Mande Muda Silat
Pencak Silat is a Martial Art that originated in Indonesia. Indonesia is an Archipelago made up of more then 1,300 islands, 200 million people, and over 1,800 different styles of Pencak Silat. The meaning of Pencak (originally from Java) refers to the Martial Arts and Silat refers to fighting. Many of the Silat styles are named after the villages where Silat is practiced such as Cimande which is a village in west Java.
Mande Muda Silat was founded in 1951 in Bandug, West Java, Indonesia by Uyuh Suwanda. "Mande" comes from the word Cimande. Uyuh Suwanda used this name because he believed Cimande was the original Pencak Silat of West Java. He removed the "CI" because his system taught more then just Cimande. The word "Muda" means Young or New, thus Mande Muda translates to a new child, always growing and looking for new Silat material.
Mande Muda could be considered the Jeet Kune Do of Silat as it contains 25 different Silat systems within it. And like Jeet Kune Do, it is always researching and evolving. Mande Muda Silat also seems to be the natural and sensible progression of Jeet Kune Do practioners as even Bruce Lee was researching and training in Silat before his untimely death. Today's modern JKD utilizes more Silat and Kali because of the efforts of Guro Dan Inosanto who was by the way the only person certified by Bruce Lee to teach Jeet Kune Do. Guro Dan Inosanto is also certified in Mande Muda Silat by the Suwanda family. However it should be noted that the main person responsible for bringing and spreading Mande Muda Silat to the US and Europe was Uyuh Suwandas' son, Pendaker Herman Suwanda and his wife Shannon who started teaching there blend of Silat in the US in 1980. They continued to spread Mande Muda Silat throughout the US and Europe producing Instructors until there untimely death in March of 2000. It is when while traveling in Europe to conduct a Pencak Silat Mande Muda seminar Herman, his wife, and three other students were killed in a car accident outside of Holland. Herman Suwanda was 45. Below is a list and a brief explanation of the 25 Silat styles that encompass Mande Muda Silat.
1- Cimande- Attacking the arms. Also known to treat injuries to the bones.
2- Cikalong- Evading and attacking to the outside of the body and taking down.
3- Harimau- Ground fighting system based on the movements of the Tiger from Sumatra.
4- Syahbandar- Attacking a opponent from the center of his body.
5- Kari- Close range locking style that entangles and seeks instant lethality.
6- Madi- Pull and jerk the opponent off balance and finish with locks and strikes.
7- Cipecut- Flexible weapons such as the Sarong or whip that leads to choking maneuvers.
8- Timbangan- Redirecting energy flow to cause opponent to trip and fall to the ground.
9- Nampon- Deep breathing exercises to strengthen the body during combat.
10- Sera- Using precise angles to break down an opponents attack while keeping out of harms way.
11- Rikesan- A style designed to directly utilize bone breaking techniques.
12- Tanjakan- Developed in the mountains to fight low to the ground because of terrain.
13- Ulin Napas- Breathing exercises to control ones emotions.
14- Ulin Baduy- Direct attack to take out opponent using linear hand and foot techniques.
15- Galih Pakuan- Weapons system teaching 18 types of Golok (swords).
16- Pamonyet- A fighting system based on the movements of the Monkey.
17- Pamacan- Emphasizes the mental state of a Tiger to overcome an opponent.
18- Syahbandar Baru- A fighting system based on the movements of the snake attacking center line.
19- Cikalong Baru- New style of evading and attacking from the outside of opponent.
20- Harimau Baru- New style of ground fighting based on the Tiger.
21- Sanalika- Counter attack style that utilizes grabs, twists, holds, locks and arm traps.
22- Benjang- Sundanese Wrestling
23- Sampiyong- Art of stick and shield fighting.
24- Sabetan- Unexpected slicing actions using the Kris or Karambit. Similar to Cimande
25- Ujungan- Single stick fighting utilizing theories of Syahbandar and Cikalong styles.
