Is it in the genes? History has shown that great athletic ability can run in the blood. Good examples of that are the Currys, (Stephen, Seth and their father Dell in the NBA), the Mayweathers (Floyd Sr. and Floyd Jr. both talented boxers), the Williams (Serena and Venus as tennis superstars) and of course the Mannings (Peyton, Eli and their dad Archie as football legends).
The sport of Pencak Silat also has its family legends. Two of the most dominant athletes in sport Silat today are Sheik Farhan and Sheik Ferdous. Both world champions are sons of Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin bin Yacoob Marican from Singapore. Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin is also a two-time Silat world champion himself and a multiple medallist of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. His last gold medal was over 2 decades ago at the 1999 SEA Games in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin is now the CEO of Singapore Silat and the President of the Asian Pencak Silat Federation.
Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin came from a large family of eight siblings. In an interview with The Caliph Podcast, Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin described himself as a shy and introverted kid who was only interested in playing soccer. At around 15 years old, his friend learned about organized games with better soccer equipment at a local mosque in Telok Kurau. However, instead of finding soccer, he discovered Silat classes being held at the mosque. Reluctantly, he joined the Silat class and realized how physically out of shape he was. “I found out that couldn’t do a pushup! I found out that everything, I am bad [at]”, Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin recalls.
His passion for Silat steadily grew and he eventually set up a training facility in the back of his house that he called Sanggar Juara (Champion Studio), with a punching bag and other very basic training equipment. Sheik Alau’ddin along with several other friends would train and sleep there. This intense Silat training would transform the young Sheik from undisciplined young teenager unable to do a push-up, to a future world champion who could to over 100. He began competing in 1984, a time when competitive Silat had not grown to be the international phenomenon it is today. He had to juggle 4 jobs while continuing his Silat training. He won his first Gold medal in 1990 at the sixth edition of the Pencak Silat World Invitational Championships held in Den Haag, Netherlands.
In 1992, Sheik Alau’ddin got married to Sa’adiah Sanuse who was also interested in Silat and they had six kids together over the course of two decades. He founded the Grasio Sports Silat School in 1997 in hopes that he would pass on the legacy of Silat to his children and others in the community. Sheik Alau’ddin introduced Silat to all of his kids while they were still crawling.
The oldest child Nur Shafiqa, a talented martial artist, competed in several world championships in the women’s Class B (50-55kg) and was able to bring home a bronze medal for her team and country. She also competed at several international competitions in regu (team) category, winning bronze.
Still, Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin always hoped that one of his kids would become a Silat world champion.
In 2014, Sheik Farhan, his fourth child (who was also an introvert) approached his dad at the age of 15 with a strong interest to become a competitive Silat athlete. Sheik Alau’ddin felt a mixture of joy and sadness, realizing that to be a champion it would have been much better start earlier, now that Pencak Silat sport had become more popular and competition much tougher. Sheik Alau’ddin had already developed a powerful Singaporean team with world champions including SEA Games champion Muhammad Nur Alfian Juma’en and Muhammad Shakir Juanda who became a world Pencak Silat champion in 2012.
After three long years of intense training with his father and the Singapore team, Farhan won gold at the SEA Games in 2017 in Tanding Class J (90kg to 95kg) event at the age of 17. Afterwards, he continued his streak, winning three times at the World Pencak Silat Championships. He also took home gold at the Asian Pencak Silat Championships in Yanji, China in 2019.
Sheik Ferdous, the third oldest child of Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin decided to also follow in the footsteps of family champions. He started training as an athlete and won his first SEA Games silver medal in 2015 the men’s artistic ganda (fighting skit) with Muhammad Shakir Juanda. He continued training in tanding (fighting) and clinched the Class I (85-90kg) gold medal at the World Pencak Silat Championships in 2018.
The younger siblings Nur Shaqira and Sheik Fayz are also Silat champions on the rise. Nur Shaqira won gold in Pre-Junior Match Female Class M at both the International Pencak Silat Championship in Korea and at the USA Open Pencak Silat Championships in Virginia. Sheik Fayz won silver at the 2017 Belgium Open in Junior Category (Male Class F) and gold medal at the 2018 Junior World Pencak Silat championships in Thailand.
So talent definitely runs in the Sheik Alau’ddin family. But their family does not rely on God-given talent alone. It is through years of intense training, discipline and training, and a unique dedication to the sport and art of Pencak Silat that Dr. Sheik Alau’ddin and his family are able to rise as champions.
