Steel Machetes

History An early stone hammer The use of simple tools dates to about 2,400,000 BCE when various shaped stones were used to strike wood, bone, or other stones to break them apart and shape them.

Stones attached to sticks with strips of leather or animal sinew were being used as hammers by about 30,000 BCE during the middle of the Paleolithic Stone Age. Its archeological record means it is perhaps the oldest human tool known. Designs and variations The essential part of a hammer is the head, a compact solid mass that is able to deliver the blow to the intended target without itself deforming.

The opposite side may have a ball, as in the ball-peen hammer and the cow hammer. Some upholstery hammers have a magnetized appendage, to pick up tacks. In the hatchet the hammer head is secondary to the cutting edge of the tool. As the impact between steel hammer heads and the objects being hit can, and does, create sparks, which in some industries such as underground coal mining with methane gas, or in other hazardous environments containing flammable gases and vapours, can be dangerous and risk igniting the gases. In these environments, a variety of non-sparking metal tools are used, being principally, aluminium or beryllium copper-headed hammers. In recent years the handles have been made of durable plastic or rubber. The hammer varies at the top; some are larger than others giving a larger surface area to hit different sized nails and such. Popular hand-powered variations include: carpenter’s hammers (used for nailing), such as the framing hammer and the claw hammer upholstery hammer construction hammers, including the sledgehammer drilling hammer – a lightweight, short handled sledgehammer Ball-peen hammer, or mechanic’s hammer Soft-faced hammer cross-peen hammer, or Warrington hammer mallets, including the rubber hammer and dead blow hammer. Splitting maul stonemason’s hammer Geologist’s hammer or rock pick lump hammer, or club hammer gavel, used by judges and presiding authorities in general Tinner’s Hammer Claw hammer Framing hammer Geologist’s hammer Upholstery hammer Cross-peen hammer Ball-peen hammer Rubber mallet Wooden mallet Sledgehammer Stone tapping hammer Perforated hammer head of stone Long cross-face hammer (blacksmithing) Twist hammer (blacksmithing) Dog-head hammer (blacksmithing) Ball pane hammer Straight pane sledgehammer Bush hammer Mechanically-powered hammer Mechanically-powered hammers often look quite different from the hand tools, but nevertheless most of them work on the same principle. They include: jackhammer steam hammer trip hammer hammer drill, that combines a jackhammer-like mechanism with a drill In professional framing carpentry, the hammer has almost been completely replaced by the nail gun. In professional upholstery, its chief competitor is the staple gun. Tools used in conjunction with hammers Woodsplitting wedge – hit with a sledgehammer for splitting wood. Woodsplitting maul – can be hit with a sledgehammer for splitting wood. Masonry star drill Chisel Punch Anvil The physics of hammering Hammer as a force amplifier A hammer is basically a force amplifier that works by converting mechanical work into kinetic energy and back. In the swing that precedes each blow, a certain amount of kinetic energy gets stored in the hammer’s head, equal to the length D of the swing times the force f produced by the muscles of the arm and by gravity. When the hammer strikes, the head gets stopped by an opposite force coming from the target; which is equal and opposite to the force applied by the head to the target. If the target is a hard and heavy object, or if it is resting on some sort of anvil, the head can travel only a very short distance d before stopping. Since the stopping force F times that distance must be equal to the head’s kinetic energy, it follows that F will be much greater than the original driving force f roughly, by a factor D/d.

In this way, great strength is not needed to produce a force strong enough to bend steel, or crack the hardest stone. Effect of the head’s mass The amount of energy delivered to the target by the hammer-blow is equivalent to one half the mass of the head times the square of the head’s speed at the time of impact (). While the energy delivered to the target increases linearly with mass, it increases geometrically with the speed (see the effect of the handle, below). High tech titanium heads are lighter and allow for longer handles, thus increasing velocity and delivering more energy with less arm fatigue than that of a steel head hammer of the same weight. As hammers must be used in many circumstances, where the position of the person using them cannot be taken for granted, trade-offs are made for the sake of practicality. In areas where one has plenty of room, a long handle with a heavy head (like a sledge hammer) can deliver the maximum amount of energy to the target. It is not practical to use such a large hammer for all tasks, however, and thus the overall design has been modified repeatedly to achieve the optimum utility in a wide variety of situations. Effect of the handle The handle of the hammer helps in several ways. It keeps the user’s hands away from the point of impact. It provides a broad area that is better-suited for gripping by the hand. Most importantly, it allows the user to maximize the speed of the head on each blow.

