‘Feet to Core to Four led by the Head travelling on the Breath.’ - Part 10

Due to the interest in my last blog expressed by some of our Silat Fitrah students, I’ve decided to stay with the topic of movement for just a little longer.

In this post, I’m going to answer the first question I received. It was:

‘In Silat Fitrah is there one movement, or one series of movements, that is more important than the others?’

It’s a great question!

Here’s the answer:

Yes.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back with another blog next week…

Only kidding. Here’s the start of my answer, explaining what, from my perspective, the most important movement is, and why, and how to do it:

For me, the most important movement is the bow.

There are actually two different types of bow, and three different times when we bow. The first type is the bow we make when entering and departing the gelanggang. The second type is when we bow to a partner or teacher. In this, and my next blog, I’m going to talk about the first type.

Silat Fitrah is a life art, extending beyond the training that takes place within the gelanggang. This is one reason for the principles: ‘Its starts before it starts’ and ‘It ends after it ends’. However, those same principles remind us that we have to be ready for the gelanggang and whatever it might contain before we enter it, and willing (and increasingly able) to take the lessons we have learnt back into the outside world and apply them there.

How we enter and leave the gelanggang is therefore an important part of the training and learning process.

The physical bow is the same when entering and leaving. The attitude is slightly different. The reason for this, of course, is that the first bow occurs before the sharing and learning has occurred, and the second bow occurs afterwards.

I’ll explain the physicality of the bow, the associated attitude, and why I believe this is so important next time.

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The bow is made with the feet shoulder-width apart. The body is relaxed, in a neutral state, without contraction, pelvis ‘flat’, chest, hips and throat ‘open’. The backs of the hands come together in front of the pelvis/lower stomach. The hands stay together as they are moved up the centreline. When in front of the face they separate, palms facing upwards (heavenward), fingers pointing away from the body (into space). The arms extend, although not fully. They then retract, palms towards the face as if about to wash the face. As the hands near the face, the palms come together, fingers pointing upwards with the left thumb crossing over the right thumb. At this point the fingertips will be in line with the top of the forehead. Holding this prayer-like position the hands then travel down the centreline, veering off slightly to move over the heart and then returning to centreline, until they reach the lower abdomen. Here the hands separate, palms facing down, with the tips of the thumbs and the first 2 fingers of each hand maintaining contact, creating a triangular space between the hands. Then they separate completely, wrists rolling, palms facing away from the body as they come to rest by the hips.

Essentially, the journey of the hands is from the Heavens to the Earth – and from the brain, to the heart, to the lower stomach.

The principle of Feet to Core to Four led by the Head travelling on the Breath is the foundation for the movement(s) of the bow. In Silat Fitrah every movement we make is based on the same underlying principles; there is no change of process when shifting from bowing to moving combatively, the only change is that of purpose and attitude.

Talking of which, the attitude when entering the gelanggang is one of openness and readiness; leaving behind whatever is going on in the rest of the world, ready for the experiences and opportunities the teacher (and maybe fellow students) will create.

The attitude when leaving the gelanggang is one of gratitude and readiness; grateful for the learning (whilst being aware we probably haven’t uncovered all of the learning yet) and ready to return to the rest of our life taking with us the lessons/changes we have experienced.

So, in conclusion, the bow is the most important movement you can make in Silat Fitrah. And in many respects it can also be the most powerful. How do you make it so?

That’s easy to say, but maybe it’s more challenging to do.

If you want your bow to have the power of truth, make it:

Heartfelt.