PENCAK SILAT PUKULAN CIMANDE PUSAKA SANDERS, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

Hello everyone.

Many times before, I posted about various martial arts that I'm interested in learning more about, but nothing about the martial art systems that I ACTUALLY practice... Well, that changes today.

And so, I'd like to introduce you guys to an amazing Martial Art.





This Martial Art is called PENCAK SILAT PUKULAN CIMANDE PUSAKA SANDERS (PCPS for short). It is a modern form of Pencak Silat which ia a variation of an old style of Pencak Silat named CIMANDE.

Cimande is a West Javanese style founded by one Embah Kahir in the late 18th century. Around 300 variations(more or less) of cimande exist today, and PUKULAN CIMANDE PUSAKA SANDERS is one of them.

PCPS Silat is a martial art that works in all ranges. It includes fighting while in a grounded position, grappling, fighting multiple opponents, and the use of several unique edged and impact weapons. This style of fighting is distinguished by beautiful flowing type movements, deceptive footwork, and various strategies to entrap an opponent. It is also characterized by fast continuous hitting. The strategy is to close in on the opponent such that it is possible to attack and possibly break the legs, put them on the ground in a quick and violent manner, then follow up with a finishing move. There is also heavy emphasis on attacking the limbs of the opponent (especially the legs), and delivering fast disorienting strikes to the face, followed by more substantial strikes to the head and body.

Listed below are the main parts of this style.

The Silat Kicking Jurus (In silat, a Juru is a short form, usually just a few moves)

This is the first thing taught in this system. There are 13 of them, and they give the student the ability to prepare for the positions of the Sera Depok jurus, while working on the proper body mechanics and our unique delivery system. These include some combinations and even the start of the tonjok berang, or poison hand strikes.(I'll talk more about that in another post)

The Cimande Village Seated Jurus

These are Classical Cimande Seated Jurus from the lineage of PENDEKAR MAMA SUKARMA from West Java, Indonesia.

these jurus are trained in pairs whilst in a seated cross legged position. In this way, students practice alternately attacking and defending. (Traditionally, in these jurus contact is made on the forearms in order to condition them, but that is not done in Pukulan Cimande Pusaka). From these jurus, the student learns the correct use of the arms and hands, how to make a fist and how to hit-parry. These Jurus develop speed, timing, and the use of the indirect vision while facing incoming blows.

The Sera Depok Jurus

There are 15 of these jurus. They teach space, off timing, off balancing, redirection and misdirection. They also strengthen the legs and develop the energy power of the body. Once understood they compose 15 equations that the practitioner has as a "play book" to be able to bait the opponent whenever they want.

The Animal Mannerisms

PCP style is organized around the use of five primary animal forms - Monkey, Tiger, Snake, Crane, Dragon. Here, the practitioner learns how each animal can be broken down and utilized for various ranges and styles of fighting.

The Monkey (Monyet, Kera) portion of the style uses slaps, grabs, punches and elbows, changing position from high to low. Arm movements are circular with open hand parries, and closed hand grabs with palms down. Defensive body movements are side-to-side and forwards and backwards, with dodging head movements and body rolls across the ground when needed.

The Tiger (Cimacan,Pamacan) utilizes a very low stance, and seeks to smash the opponents limbs and drag him down to continue the fight on the ground. The tiger also fights in a full supine (Harimau) position where the practitioner is lying fully on the ground.

The Snake (Ular) style comes in two types, cobra (Sendok) and python (Sawa). The cobra style uses half-fists to deliver fast strikes to the eyes and soft body tissues. Elbow-to-elbow distance is kept close to the body to protect the midsection from injury. By weaving the arms, body, and legs during retreats and attacks, the snake exponent appears to be giving in, but immediately redirects the fight to his advantage. The python attempts to strike then wrap the opponent's limbs and body to break, strangle and throw them to the ground.

The Crane (Blekok) style uses high stances and leaps, together with open hand strikes. Kicks are delivered from high to low. The head rotates in all directions to watch for any oncoming attackers, providing a circle defense.

And Lastly, The King Snake Dragon (Raja Naga), is the synthesis of all the animals together, as well as the kicking jurus, the seated Jurus, and the Sera Depok Jurus.