The primary constraint on additional handle length is the lack of space in which to swing the hammer. This is why sledge hammers, largely used in open spaces, can have handles that are much longer than a standard carpenter’s hammer. The second most important constraint is more subtle. Even without considering the effects of fatigue, the longer the handle, the harder it is to guide the head of the hammer to its target at full speed. Most designs are a compromise between practicality and energy efficiency. Too long a handle: the hammer is inefficient because it delivers force to the wrong place, off-target. Too short a handle: the hammer is inefficient because it doesn’t deliver enough force, requiring more blows to complete a given task. Recently, modifications have also been made with respect to the effect of the hammer on the user.

A titanium head has about 3% recoil and can result in greater efficiency and less fatigue when compared to a steel head with about 27% recoil. Handles made of shock-absorbing materials or varying angles attempt to make it easier for the user to continue to wield this age-old device, even as nail guns and other powered drivers encroach on its traditional field of use. War hammers Main article: War hammer The concept of putting a handle on a weight to make it more convenient to use may well have led to the very first weapons ever invented.[citation needed] The club is basically a variant of a hammer. In the Middle Ages, the war hammer became popular when edged weapons could no longer easily penetrate some forms of armour.[citation needed] Symbolic hammers The hammer, being one of the most used tools by Homo sapiens, has been used very much in symbols and arms. In the Middle Ages it was used often in blacksmith guild logos, as well as in many family symbols. The most recognised symbol with a hammer in it is the Hammer and Sickle, which was the symbol of the former Soviet Union and is very interlinked with Communism/Socialism. The hammer in this symbol represents the industrial working class (and the sickle the agricultural working class). The hammer is used in some coat of arms in (former) socialist countries like East Germany.

