Blocking in PCK Silat

Blocking in PCK Silat is hitting. It is just striking the opponents limbs. Now lots of systems use this idea of Pukulan and hunting the limbs but in our art we put an emphasis on it.

In PCK we use the blocking methods of Cimande, Sera and the variations of those methods created by expressing them with the flavor of the 4 animal systems in our art. We have slaps, guntings, clawing, bludgeoning, crushing, smashing, pulling, punching, spearing, dislocating, breaking, splitting of muscles and a variety of other ways to destroy an opponent's weapons. We actively seek the opponents limbs to destroy their ability to effectively attack and defend.

It is a relentless and overwhelming method of defense. But in reality I have never really looked at it as defense. It is all attack all of the time. Just like the principle of the thorn where we impale the opponents strikes on the knees and elbows, any time we employ our blocking methods the harder the opponent strikes, the more he gets hurt.

Practice getting your blocks into a flow just like you do with striking. Mix the palms, forearms, elbows, web of the thumb, back of the hand, full fist, half fist and anything else you can think of into a flow and master being able to blend and adapt to ranges with your blocking. Then take that flow and absorb it into your striking. We use the same tools for striking as in our blocks, but the methods can be slightly different at times. Learn the difference. Learn to hunt the limbs on your way to your striking targets. Sometimes you will need to really break an opponent down before entering that closer striking range. Other times you will move in and just start smashing with strikes. The key is to have both skills equally available at all times, especially in a multiple attacker scenario.

Updates to the PCK Curriculum

Updates to the PCK Silat Curriculum are posted on the website at pcksilat.com. Below is the basic outline of ranks. The full PCK Curriculum can be found in the PCK Membership Handbook. A new version of the handbook will be distributed to students soon to reflect the changes. 

   

Entry level Practitioner- No Sash

The Study of basic PCK Jurus, Postures, Footwork, Striking, Principles, Breathing/Meditation and Kebatinan.  

Intermediate Practitioner - White Sash

An intermediate level comprehension of PCK Empty Hand and Weapons Material, Principles, Breathing/Meditation and Kebatinan.  

Advanced Practitioner- Green Sash

An advanced level comprehension of PCK Empty Hand and Weapons Material, Principles, Breathing/Meditation and Kebatinan.  

Instructor Candidate- Red Sash

Completion of PCK Jurus, Animal Mannerisms and Basic Weapons. Embodies the moral code of the PCK Warrior. By receiving this rank a Pesilat is being put under consideration for our instructor ranks.  

Guru Muda- Black Sash with White Naga

Advanced Applications, Specialized Moves and Concepts drawn from PCK Jurus, Principles and Animal Mannerisms. Naga Mannerisms and internalization of the 4 Animals. Advanced understanding of the 18 PCK Principles and Advanced Weapons. Advanced Meditation/Breathing and Kebatinan. As a Guru Muda of PCK Silat you must teach to be considered for full Guru Rank.

Guru- Black Sash with Green Naga

Completion of all PCK Material. Access to advanced Cimande, Sera and weapons training. Internalization of the 18 principles. The ability to combatively and creatively express the art as well as pass that information on to students clearly. A Guru of PCK should embody the art, its principles and the moral code of PCK Silat.

Pendekar- Black Sash with Red Naga

Guru Besar- Black Sash with Gold Naga

Gold Sash- PCK Achievement Award

This is the highest achievement award in PCK Silat, given to a practitioner that embodies the moral and fighting code of the Silat Warrior. This is the type of student that all others should look to as an example and one that they should strive to emulate.

New Online Course Videos

I have added a new Jurus Cimande video to the PCK Online Training Course that teaches up to Jurus 7 now! This will really help expand your ideas for applications as a long distance student. 

There is also a new Basic Animal Mannerisms video in Tier 2. This reflects the changes in our curriculum, offering material on the 4 animals sooner in your training. The video covers basic mannerisms for Monkey, Tiger, Snake and Crane and offers a look at how the art uses the general movements associated with the animals first, to teach the imitation of the animal before inserting the attitude and energy that makes it come to life.

The Jurus Dasar are next! Keep an eye out for a new Jurus Dasar video coming soon on the course too, as well as some cool new video extras! 

The 4 Animals of PCK Silat

PCK Silat is based on a combination of Cimande, Sera and Sera Kombinasi (Mas Jud Lineage of Sera that blends Cimande, Sera and Cikalong). Cimande and Sera as arts stand alone as symbols of what true Pencak Silat is all about. PCK Silat is rooted in these arts but these animal fighting techniques and mannerisms bring our Cimande and Sera to life.

We utilize the fluid as well as erratic aspects of the Monkey, with its evasiveness, ability to adapt and flow as well as relentlessly hit, this gives our movement the softness required at times for sensitivity and the ability to employ our primal instinct to survive in an instant. Monkey offers a glimpse into the finer points of the use of Tarik (Pulling) and Darong (Pushing) and causing disorientation and off balancing in opponents. Some of the more sensitivity based training we use comes from our Monkey system.

Within our Tiger (Harimau/ Macan) movement you will find the powerful, crushing, penetrating type hitting as well as  leaping, the hunting of the lower body from the ground, breaking, hunting of the head and neck for control of the body when upright and taking the opponent to the ground with powerful yet graceful destructiveness. Harimau is our fully grounded tiger and it brings our Jurus, kicks and principles to the ground fighting game. From the more upright Harimau positions that use multiple points on the ground for balance and power, we can use kicks, punches, Jurus as well as all of the 18 principles of PCK Silat. We also move all the way to our back like a cat with all 4 limbs free to attack. The tiger also has a fully upright expression (Macan). Here we bring out some of the most destructive nature of our striking. With its directness and eagerness to end the fight as quickly as possible this is a devastatingly effective style of fighting.

