‘Feet to Core to Four led by the Head travelling on the Breath.’ - Part 3

When we talk about the core in Silat Fitrah we are talking about the centre of our body from front to back – or, as the teacher is more likely to emphasis, from the back to the front.

The core includes the lower back, glutes, hips, pelvis and stomach. It is the area where what we refer to as the lower triangle – from feet up to the lower stomach (or the lower back, if you’re considering it from the rear)– meets what we call the upper triangle – which is from that point up to the shoulders and head.

Why is the core mentioned specifically in this, the first of our key principles?

Because when we know how to utilise the core correctly two important things happen. Thes are:

1. On the physical level we move in a more effective, efficient, and coordinated manner, whether upright or on the ground. This in turn enables us to hit harder, unbalance, trip or throw more easily and wield a variety of weapons to greater effect.

In Silat Fitrah we emphasise the need for whole body movement whenever possible. We seek to use all of the major muscle groups together – driven by the feet interacting with the ground, of course – to fire movement. This is true even in the Tari (the dance) when practitioners can be seen to move very slowly and, in the eyes of an untrained observer, might seem to be moving only one part of their body.

Throughout all of our movement patterns the principle of Feet to Core to Four led by the Head travelling on the Breath is at play. Sometimes it is explosively obvious, sometimes it is subtly below the surface. Without the core the words of the principle are not joined up – in the same way that, without appropriate use of the physical core, the body itself is not fully connected.

This appropriate use can only be developed once we are fully aware of our core. We use training in the syllabus to create this awareness. In simple terms, the more aware we are of our body and how it operates, the more we can learn how to move it effectively, efficiently, and safely.

2. On the psychological level concentrating on the core helps to shift our focus away from our conscious mind, as our awareness quite literally centres on an area of the body that is too easily ignored in daily life.

This shift acts as a useful pattern interrupt.

We can, with the right training, use core-awareness to move ourselves away from our often busy, thought-filled mind and the associated sense that we exist somewhere behind our forehead and in our face, to a more a detached, distant sense of self that is more appropriate for combative practice.

By doing this we are not only creating a state that enables us to commit fully to our attack or defence, we are also challenging our mind’s assertion that it is always the most important part of us – that it is, even, the very centre of our being; that it is who we are.

This challenge can lead to benefits beyond purely martial considerations.

Next time, I’ll consider the use of the core further and develop the points I’ve just introduced.