



Sunday, October 22, 2006

Buah Pukul Mersing.

Source : bergen test: Buah Pukul Mersing.

Most martial arts are self-defence oriented in that you train hard to defend yourself against blows from your opponent which may rain on you in the form of punches, kicks, elbows, head butts or knee jabs. This may sound a reasonable thing to do but any street fighter will tell you that it is impossible to predict an attack especially when you know that your opponent means business and he is not walking out on this fight until you are seriously hurt.

If you go by the concept of self-defence, it simply means you have to study at least five martials in order to familiarize yourself with the form of attacks of each martial art so that you will be able to prepare yourself to handle the situation the best you can. This is foolish. You may be able to familiarize yourself very well with each martial art but there is no way of knowing for sure that your opponent will attack you with one of the attacking movements that you have drilled like crazy in a classroom situation. There are hundreds of ways to attack a person. The question is will you be able to know all of these and then train to handle each and every one of them?

Welcome to Seni Silat Lian, the concept of fighting that originated from Kwangtung and various parts in China. It was brought to Malaysia via Johor by an Arab-Chinese trader by the name of Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Yunani during the early 19th Century. The art has various names. Among the elders familiar with this art they may have studied it under the name Buah Pukul Mersing, Gayang Lima, Buah Pukul, Lian Yunan, or simply Silat Lian. The latest versions currently popular are Lian Padukan, and Gerak Lian which is very popular in Kuantan especially in Tanjung Lumpur and Sungai Ular. The art has gone through various adaptations making it a very interesting discipline to train simply because it is not self-defence oriented but rather, offence-oriented. Now you understand why the Chinese are aggresive and most of the time they get things done their way.

This art has a concept call 'rebut timba' which simply means in a brawl you cannot afford to be honorable, or honest. You should go into a fight with only one thing in mind and that is to win. Winning in this art is defined as your opponent is flat on the ground, completely broken and unable to muster a counter-attack for at least two years. It's a dangerous art which is why most of the exponents are people from a section of society you don't deal with very often.

The art is gaining popularity among the youngsters, and adults who have trained in various forms of martial arts, including Aikido. I must tell you before-hand that Silat Lian is 'buah pukul' which simply means you 'pukul' and therefore there is no locks, or grabs like that of other silat like Gayung, Cekak (Hanafi or Malaysia), Lincah, Kuntau, Sendeng, Lintau, and many others. A new centre will be opened next week in Wangsa Maju. This is the third centre in the Klang Valley where you can train in this art, if you are interested, that is.