In Norse Mythology, Thor, the god of thunder and lightning, wields a hammer named Mjolnir. Many artifacts of decorative hammers have been found, leading modern practitioners of this religion to often wear reproductions as a sign of their faith. References ^ Semaw, S., M. J. Rogers, J. Quade, P. R. Renne, R. F. Butler, M. Domnguez-Rodrigo, D. Stout, W. S. Hart, T. Pickering, and S. W. Simpson. 2003. 2.6-Million-year-old stone tools and associated bones from OGS-6 and OGS-7, Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution 45:169-177. ^ 2.5-million-year-old stone tools from Gona, Ethiopia S. Semaw*, P. Renne, J. W. K. Harris*, C. S. Feibel*, R. L. Bernor, N. Fesseha & K. Mowbray* Nature 385, 333-336 (23 January 1997) | doi:10.1038/385333a0; Accepted 25 November 1996 External links Look up hammer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Hammer types images and descriptions. The Hammer Museum v  d  e Types of tools Cutting tools Blade  Bolt cutter  Broach  Ceramic tile cutter  Chisel  Coping saw  Countersink  Diamond blade  Diamond tool  Drill bit  Endmill  File  Fretsaw  Froe  Glass cutter  Grater  Hacksaw  Hand saw  Knife  Milling cutter  Miter saw  Pipecutter  Plane  Razor  Reamer  Saw  Scalpel  Scissors  Slasher  Surform  Switchblade  Tap and die  Tool bit  Utility knife  Water jet cutter  Wire cutter  Wire stripper Garden tools Adze  Axe  Billhook  Bow saw  Cultivator  Earth auger  Edger  Garden fork  Garden hose  Garden trowel  Hedge trimmer  Hoe  Hori hori  Irrigation sprinkler  Lawn aerator  Lawn mower  Lawn sweeper  Leaf blower  Loppers  Machete  Mattock  Pickaxe  Pitchfork  Plough (plow)  Post hole digger  Pruning shears (secateurs)  Rake  Roller  Rotary tiller  Scythe  Sickle  Spade  Splitting maul  String trimmer Hand tools Block plane  BNC inserter/remover  Brace  Bradawl  Breaker bar  Broom  Brush  Card scraper  Caulking gun  Clamp  Crimping pliers  Crowbar  Fish tape  Hammer  Hawk  Hex key  Locking pliers  Mallet  Miter box  Nut driver  Pipe wrench  Pliers  Punch  Punch down tool  Putty knife  Ratchet  Scratch awl  Screwdriver  Sledgehammer   Sponge  Squeegee  Staple gun  Stitching awl  Torque wrench  Trowel  Upholstery hammer  Wrench (spanner) Machine tools Broaching machine  Drill press  Gear shaper  Grinding machine  Hobbing machine  Jig borer  Lathe  Metalworking lathe  Milling machine  Planer  Screw machine  Shaper  Turret lathe Power tools Angle grinder  Band saw  Belt sander  Blow torch  Chainsaw  Chop saw  Circular saw  Concrete saw  Crusher  Cutting torch  Die grinder  Drill  Glue gun  Grinding machine  Heat gun  Impact wrench  Jigsaw  Jointer  Nail gun  Radial arm saw  Random orbital sander  Reciprocating saw  Rotary tool  Router table  Sander  Scroll saw  Soldering gun  Soldering iron  Steam box  Table saw  Thickness planer  Welding  Wood router  Wood shaper Measuring & Alignment tools Caliper  Jig  Micrometer  Pencil  Plumb-bob  Ruler  Sliding T bevel  Spirit level  Square  Tape measure Other Antique tools  Halligan bar  Kelly tool  Ladder  Thau claw  Toolbox  Vise  Workbench v  d  e Metalworking   Tools Cutting machines Water jet cutter  Band saw  Cold saw  Laser  Miter saw  Plasma Cutting tools Broach  Burr  Chisel  Counterbore  Countersink  End mill  File  Guillotine shear  Hand scraper  Milling cutter  Nibbler  Reamer  Throatless shear  Tipped tool  Tool bit Forming tools Brake  Die  English Wheel  Flypress  Hydraulic press  Machine press  Punch press  Stamping press Hand tools Clamp  Combination square  Drift pin  File card  Hacksaw  Hammer  Hand scraper  Machinist square  Magnetic base  Needlegun scaler  Pipe and tube bender  Pliers  Punch  Saw piercing  Scriber  Tap and die  Tongs  Vise  Workbench  Wrench Machine tooling Angle plate  Chuck  Collet  Jig  Fixture  Indexing head  Lathe center  Machine taper  Magnetic base  Mandrel  Rotary table  Wiggler Measuring instruments Bore gauge  Caliper  Comparator  Dial indicator  Engineer’s blue  Feeler  Center gauge and fishtail gauge  Gauge block  Gauge  Go-NoGo  Machinist square  Marking blue  Marking gauge  Marking out  Micrometer  Radius gauge  Scale  Sine bar  Spirit level  Straightedge  Surface plate  Tape measure  Thread pitch  Height gauge  Vernier scale  Wiggler Smithing tools Anvil  Forge  Fuller  Hardy hole  Hardy tools  Pritchel  Slack tub  Steam hammer  Swage block  Trip hammer Casting  Fabrication  Forming  Jewellery  Machining  Metallurgy  Smithing  Tools & Terminology  Welding Categories: Hammers | Blunt weapons | Mechanical hand tools | Metalworking hand tools | Woodworking hand tools | Hand toolsHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from December 2009 | All articles needing additional references | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from May 2008

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Kigali with a population of around 800K and a country population of about 8 million is small – it’s the highest density country in Africa. First impression was of color. Hotel Rwanda Summary Of Movie The brilliant green of the hills; the even more brilliant batik orange, red, yellow, blue dresses of the women; the riot of color in baskets of pineapples, mangoes, bananas balanced expertly on the heads of women. Later, in rural areas I was to see bicycle wheels, a table, fuel cans, sewing machines carried on the head’s of women. Second impression of Kigali was of cleanliness -no garbage strewn in the streets, no rotting piles of rubbish, no huddles of beggars and no herds of goats. No stray dogs either, a poignant consequence of the genocide. Third impression was of a tropical languor, soft, warm breeze barely moving the fronds of banana trees and echoed in a slowing down in the movements of people, traffic. It was all so orderly, trance -like after the mayhem of Addis.

