One of the distinctive motions of Pentjak Silat has to be the percussive slaps players inflict upon their own bodies as they practice Djurus or play Kembanggan. While many Okinawan, Chinese, and Korean Systems may feature an occasional technique wherein the practitioner strikes or slaps against their own body, Silat is generally full of such […]
Archive | Informational
The Difference Between Malabar and American KunTao Silat
Recently, I was asked an excellent question by a member of the Distance Learning Program: “What is the difference between Malabar and American KunTao Silat?” The answer can be simple or complex. Simple answer: Malabar KunTao Silat is the original curriculum granted to Pak Steve by the De Thouars family First Lineage Disciple, and contains […]
Engines of Destruction: The Difference Between Silat, Shaolin, and Taoist Mechanics
By Dr. Jonathan Pyndus on December 9, 2022 in Applications, Forms, Informational, Teachers, Training, Uncategorized
The following will also be found in some variation in the upcoming book: GuruMuda James Kern coined the phrase, “Destruction Theory,” to refer to how a martial art school develops and applies force (Fa Jin in Chinese) for combat. It’s a cute term, easily appropriated by any number of “internet tough guys,” but it gets […]
The Six Zones of Attack
By Dr. Jonathan Pyndus on December 2, 2022 in Applications, Health, Informational, Teachers, Training
As Ibu Rose mentioned in her recent guest post, Pak Steve and I are working on the definitive KunTao Silat book. Here is an early excerpt, subject to much change: One of the biggest victims of cultural misunderstanding and outright misrepresentation as the martial and medical arts of Asia have spread to the West is […]
The Dead Man’s Ten
https://www.kbtx.com/2022/08/08/graphic-smoke-shop-owner-fights-back-stabs-attempted-robber/ I would think it’s safe to assume that everyone who practices martial arts, even those only interested in health, performance, or culture, still occasionally have the “hero” daydream. Faced with no way out they apply their training to an aggressor. Often the outcome of these mental scenarios is based largely on assumptions drawn not […]
A Message From Ibu Rose
Today I am honored to share this letter to the KTS community on behalf of Ibu Rose: “In regards to Kun Tao Silat, and what it has meant and will mean to me: Frankly without KTS I most likely would not be breathing today, as the spiritual and health side of this art has enabled […]
The Importance of Pukulan
By Dr. Jonathan Pyndus on October 28, 2022 in Applications, Forms, Informational, Inner Circle, Training
Pukulan (Poekoelan) is a word coming to us from our Pentjak Silat Serak heritage. It refers to the colliding of bodies, and implies one body crashing into (or through) another. Many (or most) of the Asian martial arts predating the “modernization” period of the late 1800s-WW2 (where the fighting arts were being standardized for mass […]
Soft =/= Easy!
By Dr. Jonathan Pyndus on October 21, 2022 in Applications, Forms, Informational, Teachers, Training
It is not uncommon in the world of martial arts to encounter a practitioner (sometimes even at instructor level) who, upon getting into one of the “Soft” or “Internal” martial arts, is ready to talk your head off about how much better they are than the “Hard” styles. “You see,” such a person can say, […]
Scaling Force: Effective vs Appropriate
If I seem to harp a lot on the important of “context” in my posts, it is because so much misunderstanding in the world of martial arts and its various subsections of focus are due to people equating whichever part interests them with the whole pie. When we are discussing the effectiveness of techniques, this […]
The Physics of Entering Stance
Stances are a key component of KunTao Silat, as they are in any system. Integral to our Family Art is the Entering Stance, as it is from this position that much of the ingress and body to body contact with the enemy is conducted. If we look at the structure of Entering Stance we see […]