Tuesday, July 19, 2011

TAPAK GAYONG








The steps movements in the Serangan Maut



When I was really young, I had a chance to learn Silat kampung at my village. The first thing we learned was the Langkah Sembah (The step of respecting the audience). The second thing was the most basic step in Silat, Langkah Tiga (The triangle step) and Langkah Empat (The square step). It is after years of training that I was taught the Langkah Lima (The 5th Step).


But contrary in Silat Seni Gayong, we start with Tumbuk Pintal Tali, Pancung Dayung, Tumbuk Bertapak, Tendang Sula, Tendang Tolak Lintang and Tendang Tebar Jala. We continue with the first 10 steps of tiger cub and then Asas Elakan (Elak Kosong). So where is that term of "Tapak Gayong"??? If it is a "Tapak", then why don't we learn as in the Kampung silat, commencing with the Tapak Tiga and Tapak Empat?





The step movements in Pukulan Maut


This is because, the learning of Tapak in Silat Seni Gayong is included in the actions of doing those techniques. But we were not told directly by the Master "this is Tapak 3, this is Tapak 4", but rather let we try and error until we reach the perfection.





The Step movement in Kunci Mati



Training and playing Silat is beautiful and efficient when we do it in Tapak. We can fight or playing the "Pentas" without Tapak but the results is clearly different. The movements using a systematic Tapak is more stable, sturdy, difficult to fall, and yet easy to react into any fast moves.

In Gayong, at the beginning after the basic Gerakan and Elakan, we are taught the Pukulan Maut (Deadly Strike) and Serangan Maut (Deadly Attack : Kombat). As we can see from the movement chart I made above, we can see the combination of both Tapak Tiga and Tapak Empat. And in other technique, Tapak 5 is used. So it is important to explain to the students about the form of steps to be followed. If the steps is false, and we start to "adapt" with that error, it will be super hard to correct it in the future. So it's better to spend more time on the steps (Tapak), without rushing to finish the technique itself. Once the Tapak is good, then the rest will come. Once the foundation is stable, then the wall, the roof, and everything will be perfect. Hope that this sharing will improve our pedagogy quality in transferring the art and the science to our students. InsyaAllah ;)

4 comments:

  1. This is the first time I read in a blog silat which trying to give focus on tapak or langkah. Not so many people understand how crucial it is to build this foundation. At my kampung last time Guru silat will only concentrate on langkah/tapak at the very end of lesson... For guru, this is consider top secret and will only give to student who really want it. I think no change of that till now.

    You are right. Tapak tiga, empat, lima when you learn and build a perfect foundation on it, you can go to any silat and absorb all the techniques easily like downloading a software. That's because you already have the operating software inside your head.

    Nice to read your blog.. Keep updating.

    I am now in Spain for bussiness trip. Next week I will go back to Malaysia. InsyaAllah in september I'll come back to Madrid for 2 months and 1 month in Seville. If you come to Spain just roger me and we can have chit chat.

    Assalamualaikum.

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  2. waalaikumsalam pang5,

    many thanks for your comment! it's true that those who master the Tapak won't fall easily. I am just sharing a little bit the knowledge of the old masters, with the hope that we will all have the chance to master their knowledge. i hope also that some of this modest sharing would bring benefits for us as the Silat practitioners.

    many thanks again for your comment and please feel free to share any ideas or opinions ! ;)

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  3. Tak ada apa-apa nak share pun. Dulu belajar gayong di universiti pon sekerat-sekerat sebab kononya busy study.. Bila dah tua camni mulala nak korek balik nak belajar balik apa yang boleh.. Tapi hmmm. dah berkeluarga dan dah pegang duit ni dugaan dia lain macam sikit. Tahap pemalas dia mmg super.

    Saya cuba nak jinak-jinak balik dengan dunia silat ni sebab minat dan berdarah melayu tebal.

    Mungkin nak cari balik gelanggang2 di area melaka..

    Badan pun dah berat... Ilmu tak ke mana. :)

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  4. Bagus jg info mengenai tapak td.Mengikut pengetahuan sy yg cetek ni, dlm silat Melayu terdapat tiga tapak asas iaitu tapak 1,2 @ papan sekeping, tapak 3 dan tapak 4.Kemudian timbul tpk 5 dan tapak 9 ( seni/pencak ).Tpk2 ini akn berkembang menjadi pecah empat,lapan dan 12 utk menghadapi serangan ramai.Wallahua'lam.

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