The country slogan is “Land of a thousand hills” and I think 900 of them make up Kigali. Subsequent in-country road trips lead me to amend the slogan to “thousands of hills and even more potholes”! It’s setting is spectacular and despite the heat induced slowness, it’s a city hustling with building projects, animated people and a general sense of purpose – traffic signals are obeyed, walking is easy. I stayed at a small guesthouse, Banana Guest House, in a quiet residential district. It’s an expensive country compared to Ethiopia and a room with breakfast set me back $160 but I was within easy walking distance of the first genocide site.

Certainly I was aware in 1994 of the genocide here in Rwanda and neighboring Burundi but my understanding of the motivation and history was unclear. Reading what history I could find learned that tribal differences between Tutsi and Hutu were manufactured, beginning with Belgian colonization, and by 1932 the Belgians had effectively divided the country into two classes – you were a Tutsi if you owned 10 or more cattle and a Hutu if you owned fewer. Families and villages were divided and the minority Tutsi became the favored group; the division was further developed by the issuance of identification cards. Sporadically, between 1932 and 1994, violence between groups occurred. In the latter part of the last century, the Hutu majority took power and retribution against perceived injustices on the part of the Tutsi increased

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By 1990 a cult of government supported hate radio and sponsored violence toward individual Tutsi was condoned and encouraged. 1993, the then president signed a peace agreement implying an end to internal hostilities; the hate campaign intensified in response. March 1994, the president’s plane was shot down over Kigali. In conversation with Rwandans there is a quiet cynicism about this. The official line, although never proven, is that Tutsi rebels brought the plane down; the facts don’t support this hypothesis as the rockets were fired from a heavily fortified Government Hill and it is thought impossible that rebels would have access to that site. Both the UN commander at the time and other witnesses, suggest that the attack was from within the government inner circle and had one goal – that of inciting the genocide- to that end, the Hutu president was expendable.

The Hutu were ready for genocide. No genocide is spontaneous. Genocide is planned. Gangs of unemployed Hutu youth had been trained in massacre techniques, machetes and guns stashed in secret locations, lists of Tutsis circulated along with instructions on the most effective methods of killing large groups. Hate radio and literature had done their job well; for 100 days terror beyond my comprehension was let loose. Depravity, cruelty, violence, death reigned. Over two million Tutsi were killed in Rwanda in those 100 days and several hundred thousand in neighboring Burundi. Priests betrayed their congregations; neighbors their neighbors; colleagues their office mates. Children were singled out in a biblical attempt to destroy the race; women suffered unspeakable acts of violence. A photo journalist I spoke with recalled a photographer telling him of driving into a village at night, lights out to avoid detection and to their horror discovering that the road was not pot-holed as first thought – they were driving over piles of bodies.

The French UN commander begged for assistance. Kofi Anan, President of the UN and other world leaders including President Clinton, spoke after the event of not understanding the situation and wishing they had made different decisions. The world responded too late to yet another genocide.

My first evening in Kigali I walked the quiet hillside street to Hotel Mille Collines, the setting for the film, Hotel Rwanda. There was nothing there to commemorate that it had been the scene of such desperation. Privately a Rwandan told me that the Hutu manager was “not such a hero” as he had only sheltered those who could pay.

Monday morning my driver took me to the National Genocide Memorial within the city limits. It is a quiet, peaceful place. Interior exhibits lead through a brief history of the Rwandan people, culture and era of colonization. There is no effort to shock here; it’s not needed. Even the display of skulls, many cracked by machetes have a dignity that defies horrific. Photos and heartbreakingly short biographies of children killed fill one room. Other displays eulogize the heroic Hutu men and women who sheltered friends and strangers alike. Two magnificent stained glass windows designed by a child of holocaust survivors bring light and hope into dark rooms. Another area is devoted to a history of genocide throughout time and asks that we learn from this and work to prevent another genocide.

Outside, above a simple pool, a flame burns. It is lit annually for the 100 days of the genocide. A series of gardens lead through a meditation on unity and hope. In one, at the edge of a pool of water, an almost comical clay representation of an elephant holding a cell phone is telling us that elephants never forget and that we should, as the memory keepers, alert the world.

