On March 27, 2021, the Pencak Silat national team from Malaysia, traveled for the first time in many months to participate in a series of competitions in Central Asia. They were welcomed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan to the first Pencak Silat tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It was also the first time Pencak Silat has been updated with the new 2020 Pencak Silat International rules. PERSILAT, the international federation governing sport Silat made some drastic changes to its rules, and many in the Pencak Silat community were eagerly anticipating to watch how these rules would play out in real competition.
As a former coach for the USA national team, I was fascinated to watch the live feed graciously streamed by the Malaysian federation’s Facebook page (PESAKA). It was obvious the Malaysian athletes had already been experimenting with the new rules in their internal practices. The most drastic of the rules is the ability to grab one’s opponent, offering leverage for throwing and dropping your opponent, which was previously non-existent.
Being obsessed with sport Silat, I spent hours analyzing some of the most effective techniques used in the competition. Kicks are still the most efficient scoring techniques gaining the pesilat 2 points per kick. However there were some striking differences from matches with the old rules:
1) Scissor Techniques with grabs: There were still plenty of well-executed scissor take-downs (guntingan). However, there were some with one key difference: an initial grab with the leading hand, making the technique more effective (and tougher to evade). Once the fighter is able to grab the shoulder strap of the opponent’s body protector (which is now legal), it is easier to pull the opponent closer, thus executing the scissor take-down much more efficiently.
2) Double Leg Take-Downs: Double leg takedowns are now allowed, but only after a leading strike. This is great for people who have a background in wrestling. In the competition, there were a good number of these take-downs. But, they were often not valid because they were executed without a leading punch.
3) Attack after failed Scissors Sweep: One of the best changes were the attacks following a failed scissors sweep. In previous rules, if you botched a scissors technique, your opponent could not retaliate with kicks or punches. Now they can, and this is great! In the past, scissor techniques were used as a stalling tactic–since no offensive techniques could be done by your opponent and the match would have to be stopped and the fighters’ position reset. With the new rules, the opponent can score with a well-placed kick, or even a punch.
4) The Grab and Drop: There is one new technique that was used quite frequently – a pesilat would grab the opponent and subsequently drop to the floor, causing the opponent to lose balance and touch the mat. Judo has a similar concept called the Ma-sutemi-waza or “sacrifice throws” where judo practitioners drop themselves on their back (sacrifice themselves) in order to execute a throw.
There were times, where the pesilat managed to drop their opponent to the side or even on their side or back (as Judo requires for a Ma-sutemi-waza). I was happy to see that, as it made sense to award 3 points to the pesilat that sacrificed him/herself by dropping to the floor.
However, sometimes after executing this “grab and drop” technique, the opponent would end up in a very vulnerable position, sometimes completely under the other opponent. But despite being in an extremely disadvantaged position, they were still awarded 3 points because their opponent touched the mat first. Ending up underneath your opponent would be considered almost a “full mount” in BJJ and other martial arts–a really bad position.
However, there was one instance where one of the athletes (red) attempted to pull his opponent down (blue). He managed to make his opponent (blue) touch the ground, however it resulted in him (red) being in a very vulnerable position–his back on floor and his opponent (blue) perched over him. I was pleased to see that the judge gave the take-down to blue.
Because of the new grabbing allowed, I saw several uniforms being torn. My thought was that Silat uniforms may now need some reinforcement, particularly in the shoulder areas. Body protectors probably need some strengthening, as previously no grabbing of the body protector was allowed.
Understanding the new rules and their applications will take time, and those “sacrifice throws” definitely need to be examined more. Overall, I think it makes the game much more interesting and practical in terms of self-defense. I am excited for the future of Pencak Silat sport!
Written by A-Malik Ahmad, a former USA Pencak Silat head coach & international judge, author of the Training for Tanding course on Udemy.
