Our friend Tom Furman

En dos semanas estaremos asistiendo al Filfest de CrossFit 2010 en Miami y pasaremos unos días visitando a nuestro amigo Tom Furman en Ft. Lauderdale, para entrenar un poco de Kettlebells, Bodyweight training, Combat conditioning y por supuesto estando alrededor de Tom, Silat. Aquí hay una serie de tres videos de Tom en su casa con el Maestro de Penkat Silat, Dr. Harold Koning. Two weeks from now will be attending CrossFit's Filfest 2010 in Miami and will spend a few days visiting our friend Tom Furman in Ft. Lauderdale, for a little Kettlebell Training, some bodyweight training, combat conditioning and of course being around Tom, some Penkat Silat. Heres a little three video series of him with Silat Master Dr. Harold Koning.

Guru Dr. Harold Koning Pencak Silat Mustika Kwitang A small look into Mustika Kwitang. Guru Harold demoing on Tom Furman http://www.physicalstrategies.com/

Pencak Silat es un arte marcial de origen indonesio, el cual se practica en Indonesia, Singapur, Malasia, Tailandia, Vietnam, Brunéi... Básicamente en todo el sudeste asiático. También se practica en casi todos los países europeos, donde cabe destacar España, Holanda y Francia. Estados Unidos, Australia o Perú son otro ejemplo de donde también se practica.

Hay evidencias de que Silat fue influenciado por las artes marciales de China y la India. Muchas de las prácticas médicas de la región y las armas se originaron en la India o China, y muchas técnicas son reminiscencias de la lucha hindú.
A pesar de que numerosos mitos intentan explicar la institucionalización del Silat, la mayoría de ellos sólo se refieren a un estilo específico.Las primeras evidencias de Silat enseñadas en su forma actual se encuentran en Sumatra, donde, según la leyenda local, una mujer basó su sistema de combate en los movimientos de los animales que observó en lucha. Maestros todavía creen que los primeros estilos de Silat fueron creados por la observación de animales, y estos estilos derivan probablemente de la base animal indio de artes marciales.Varias bases se dicen que han sido introducidos por el monje budista Bodhidharma en el siglo quinto o sexto, desde la India hasta el sudeste de Asia a través de la base de Sumatra reino de Palembang.

Silat también se utiliza como un método de entrenamiento espiritual, además de defensa propia. Con el tiempo fue utilizado por las fuerzas de defensa de Langkasuka, Champa, Srivijaya, Beruas, Melaka, Makassar, Aceh, Majapahit, Gangga Negara, Pattani y otros reinos en el sureste de Asia. Sin embargo, Silat no se limita a una determinada clase social o de género, fue practicado por todos sin restricciones. Incluso hoy día, se enseña a menudo en las familias que han heredado las tradiciones culturales, tales como la talla en madera, danza, herboristería o la ejecución de instrumentos musicales.

A diferencia de otros marciales el PS utiliza como parte fundamental la música, cada movimiento del practicante es acompañado por una gran banda de músicos con instrumentos originarios tradicionales del sureste asiático. Esta banda se llama gamelán y tiene entre sus instrumentos gongs, xilófonos de madera y metal, tambores de madera y piel... Sin embargo, los que marcan el ritmo de la música no es la banda, si no los combatientes. Cuanto más rápido se muevan los combatientes, más rápida irá la música.
Los combates se desarrollan en una arena cuadrada de 10 metros por 10 metros. Dentro de este cuadrado existen dos círculos, uno de 8 metros y otro de 3 metros de diámetro. Los combatientes se sitúan uno enfrente del otro, guardando una distancia de 3 metros (los del círculo del centro).
El PS se basa en la esquiva y contra-ataque. Como todo arte marcial es una disciplina de lucha dedicada a la defensa personal.

¿Por qué esquiva?
Para responder a esta pregunta hay que hacerse a la idea de que no siempre es fácil parar un ataque de frente. Por eso esta disciplina utiliza una esquiva que consiste en salir de la trayectoria del ataque para evitarlo bien sea dando un salto, desplazando el cuerpo lateralmente... de cualquier manera es posible evitar un ataque si el agredido se aparta de la línea de ataque o trayectoria de la agresión.