Go through the rose garden, walk under blossom-laden trellises and you come to a three-tier area of mass graves. Over 250,000 men, women and children, their bodies recovered from massacre sites, are buried here. It is a solemn, silent place. I left with a feeling of unease and sadness that clouded the rest of my time in the city.

Nothing prepared me for the final genocide site I visited on Wednesday. Initially I resisted visiting the church at Nyamata. I had read a description of what took place there.

About a thirty-minute drive east of Kigali we turned off into the township of Nyamata and parked outside the Catholic Church under the shade of a plane tree. The fence around the church was draped with pink and purple bunting and a banner over the door translated to “If you knew me you would not have killed me”- ironic because neighbors murdered neighbors.

It’s a big brick building, simple, no elaborate stained glass window, nothing monumental. A few school children walked across the dusty plaza to a row of schoolrooms, they chattered and kicked a plastic bottle. My driver declined to come inside. “I’ve seen,” he said. The iron security door of the church is twisted; the walls and ceiling pockmarked with shrapnel holes from grenade explosions. On May 8th. 1994 more than 10,000 terrified Tutsis from the surrounding area filled very inch of this sanctuary. They crawled under the wood slab, backless benches, they wedged themselves under the altar, they huddled in the crypt, and they pressed themselves into wall niches. It is inconceivable to me that so many could fit into this space. The Hutu mob surrounded the church eventually using a grenade to blow gap in the steel bars of the gate and then began hurling in grenades. They stormed in and hacked, beat, shot to death in an orgy of rape then killing. One woman was singled out (and please forgive this graphic description but unless we hear of such horrors, I fear we will forget) for rape and then killed by a stake that was driven through her vagina to her skull.

It’s still inside the church now. There is a musty, unrecognizable smell. The rows of benches are piled several feet high with the bloodstained, torn clothing of the victims. Colors have faded to a dun brown uniformity but occasionally something stands out and catches the eye – for me it was a crocheted hat still showing some green wool – I imagine it once sitting jauntily on the owner’s head; I noted a pale pink toddler sized tee shirt. The cement floor is patterned with dark stains – blood. Five people survived the massacre.

All 10,000 are buried here and an additional 41,000 from massacre sites around the area. Under a large aluminum awning out back the mass graves have open windows and you look down of satin draped coffins and neat rows of skulls and bones.

Throughout the countryside signs that speak of reconciliation and healing mark villages. “We are Rwandans, we are neither Tutsi nor Hutu” is the word from all you meet. How much people believe that, I don’t know. Not one Rwandan I met offered any personal history on the genocide – they spoke of reconciliation and of repentant “genocideers”- many of the latter, clad in blue overalls, seen working throughout Kigali and rural areas on re-building projects. There is something akin to an hypnotic denial of the past. Of post-genocide President Kenneth Kagame, they speak highly; tangible results of his nine years of leadership seen in the reverse migration of Rwandans, returning home to be Rwanda’s future.

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Etymology

The etymological root of the word silat is uncertain and most hypotheses link it to any similar-sounding word. It may come from Si Elat which means someone who confuses, deceives or bluffs. A similar term, ilat, means an accident, misfortune or a calamity. Another theory is that it comes from silap meaning wrong or error. Some styles contain a set of techniques called Langkah Silap designed to lead the opponent into making a mistake.

The word Melayu means Malay and comes from the Sanskrit term Malai Ur which can translate as “land of mountains”, the word used by Indian traders when referring to peninsular Malaysia. Silat is sometimes called gayung or gayong in the northern Malay Peninsula. In other regions the word gayung refers to the spiritual practices in silat.

History

Origins

Hang Tuah training with his friends

The first martial skills in the Malay Peninsula were those of the orang asal (indigenous tribes) who would use hunting implements like spears, machetes, blowpipes and bows and arrows in raids against enemy tribes. Certain tribes were well-known warriors and pirates such as the Iban and the Tringgus of Borneo. Aboriginal populations on the peninsula were mostly replaced by Deutero-Malays from Sumatra and Borneo and Chamic peoples from Thailand. These settlers were rice-farmers from whom modern Malays are directly descended. The areas from where they originated are concurrent with the early evidence of silat. Sumatra is the birthplace of much of what constitutes Malay culture, particularly the Malay language. The Chams (Vietnamese Malays) of Dong Son are believed by many archaeologists to have created the prototype of a kris as far back as 2000 years ago.