Senjata (Weapons)

Like I said before, this art includes a variety of unique, traditional Indonesian weapons. They include THE PISAU, THE KERIS, THE KUJANG, THE PEDANG, THE BELADAU, THE CABANG, THE KERAMBIT, THE RENCONG, THE KANCHING STICK, and THE HALU STICK of the silat art of TRUMBU (there are probably more practiced in this art, but those are the weapons I know of)

The 12th Principle or the Thread

Here in lies the Golden elixir. It is the key to how we move, and this special manner of movement congeals it all into something found nowhere else.

Pukulan Cimande Pusaka Sanders also has a system of meditation and metaphysical development which includes Tenaga Dallam, or internal energy development exercises(Kinda like QIGONG), and many spiritual techniques designed to draw the four elements (water, earth, fire, air) into the body for various combative and spiritual purposes. These help practitioners to unify mind, body and spirit. (I'll write more about this in a future article)

This style of silat was developed by PENDEKAR WILLIAM SANDERS.

Pendekar William Sanders began his training in the Indonesian martial arts in 1972 from Guru John Malterer, a top student of one of, if not THE first authenic Indonesian martial art teachers to teach in America, Guru Willy Wetzel.





After studying for many years with Guru Malterer, Pendekar Sanders began a quest to find and study with many top instructors in Pencak Silat, especially Cimande. This eventually led to a student, teacher, and friendship with Pendekar SURYADI "EDDIE" JAFRI, the then official representative to the USA from the Indonesian Martial Art Association(I.P.S.I) Pendekar Jafri eventually invited Pendekar Sanders to Indonesia to have his art refined, and study with the best available physical and spiritual teachers of silat in the villages of West Java. Here, Pendekar Sanders art and skill were tested, examined, and refined to the ultimate recognition, an appointment by the highly respected PERSATUAN PENDEKAR PERSILATEN SENI BUDAYA BANTEN INDONESIA, as Pendekar.

Now some people, after gaining such a title, will just stop learning and progressing, thinking they now know everything, etc... But not William Sanders! Since he has recieved the title of Pendekar, he has been continuously developing, researching, and refining his art.

And He's never stopped being a student either, learning traditional Girang Cimande from Mushtaq Ali, Tarikolot Cimande, as well as the traditional silat styles of SERA, PAMACAN, And TRUMBU from Pendekar Mama Sukarma from West Java, and He's even found the original lineage of Mas Jud (more on him another time), and learned from his family and old students. And in addition to Pencak Silat, He's also learned traditional Irish stick fighting, and the art of San Michele Italian knife fighting from Don Vito Quattrocchi (more about that in another post).

If you want to know more about Pendekar William Sanders, click HERE, and check out his bio.

So, with all the many great martial arts out there, some of which I posted about on this blog, Why should someone become a student of Pukulan Cimande Pusaka Sanders?

Well, some years ago, there was a file on The PCPS web site, www.cimande.com, which had some pretty good answers to those questions, so I posted it below.

Why you should study this art (Pukulan Cimande Pusaka Sanders)

Everyone will tell you they have a great martial art. All martial arts appeal to certain people for certain reasons and some arts fit one person better than another. Those that dedicate themselves to this art will find that they never need to look any further.

1.) This is a naturalistic system, meaning that every body type and age can adapt the movements and principles as it fits and flows for their particular frame.

2.) because this art utilizes the entire structure of the human body as a living spring, able to twist and torque and use every vertebrae and muscle to impart speed and power, it is utterly devastating.

3.) For exactly the same reason, this art is without peer in artistic beauty and it once develops both a feeling of majesty and scary presence in the person watching or facing in combat.

4.) It is an art that requires one to get in touch with the inner mystical parts of existence and nature, and so either develops a compassionate, yet brutally devastating fighter or the person is expelled on their own by the very nature they possess which is not in this type of harmony. In other words, inwardly devious people can only pretend to do this art for so long until they are found out and leave, and so it either develops your character, or if you have none, it forces you to go.

5.) Every weapon that is taught in this art is in harmony with the body as was described above. The art is natural and has no numbering system. The body knows what to do, and when.

