The latest issue of SENI BELADIRI magazine has hit the stands! Of interest in this issue include:

Feature
Haji Ismail, better known as Tok Sidang demonstrates the Tari Pedang (Sword Wardance) and reveals the life of his master, Haji Hamid Hamzah. Although a small man, Haji Hamid was hot-tempered and feared no one. In Tok Sidang lie many of his secrets…

Ultimate Warrior
A change of heart from the Ministry of Youth and Sports? A ring battle that culmianates in a Tomoi win.

Keris Anak Alang or the Keris Bahari
The Keris Anak Alang was once used for execution. Read an account of one such execution.

A couple of months ago, a local skeptic named Syed Abdullah Al-Attas (or better known now as ‘Uncle’ of Seekers fame)who does research into the paranormal issued an open challenge (under his terms) to martial art masters in Malaysia. He dared anyone who claimed to have ‘pukulan jauh’ or spiritual attacking abilities to ‘throw him’, if they were truly sincere. ‘Throw me’, he said defiantly. ‘I have no doubt this ability doesn’t exist as they say it does’.

Uncle initially made his challenge to all spiritual healers to magically attack him (or as the Melayu call it, ’santau’) and later repeated the ultimatum to silat masters within the pages of SENI BELADIRI. Several months passed without any word. However, just before Aidilfitri, I received a curious SMS from one ‘Pembela Melayu’ (Defender of Melayu) asking for the contact information of Azlan Ghanie, the publisher of the magazine.

Pembela Melayu explained that he wanted to accept Uncle’s challenge, but under his own conditions. I replied to him with the information he wanted and thought nothing more. A few weeks later, I SMSed Pembela Melayu again to inquire what the progress was and he replied with, “InsyaAllah, negotiations are under way”.

A week later, I asked for an update. After a long silence, he replied that it was never going to take place because Uncle couldn’t agree to his terms. His exact SMS follows:

“Syarat berlawan tidak dapat dipenuhi olehnya.kerana utk mempelantingkanya tanpa syarat.sedangkan bagi pihak saya utk merasai pukulan jarak jauh(jurus) semestinya berlawan(musuh). Kalau sekadar duduk diam tanpa bermusuh tidak menjadi.kerana hakikat ilmu ini melawan musuh agama,negara,diri dsbnya. ‘tanyalah pada org2 tua ttg 13 may’!. Terimakasih.”

Translation:
“He couldn’t meet my condition to fight. He wants me to spiritually repel and throw him without any condition. On my part, in order for him to feel my ‘jurus’ or distance attacks, it has to be in opposition (an enemy). If he simply stands there with no intention of being offensive, it will not work. The truth of this knowledge is to defend against the enemies of religion, the nation, the self and so on. ‘Ask the elders of May 13th!’ Thank you”

For those of you who want to know more about the 13th May Incident, click here. The insinuation is that much of these types of methods were used by silat masters who were involved in the Incident. For those who are still confused as to what is being alluded to by ’spiritual defence’, here are some video clips that claim to depict it (the videos that follow are NOT those of ‘Pembela Melayu’, just a generic example).

If you haven’t registered for membership at SILAT MELAYU.COM, better do so quickly and get your friends to do so too. To thank our registered members for their loyalty and patience in waiting for the improvements to the website we’ve promised, on the 18th of November 2006, all members will receive SILAT MELAYU Ezine Issues 1-4 which we published late last year for free.

Next FREE sendout to all members: A free 16-page primer to Silat in Malaysia, a good beginner’s guide to anyone wanting to know about Malaysian Melayu martial arts.