The Malay Art of Self-Defense: Silat Seni Gayong

I have had a lifelong passion for the martial arts and over the last 60 years I have seriously studied numerous combat systems (Judo, Jujitsu, Karate-Do, Boxing, Wrestling, Kenjutsu, Tanto Jutsu, Wakizashi-Jutsu, Jo-Jitsu, and Hanbo-Jitsu); however, I never studied the martial arts systems of Malaysia and Indonesia. When I saw this book (The Malay Art of Self-Defense: Silat Seni Gayong by Sheikh Shamsuddin) on Amazon for a bargain price I immediately purchased it.The little I knew about the Silat system over the years was a few articles in Black Belt magazine. This interesting and informative 247 page soft cover book explains the basic techniques of the Silat Seni Gayong system. The twenty four chapters cover an enormous amount of basic information on this fighting art. The first chapter explains “what is Silat?’ A brief history of Silat is covered in chapter two. Chapters three and four go into more detail of Silat Gayong and the history of this system. Chapter five tells about some of the instructors of this system. Gayong organization today is covered in chapter six. The customs of Gayong and its philosophy is explained in chapters seven and eight. The ninth chapter provides “the meaning of Gayong.” Chapters ten and eleven explore Gayong forms and curriculum. Chapter fifteen is the longest because it goes into detail on Gayong techniques. The remaining chapters (16-24) cover more important details on the martial art of Silat Gayong.I personally found the techniques fascinating and I like their low powerful looking stances. My only real complaint is the photographs. They were small and I could not make out the details of many of the techniques shown. This is a very comprehensive combat art which clearly focuses on self-defense rather than tournament techniques. One of the things that surprised me was the spiritual aspects of this martial art. Even though all kinds of religions are represented most of the students and instructors in Malaysia who practice this art are Muslim.Unfortunately, there are very few Silat schools in the U.S. as compared to Judo, Jujitsu, and Karate-Do schools; nevertheless, I think this unique system is slowly growing in popularity. If you are interested in learning Silat Gayong this book is a good reference source; however, like any self-defense book, nothing can take the place of an instructor. This book only provides an overview of a very complex and detailed self-defense system.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Shotokan Karate Self-Defense Techniques: Combat karate for the street)

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As a practitioner of the arts I am always searching for a deeper understanding of the arts I teach. If you have an interest in the arts from southeast Asia then this book is a must.

An excellent resource for Malaysian Silat. Good balance covering a variety of areas.

This book doesn't have any jurus or techniques you can apply

Most of the book focuses on tradition and custom. Further, most of the illustrations on actual technique are rather small. The illustrations regarding the history of Silat are much larger than the ones regarding technique.

I actually used to study under Sheikh Shamsuddin over 20 years ago. Back then he said that he was working on a book about Silat. I found it on Amazon and couldn't get it fast enough! It's well written and very informative. A must read for anyone that considers themselves to be a true martial artist.

Great Book

This book is 247 pages long . The first 60 pages talk about what Gayong is ( ok section ) and from 60 - 160 you get the gayong techiques but no principals but if you have a magnyfing glass you can see the techniques which look good but why oh why are the pictures so SMALL , to many photos are 3.5cm x 5.0cm these are way to small other photos are 7cmx5cm these would be ok if they were taken in better light. The photos in the back of the book are huge one guy eating a coconut husk with his teeth ! . From pages 160 - 247 a mixture of malay language tips etc and a tour guide of malaysia ! Hes an idea for the reprint why not make the pictures BIGGER and clear so the buyer can see what he is buying , just a thought. I bought for £ 1.22 and for this price I am happyish. There are not a lot of books on Silat so if you want it for your collection i would say yesItu sahaja = That is all

Great history oif silat and the way the moves are broken down make it a really good read and helpful

This book not only delves into the history of Silat which is very interesting in itself, but it also teaches the basic moves in detail and breaks them down for you to make learning the art easy.

la moitié du livre traite de l'histoire de cet art martial l'autre partie estun évantail d'applications, les photos sont microscopiques. je suis vraiment pasfane de ses applications. je pense qu'il faut pratiquer cette art martial pour aimer. pour moi c'est vraiment pas ce que j'aime dans les arts martiaux.

Très bon livre. Bonne introduction à cette art. J'ai d'ailleurs découvert à travers cet ouvrage, à quel point cet art martial est lié à la spiritualité.Je recommande !!!