Weapons

Weapons

"There is no Silat without the knife. There is no knife without Silat."
--traditional Indonesian saying

Serak is a weapons-based art. There is an implicit assumption that in any encounter the opponents will be armed. If they happen to be unarmed or if there is only one attacker it is considered a happy event, not something to count on. It follows that if there are weapons it is important to learn about them. At the least an insider's perspective allows one to counter them more effectively. At the best one will have a weapon of one's own. The only thing worse than being in a knife fight is being unarmed against someone with a knife.

Gurus introduce weapons at different times. Some teach them from the beginning. Others wait until the students have a firm grasp of the basics of the system. Most will not teach the use of weapons until they know the students very well and are sure of their moral character. In Indonesia and the Phillipines it is not uncommon for teachers to require that pupils engage in extensive religious instruction.

The accepted wisdom in many martial arts circles is that the weapon is just an extension of the empty hand. Learn how to fight empty handed, the conventional wisdom goes, and you will know how to use a tool. In Sera this is considered to be true in a certain sense but dangerously misleading.

Not all styles are compatible with weapons. Many primarily unarmed ones tacitly assume that they can trade a blow for a better blow or that strikes are only dangerous around their point of maximum power. A knife is dangerous along its entire trajectory. Trading a cut or a stab wound for a punch is suicidal. A club can shatter a forearm which could comfortably block a powerful punch or kick.

In a system which is based on fighting with or against weapons the unarmed portion of the curriculum will be compatible with the armed part. Defenses and drills will neutralize and control in a way that protects the player against the common attacks of impact or bladed weapons. Training will emphasize distance and timing and teach the student how to deal with, for instance, the faster timing of bladed tools. Every weapon has its own range, speed, strengths and limitations. The style will familiarize the student with at least the broad categories of weapons singly and in combination. Cutting weapons are handled much differently than impact weapons of the same length and weight. Flexible weapons are not the same as either.

In Serak as taught by Guru Plinck weapons the use of weapons is not taught until the students are several years into their training both for ethical reasons and because he believes it is important to be competent with the basics before adding complexity. Defense against weapons is taught earlier.

The basic weapons of the style are the small knife, the big knife (golok or klewang), the short stick, the staff or spear, and the cabang.