The Malays had established regular contact with both India and China before the 1st century. Silat was largely shaped by Chinese and Indian martial arts, as evidenced by Kedah’s 5th century Bujang Valley civilisation which housed various Indian weapons including an ornate trisula. Their influence resulted in the founding of other Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms throughout the region. The oldest among them was Funan, a Cambodia-based empire that ruled over an area including what is now northern Malaysia, Thailand and Laos. Another was Gangga Negara (lit. Ganges country) that was founded in present-day Beruas by the Khmer prince Raja Ganji Sarjuna. and served as an important trading port before being destroyed by Raja Chola Rajendran of Tamil Nadu. Today most Malaysian Indians are Tamils, who influenced several Southeast Asian martial arts through silambam. This staff-based fighting style was already being practiced by the region’s Indian community when Melaka was founded at the beginning of the 1400s. During the 1700s silambam became more prevalent in the Malay Peninsula than in India, where it was banned by the British government. The bamboo staff is still one of silat’s most fundamental weapons.

In south-central Vietnam the Cham Malays founded their own kingdom of Champa, which remained independent from the Chinese who controlled Vietnam’s north. In its refusal to submit, the kingdom of Champa frequently waged wars against China. Commanders of Champa are known to have been held in high esteem by the Malay kings for their knowledge in silat and for being highly skilled in the art of war, as shown in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) where it is told that Sultan Muhammad Shah had chosen a Cham official as the right hand or senior officer because the Chams possessed skill and knowledge in the administration of the kingdom.

One Malaysian variant of an Indonesian story explains that the first complete system of silat was created by a woman who was carrying a basket of food on her head when birds tried to steal the food from her. She dodged the birds coming from all directions while at the same time attempting to chase them away with her hands. She arrived home late and was scolded by her husband who had no food to eat. He tried to beat the woman but she avoided all his attacks and was completely untouched. Her husband had grown tired and after listening to her explanation for being late, asked his wife to teach him what she had learned. Together they created the rudiments of silat. By the 7th century it had had already spread throughout the Malay Peninsula. The styles created on the peninsula are now called silat Melayu or seni silat to differentiate them from the pencak silat of Indonesia. Tradition credits silat tua (lit. “old silat”) as the first system of silat Melayu to have been founded on the peninsula. This border area between Malaysia and Thailand where it was created is culturally significant and considered to be the “cradle of Malay custom”.

King bestowing Hang Tuah with the rank of Laksamana (admiral)

Over time, silat was refined into the specialized property of royalty, pendekar, and generals. Kings encouraged princes and children of dignitaries to learn silat and any other form of knowledge related to the necessities of combat. Prominent fighters were elevated to head war troops and received ranks or bestowals from the raja. One of these was the famous 15th-century Melakan warrior Hang Tuah. He learned martial arts together with his four compatriates – Hang Jebat, Hang Lekir, Hang Kasturi and Hang Lekiu – from two of the most renowned silat guru of the era. In Malaysia today, Hang Tuah is called the “father of silat” which has led to the misconception that he created silat. However, Hang Tuah is more likely to have been one of the art’s disseminators rather than its originator since silat is known to have been practiced long before the founding of Melaka.

Colonial period

In the 16th century, conquistadors from Portugal attacked Melaka in an attempt to monopolise the spice trade. The Malay warriors managed to hold back the better-equipped Europeans for many days before Melaka was eventually defeated. The Portuguese hunted and killed anyone with knowledge of martial arts so that the remaining practitioners fled to more isolated areas. Even today, the best silat masters are said to come from areas that have had the least contact with outsiders. For the next few hundred years, the Malay Archipelago would remain under a string of foreign rulers, namely the Portuguese, Dutch, and finally the British. The 1600s saw an influx of Minangkabau and Bugis people into Melaka from Sumatra and south Sulawesi respectively. Bugis sailors were particularly famous for their martial prowess and were feared even by the European colonists. In the 18th century both groups were engaged with the Dutch in a triangular contest for control of the Melaka Straits. By the 1780s the Bugis had control of Johor and established a kingdom in Selangor. The Minangkabau formed their own federation of nine states called Negeri Sembilan in the hinterland. Today, many of Malaysia’s silat schools can trace their lineage directly back to the Minang and Bugis settlers of this period.

