‘Feet to Core to Four led by the Head travelling on the Breath.’ - Part 9

Here’s the final part of my answer to the question I was asked at a Silat Fitrah workshop,

‘Why do you talk so much about body movement rather than techniques?’

By emphasising movement in our training and teaching we are reminding ourselves of one of our most basic needs and one of our inherent qualities: as human beings we need to, and we can, move.

Techniques, however, are too easily regarded as something altogether else. Movement is something we already have great experience of and can do; techniques sound like things I might not have seen, or done, before and that I have to learn.

Techniques can seem like an add-on. By way of contrast, training in Silat Fitrah is ultimately a stripping away process; peeling off unnecessary layers of uncertainty, resistance or confusion; removing psychological, emotional and physical barriers. Prioritising the learning of hundreds of new techniques does not automatically help this process. For some people, it can actually hinder.

The other potential danger of talking about techniques is that the way we name them – ‘a lead hand punch’, ‘a right elbow’, ‘a left front kick’ and so on – draws the students’ attention to the final part of the movement. The result of this can be that:

1. When watching a teacher demonstrate they fall into the trap of watching only the part of the body that lands the blow; the word ‘punch’ encourages them to focus only the fist, or the word ‘kick’ to focus only on the foot. That’s the equivalent of looking at the finger that’s pointing, rather than at the moon it’s pointing towards.

2. The focus on whole body movement, starting from the feet engaging with the planet, is lost. Consequently, the movements themselves lack efficiency and effectiveness.

So, in Silat Fitrah, rather than focus on techniques, we explore – and remind ourselves – of our inherent physicality; of how our body connects and functions. We remember that we are natural beings, who have evolved to move. We celebrate the fact that, in class, we can come together with others to share our common humanity whilst learning through movement how to express our unique individuality.

Why do we focus on movement?

Ultimately because:

Nature doesn’t do techniques.