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Originally Posted by The_Judo_Jibboo
what style is yours, out of curiosity? i'm very interested in silat myself but it seems so daunting to get into with so many styles, like it's hard to find the one that offers just what you want. but i like the idea of fighting in close (being a judo guy) and want to pick up a knife art.
being a close fighting style from relatively the same part of the world as muay thai, does silat use knees and the clinch anything like a muay thai player?
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Hi, my main style is Harimau Berantai, the family style of guru Jack Othman-who incidentaly also owns a Muay Thai Gym in Kuala Lumpur. There are certainly similarities with Silat and Muay Boran-probably due to hundreds of years of Malays & Thais fighting! We actualy do have specific 'answers' to many typical MT attacks. We also have the MT low shin kick which is the only one when we don't use the heel.
As for close up, yes that way we have control of and anticipation of the opponents intent, which is something you will be familiar with as a Judeka. However, we don't usualy tend to throw people 'away' - just the opposite. We like to have them close and then go for a lock...or of course a kick, and we also train to drop onto the head/ neck with full bodyweight using our knees.
We also certainly use knees. We may manouver around the opponent and take them down onto a knee! We train to use all of the body-this even includes headbuts.
Now, bring a knife into the equation and things are taken to a whole new level. Hits, locks and throws can all be done to great effect with a knife. With a basic short bladed knife, for us a pisau or belati, we can hook, push or pull with the blade. This, in theory at least, gives the opportunity to 'not kill' the opponent....we dont have to stab or go for a main artery, rather take out an arm or leg. We can even use the flat of a blade to employ a lock.
(Sensible bit!) Of course it would be almost suicidal to get into a real knife fight....but then again I believe it is foolish not to explore knifework, as certainly in the UK if you get killed in a fight it's usualy a with knife.