After Malaysia achieved independence, Tuan Haji Anuar bin Haji Abd. Wahab was given the responsibility of developing Malaysia’s national silat curriculum which would be taught to secondary and primary school students all over the country. On 28 March 2002, his Seni Silat Malaysia was recognised by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, the Ministry of Education and PESAKA as Malaysia’s national silat. Since its disassociation with the palace, silat did not develop in the national defence institution and returned to the countryside. It is now conveyed to the community by means of the gelanggang bangsal meaning the martial arts training institution carried out by silat instructors.

Clothing

Silat attire varies according to style and locality. People of the Malay Peninsula traditionally wore sarongs and carried a roll of cloth which could be used as a bag, a blanket or a weapon. The standard full dress of today’s silat practitioners usually consists of the following:

The tengkolok and tanjak are headkerchiefs with different ways of tying them depending on status and region.

The baju Melayu, meaning “Malay clothes” is the male shirt but is also worn by female silat exponents.

The samping is a waistcloth.

The bengkung is a cloth belt or sash which secures the samping. Some schools colour the bengkung to signify rank, a practice adopted from the belt system of Japanese martial arts.

The training hall

In Malay the practice area is called a gelanggang. They were traditionally located outdoors, either in a specially constructed part of the village or in a jungle clearing. The area would be enclosed by a fence made of palm leaves to prevent outsiders from stealing secrets. Before training can begin, the gelanggang must be prepared either by the teachers or senior students in a ritual called “opening the training area” (buka gelanggang ). This starts by cutting some limes into water and then walking around the area while sprinkling the water onto the floor. The guru walks in a pattern starting from the centre to the front-right corner, and then across to the front-left corner. She/he then walks backwards past the centre into the rear-right corner, across to the rear-left corner, and finally ends back in the centre. The purpose of walking backwards is to show respect to the gelanggang, and any guests that may be present, by never turning one’s back to the front of the area. Once this has been done, the teacher sits in the centre and recites an invocation so the space is protected with positive energy. From the centre, the guru walks to the front-right corner and repeats the invocation while keeping his/her head bowed and hands crossed. The right hand is crossed over the left and they are kept at waist level. The mantera is repeated at each corner and in the same pattern as when the water was sprinkled. As a sign of humility, the guru maintains a bent posture while walking across the training area. After repeating the invocation in the centre once more, the teacher sits down and meditates. Although most practitioners today train in modern indoor gelanggang and the invocations are often replaced with a prayer, this ritual is still carried out in some form or another.

Silat Pulut

Silat pulut performance

Silat pulut is a sport that utilizes agility in attacking and defending oneself. In this exercise, the two partners begin some distance apart and perform freestyle movements while trying to match the each other’s flow. One attacks when they notice an opening in the opponent’s defences. Without interfering with the direction of force, the defender then parries and counterattacks. The other partner follows by parrying and attacking. This would go on with both partners disabling and counter-attacking their opponent with locking, grappling and other techniques. Contact between the partners is generally kept light but faster and stronger attacks may be agreed upon beforehand. In another variation which is also found in chin na, the initial attack is parried and then the defender applies a lock on the attacker. The attacker follows the flow of the lock and escapes it while putting a lock on the opponent. Both partners go from lock to lock until one is incapable of escaping or countering.

This game is called silat pulut or gayong pulut because after a performance each player is gifted with bunga telur and sticky rice or pulut. Silat pulut is held during leisure time, the completion of silat instruction, official events, weddings or festivals where it is accompanied by the rhythm of silat drums or “silat baku music”.

The British colonists introduced western training systems by incorporating the police and sepoys (soldiers who were local citizens) to handle the nation’s defence forces which at that time, was receiving opposition from former Malay fighters. Consequently, silat teachers were very cautious in letting their art become apparent because the colonists had experience in fighting Malay warriors. Thus silat pulut provided an avenue for exponents to hone their skills without giving themselves away.