Our Snake system utilizes the more compact expression of our Jurus and kicks as well as mannerisms of the Cobra that dart rapidly hunting the limbs using ”Poison Hand” techniques to immobilize a limb before wrapping and breaking (Python). This rapid fire Pukulan style of hitting is one of our systems trademarks. This is our close range fighting and it includes vicious knee and elbow attacks, kicks that hunt the muscles and nerves in the legs and wraps and breaks that leave an attacker unable to fight back effectively.

The Crane has our longest range weapons and movement and uses speed, lightness, whip and ricochet movements. It uses sweeping motions, wrist blows, gunting (scissors) type striking along with the scanning head movements and upright one legged positions. The Kilap footwork and unique torture strikes with the finger tips (usually to the eyes or face) make our crane much more combative than what most people have seen.

 Lastly we have the Naga, combining all of the animal mannerisms and expressions of the Jurus and Langkah into one destructive yet mesmerizing synthesis of concepts, principles and energies. The Naga of PCK brings the essence of each of our streams together into one. Again, we do not isolate our Cimande and Sera material, but blend them seamlessly into one art. The Naga represents the combining of all elements, animal styles and energies within our system and therefore is the center of our PCK logo, representing the coming together of all of the streams into one.

PCK Handbook

PCK International will soon be offering the PCK Manual for sale to the general public! This is our official handbook and it is filled with all kinds of Silat information that would be valuable to any Silat practitioner. In the past this was only available to PCK Silat members but we will be making it available to all. It will still come free with a PCK Membership obviously. We will keep you updated on the release date for this as well as information on the release of a physical copy of the manual right here on the the PCK Blog. Both will eventually be available in the PCK Store.

PCK Silat Summer Camp 2015

Our Annual PCK Silat Summer Camp will be held in West Palm Beach FL this year in September! We are looking forward to seeing all of the familiar faces this time around, but we are hoping to see many more new faces as well. Our Summer Camps are open to the general public so anyone interested in Silat in general is more than welcome to join us!

We will be having a Selamatan and informal training Friday night followed by regular training Saturday and Sunday. For more details you can contact Guru Darren at gurudrf@gmail.com.

New PCK T Shirts

PCK International will soon be offering a new training T Shirt! Keep an eye out right here on the PCK Silat blog for more details on the date the new shirts will go on sale!

PCK Silat Knoxville Training Group

PCK Silat's Knoxville Training Group is headed by Pesilat Chrisopher Myers. He has been training his tail off working towards his new rank and sent me this footage of compiled training clips covering a variety of topics. Good stuff! You can see a little bit of everything he has been working on presented here.

- Guru Derek

Dedication

For our first post I wanted to take the opportunity to honor our founder and Grand Master Guru Besar Jerry Jacobs. He is a beacon in the Silat world and sets an example for all of us to follow inside and outside of the training hall. He has inspired and molded many Silat Warriors and has built bridges in every possible direction in the Martial Arts world. His skill, knowledge and dedication has helped him bring PCK Silat to all of our students across the world. Below is a testimonial I wrote about 6 years ago that still sums it up pretty well:


"I have had the privilege of knowing and training under Guru Besar Jerry for 17 years now. It has been an absolute honor to be a student and brother to such a knowledgeable and respectable man. His skill, to all who have witnessed him in action is truly astonishing. One other thing that has always impressed me the most about him is his generosity. He goes so far beyond what is necessary to make sure that beginner and teachers alike, understand what is being taught, without any hesitation. I have been lucky enough to become good friends with Guru Besar Jerry outside of training. His generosity inside the training hall , is paled in comparison to that with which he shows outside. I have seen him help so many people and have personally gained more knowledge and received more blessings in my life due to this man's teaching and friendship, it would take two lifetimes to repay that which I owe to him. Training with him has been the single most rewarding thing in my entire life and everything that I do has been enriched and my life more fulfilling due to learning what he teaches and being his friend. 

 The other side of Guru Besar Jerry, is the side with which I pray I never have the misfortune to encounter. The ferocity that is unleashed when he puts his skill into action is enough to make the toughest fighter cower. His wealth of knowledge of Pencak Silat as well as all of the other styles that he studied before coming to Silat, has made him into a warrior of the highest caliber. I have seen him do some things throughout the years, that he makes look effortless I might add, that make me feel like I have never trained a day in my life, yet he is one of the most humble and approachable people that I have ever known, and his passion to continue to learn is relentless. 

 His knowledge of Internal Energy and the Meditative and Spiritual aspects of this art has always been fascinating to me. I have also been witness to situations where Guru Besar Jerry has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that his skill in these areas is unquestionably masterful. Anyone who has seen or been effected by his healing or internal energy work can verify that he is truly gifted. The depth of understanding of the philosophy and internal aspects of such a complex art combined with all of the extra research and extra training in related areas is testament to his dedication and unwavering willingness to better himself, and the amazing thing is that this is for the sole purpose of being able to teach and help others! In today's society masters such as this are very rare. 

 In the many years that I have known and trained with Guru Besar Jerry I have seen his school go from a small group of devoted followers to an international organization with schools in many states and even countries. This art is no doubt fascinating and deadly , and all respects to its founders and great masters are always and will always be given , however it is without hesitation that I say that Guru Besar Jerry Jacobs skill, devotion to this art, and passion to give this knowledge to all who come to learn, is an honor to those founding fathers and no one is more qualified in character or skill to lead this organization. It is an honor to be associated with such an honorable and knowledgeable teacher."

 - Guru Derek