6.) Every position that exists in the realm of possibility that a human being can get in and every height, from flat on the floor to staright up becomes defensible. There is no need to learn 57 different arts. As a matter of fact, it completely destroys the spontaneous reaction one is developing if one cross -- trains in other arts. One becomes so in tune with the inner person that the other things in your life can be dealt with in a more efficient and confident manner. Death itself becomes less scary as one will know what is possible without the body prior to this last experience on this earth.

These are the things a great art should accomplish, and this art does this supremely well.

Those reasons you just read above are great reasons, and I practice this art for those reasons, but there's one reason above all others why I practice this art: LONGEVITY.

Look at the video of Pendekar Sanders below:



In that video, he's 62 years old, and he has NO health issues, AND IS AS FAST, AGILE, AND AS STRONG AS SOMEONE HALF HIS AGE. Hell, I'll even go on to say that he's STRONGER than the average man half his age. Well, that's how I want to be. With most martial arts, you get weaker, and your skills decline as you age. But with correct training of PCP, the older you get, the more skilled you get. PCP is a martial art you can practice your entire life, and there's always something more to learn.


CONFESSIONS OF A BAD STUDENT

So, why did I write this article now, after writing about many other martial arts?

Well the truth is, I haven't exactly been the perfect student. Learning long - distance tends to allow for a lot of leeway, and I admit I made a lot of mistakes. And besides, most times, I practice on my own since I can't seem to find a training partner, and frankly, it can get to be very boring training by yourself. And even though Pendekar Sanders has ALWAYS made himself available for training questions, for some reason, I haven't been asking as many as I could have. And, I was never able to afford to go to one of Pendekar Sander's seminars, which means I NEVER met him in person. So, I almost felt like I was alone. So because of all this, there were times that I learned and practiced only sporadically, or not at all.

It was all due to my laziness.

Well, not any more.

My New Year resolution is to get more involved, to save up money to buy more DVD's and weapons, to practice more, to write about my practice, to make videos of my practice (Well, after I save up to buy a camcorder first), to ask questions, and to fully take advantage of what the PCP DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM has to offer.

And there is a lot.

In the distance learning program, there is a huge amount of information available: Books, DVD's Authentic Weapons, etc. not to mention a discussion forum, and 2 Facebook pages where you can go to ask questions, discuss the art, etc.

Anyway, I'm writing this article because over the past year, there have been a few of my fellow distance students who HAVE been stepping up to the plate, like TED WALLS and MAX from Russia, PETERSON MENEZES from Brazil, and others. They've been getting the material, asking questions, putting in their practice time, and making videos.


I made a video playlist showing Pendekar Sanders, and some of my fellow distance students showing various aspects of PCP, along with some other things.

I hope you enjoy it.




The people in the playlist above are living proof that all the information in the PCP distance learning program is like pure gold inside a mountain.

By that I mean, in order to get any of that gold, you have work and sweat to dig into that mountain for it. And when you put in the time to learn from the material, then eventually, the finished product within you will shine like gold (And, just as you'll only get as much gold as you can dig out, you only get as much from the material as you put in the time learning and training in it).

Everytime I watch these guys, I feel so inspired, it motivates me to get off my ass and practice, because I want to be like them (I know that sounds corny, but it is what it is).

Now this article doesn't even scratch the surface of the full art of PUKULAN CIMANDE PUSAKA, but in the future, I'll be posting more articles about PCP, and my own practice.

Now, like I said before on this blog, I love the martial arts, and I have an interest in many styles, and maybe sometime in the distant future, I might learn one of them (and in fact, there is another style of Pencak Silat that I practice other than this one).

But this is the MAIN martial art I practice, because with it's fluidity and power, the animal styles, the exotic yet practical weapons, the internal side, as well as the ability to adapt to almost any situation or circumstance, it has everything anyone would want in a martial art. And also... It just feels right for me. And when you're exposed to something that feels right... well, you just gotta go with it.

I don't know how far I'm gonna get in this art, but I'll never stop learning and practicing Pukulan Cimande Pusaka.



If any of you out there like what I just typed, and you want to know more about Pencak Silat Pukulan Cimande Pusaka Sanders, and the distance learning program, then by all means, please go to their web site at www.cimande.com.

To relax the mind is to see with the spirit, and all that comes to do no harm will be embraced, while all which desires to harm is destroyed in order to preserve.