Despite its satirical appearance, silat pulut actually enables students to learn moves and their applications without having to be taught set techniques. Partners who frequently practice together can exchange hard blows without injuring each other by adhering to the principle of not meeting force with force. What starts off as a matching of striking movements is usually followed by successions of locks and may end in groundwork, a pattern that is echoed in the modern Mixed Martial Arts.

Weapons

Main article: Weapons of silat

Kris/Keris: A dagger which is often given a distinct wavy blade by folding different types of metal together and then washing it in acid.

Parang/Golok: Machete/ broadsword, commonly used in daily tasks such as cutting through forest growth.

Tombak/Lembing: Spear/ javelin, made of wood, steel or bamboo that may have dyed horsehair near the blade.

Tongkat: A walking-stick carried by travellers and the elderly.

Batang/Galah: Staff or rod made of bamboo, steel or wood.

Kayu: Wooden stick of any size.

Gedak: A mace or club usually made of metal.

Kipas: Traditional folding fan preferably made of hardwood or iron.

Pisau/Sundang: A sword or knife, either single or double edged.

Badek/Badik: One-sided knife ranging in length from 2040 cm.

Seligi: Sharpened bamboo shaft used as a javelin or spear.

Kerambit: A concealable claw-like curved blade that can be tied in a woman’s hair.

Sabit: Sickle commonly used in farming, harvesting and cultivation of crops.

Serampang/Trisula: Trident originally used for fishing.

Tekpi/Chabang: Three-pronged truncheon thought to derive from the trident.

Chindai/Samping: Wearable sarung used to lock or defend attacks from bladed weapons.

Rantai: Chain used for whipping and seizing techniques

See also

Silat

Pencak Silat

Kuntao

References

^ Silat Dinobatkan Seni Beladiri Terbaik by Pendita Anuar Abd. Wahab AMN (pg. 42 SENI BELADIRI June 2007, no: 15(119) P 14369/10/2007)

^ Sejarah Melayu by A. Samad Ahmad

^ Crego, Robert (2003). Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries pg 32. Greenwood Press

^ a b Thesis: Seni Silat Melayu by Abd Rahman Ismail (USM 2005 matter 188)

^ Sejarah Melayu by A. Samad Ahmad 1996: matter 75

^ Sheikh Shamsuddin (2005). The Malay Art Of Self-defense: Silat Seni Gayong. North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1556435622. 

^ Draeger & Smith (1969). Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts. ISBN 978-0-87011-436-6. 

^ Zainal Abidin Shaikh Awab and Nigel Sutton (2006). Silat Tua: The Malay Dance Of Life. Kuala Lumpur: Azlan Ghanie Sdn Bhd. ISBN 9789834232801. 

^ Martabat Silat Warisan Negara, Keaslian Budaya Membina Bangsa PESAKA (2006) [Sejarah Silat Melayu by Tn. Hj. Anuar Abd. Wahab]

^ Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Dictionary (Teuku Iskandar 1970)

^ a b Martabat Silat Warisan Negara, Keaslian Budaya Membina Bangsa PESAKA (2006) [Istilah Silat by Anuar Abd. Wahab]

Sejarah Silat Melayu by Anuar Abd. Wahab (2006) in “Martabat Silat Warisan Negara, Keaslian Budaya Membina Bangsa” PESAKA (2006).

Istilah Silat by Anuar Abd. Wahab (2006) in “Martabat Silat Warisan Negara, Keaslian Budaya Membina Bangsa” PESAKA (2006).

Silat Dinobatkan Seni Beladiri Terbaik by Pendita Anuar Abd. Wahab AMN (2007) in SENI BELADIRI (June 2007)

Silat itu Satu & Sempurna by Pendita Anuar Abd. Wahab AMN (2007) in SENI BELADIRI (September 2007)

Silat Medan aknar & kapap by Bijak Gurpreet Singh Dhillon. (2008) published in Military Training Journal

(September 2008)

Further reading

Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith (1980). Comprehensive Asian fighting arts. Kodansha International. ISBN 9780870114366. 

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