¿Por qué contraataque?
Después de haber realizado la esquiva hay que neutralizar al adversario mediante un golpe, o una técnica para reducirlo. A la acción de responder a su ataque mediante otro ataque se le llama contraataque.
En este apartado sale a relucir otra faceta excepcional en el PS, la técnicas de suelo. Pocos artes marciales trabajan y controlan tanto como el PS moverse cómodamente por el suelo. Este tipo de técnica crea un shock en el contrario al verse perdido ante la impotencia de poder enfrentarse a un contrincante que se mueve tan bien y rápido en el suelo como de pie.

Mobility Is The First To Go
By Tom Furman

There is an athletic saying that the legs are the first to go. Not too many sports use crawling as a method of locomotion so this is probably correct. A simple observation of society in general or a family get together specifically will give you an idea about movement and aging. The adults sit on chairs and avoid getting up to do things, they avoid squatting to pick things up, and they avoid reaching. The children climb, squat, crawl, run, and sit on the ground. Their youthful energy is hard to restrain and they don’t fear movement. The adults fear energy expenditure and avoid movements they are, "too old for". There are adults however who continue to participate in movement. Everyone knows seniors who dance, do Pilates, Martial Arts, Tennis, even Kayaking. Those individuals who age yet desire mobility seem unafraid to move or LEARN new things. That may be the key. The ability to remain childlike in mind and body can be summed up with the statement, "Always be a student". The ability to try new things keeps you mobile and young.

Some of the fundamental tools of any worthy endeavor should be inexpensive. Your own body and gravity would be a great start. The goal is to return to child like movement, so here are some ideas.
1. First, sit on the floor more often. Avoid chairs, but get comfortable sprawling on your stomach, back, cross legged or propped on an elbow. There is NO need to hold an uncomfortable position, but rather shift around and try a variety of positions while you watch TV, read, talk, or perhaps play with a child.

2. Practice sitting with your butt on your heels. Do it on a soft surface, no need to feel pain. This is a common posture in Asia and not as common in the Western world. Some of you will have difficulty doing it. Don’t worry, a certain amount of persistence is needed to feel comfortable. Individuals who do gardening often find themselves in this position. Some of you will need to put a pillow or pad between your butt and calves to reduce the stress on your quadriceps and knees. The size of this pad or pillow can be reduced as the tight muscles that inhibit mobility begin to relax and adapt. This process should never be forced but slowly cultivated.

3. Squatting on the toes would be the next habit you should adopt. Break in slowly. Knees that have not been fully flexed may be stiff and their may be some pain. Avoid the pain and be careful as you add this to your daily habits. If you have any compromised knee stability issues from injury or aging,…check with your doctor. This "habit" will begin to add some range of motion to your calves, quads, and hips. Move slowly and think of it as another posture you are re-aquainting your self with rather than an exercise. Start with slow holds, and gradually get comfortable with picking things up this way. If you are overweight, this move may not be appropriate since the added weight my contribute to knee instability rather than to aiding mobility and stability.

4. Bending is a move that we are told we should not do. This is rather odd since we are hinged at the hips and weights in excess of 1000 pounds have been lifted from this position. The fundamental concepts to adhere to would be folding at the hip crease, keeping the knees unlocked, bracing the abdominals, and keeping the back flat. With normal healthy body structure, this will come naturally. With modern adaption and the philosophy of, " I’m getting too old to do this," it is anything but natural. There is no need to hold the bottom position, but just remember the simple basics and don’t be afraid to pick something up.

5. Squatting on the heels is common in many cultures except this one. The skeleton, according to forensic anthropologists actually shows adaptation to squatting over a long term. This is one that you have to ease into. Weak hip flexors are overcome by tight hamstrings and getting to rock bottom seems impossible. There are many neurological tricks that can be used to hasten this process, but what is the point? Unless you are training specifically to be a baseball catcher or Olympic lifter use the slow and sure method of holding on to an object for temporary support, and easing into the squatting position. Focus on all of the previous posture changes listed in this article to get you ready to do this one. Let gravity and nature take it’s course with the natural adaptive responses of the muscles relaxing and accommodating the load. Don’t hurry this posture. You have nothing but time on your side. Slow and sure versus knee or back issues.
These are the beginning steps of returning to childlike movement. The next phase is Grounded Mobility. How to move on the ground to enhance your lower body strength, flexibility, and functionality. I cover this with intense detail in my DVD, "Concrete Conflict and Conditioning" available at www.physicalstrategies.com/articles For workshops I am available through at
physicalstrategi@bellsouth.net