/have potrayed??

thanks

[Doc D]

Unfortunately, since this series is with the History channel , I am not aware of what went on with their Silat segment.

with respect
Doc

[AbdUllah]

I watched a few clips.
The karate one seems fascinating. The judo too looked interesting, though i wouldnt go so far as to describe judo as a samurai art, however it is very good for grappling and wrestling.
On the show about Krav Maga they should have a small segment about Systema, Navy seals training, and other forms of Military hand to hand combats.
I think overall it seems to be a good series for the mma minded athlete/martial artist, then again i only saw 3 minute clips of each program, but i found whqt i did see to be quite interesting.

Anyone else care to comment?

[amirulhusnitekpi]

Assalamua'laikum and peace to all,

There's an update on the series, especially concerning the episode on Malaysian Silat.

So far, i only know one silat style that has been chosen. Well, it doesn't refer itself as 'Silat' but rather 'Ilmu Tempur' Lian Padukan.

If i'm not mistaken, Lian Padukan is a mix of Buah Pukul Mersing (a chinese influenced silat) with Silat Sendeng, Silat Sunting and Tomoi.

You can read more of this style, and see pictures of the recording sessions for the Human Weapon series here,

http://www.lianpadukan.com/

(i think only the Malay version  is up and running)

Peace

[SilatJunkie]

Selamat All';

I've watched a few of these shows recently and I think they have been pretty well done. Some of it is obviously TV showmanship type of stuff and I agree that the guys seem a little full of themselves. Especially the guy with the least talent in martial arts (the biggest guy).

These guys contacted me a while back about finding a silat guru in Singapore. Not sure why I would have that information but I assume they weren't actually doing any research but just shooting out emails to all silat related websites in the hopes someone would throw them a bone.

I suggested they reconsider since many exponents of silat consider the bladed weapons to be integral to their training and perhaps even the highest expressions of their training.

I also suggested that it may be difficult to find a high level master of pencak silat who would be willing to teach them for a week.

Who knows what they'll show if they can find someone but I do hope it's done with respect, care, and honesty.

[amirulhusnitekpi]

Assalamua'laikum and peace to all,

Another update. It seems that the producers of Human Weapon wants to show the variety in Malaysian silat styles.

A friend in Lian Padukan told me that other than LP, they (have and will) also met and recorded scenes with PIKUM (Ikatan Kalam Malaysia) and also with a Gayung style and two others in different locations.

The series will make its debut here in Malaysia in October.

FYI, PIKUM is related historically with Silat Kalimah Malaysia and are distant 'cousins' with Silat Kuntau Tekpi.

Wassalaam