Malaysian martial arts "Silat" Xin Bin, our special correspondent in Singapore Liu Hengzhi, our special correspondent The Malaysian martial arts "Silat", also known as Malay self-defense, is a part of Malay culture and is sometimes combined with music as a dance performance , hig

Malaysian martial art "Silat"

Our newspaper's special correspondent in Singapore Xin Bin Our newspaper's special correspondent Liu Hengzhi

The Malaysian martial art "silat" is also known as Malay self-defense. It is a part of Malay culture and is sometimes combined with music. As a dance performance, it is highly enjoyable to watch. In 2019, the Malaysian martial art "Siela" and the Indonesian "martial arts tradition" pencaksilat were included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.

Malaysian Shiraz is a fighting art of self-defense and survival. It is mainly inspired by the movements of animals and originated from the observation of tigers, eagles and other beasts fighting. In Malaysia alone, there are more than 150 types of Shiraz moves. Sheila does both full-contact fighting, as well as solo, double, and group routines. Sheila also uses many types of weapons, such as keris, ancient ginger dagger, scimitar, trident, spear, folding fan, cane, clothing, sickle, etc.

Shiraz originated in the Malay Archipelago and can be traced back to the early Langkasuka Dynasty. It reached its peak from the 11th century to the 14th century. In the 16th century, the Portuguese attacked Malacca in an attempt to monopolize the spice trade. Malay Shiraz practitioners bravely resisted for more than 40 days, but ultimately failed. The Portuguese killed many people who practiced Xiela, and the remaining martial arts practitioners fled to remote areas. Even today, it is said that most of the best Shiraz masters come from rural areas with less contact with the outside world.

Sheela was originally a martial art learned by warriors, but now has a growing number of practitioners and trainers, and training centers established across Malaysia, so the custom has transcended its status as a martial art and become a performing art and a healthy and leisure mass sport.

Due to the lack of written records, the history of the Malaysian Sirah is mostly known through legends and archeology. In the legend of the Malay Peninsula, a woman named Sukana witnessed a fight between a tiger and an eagle. By imitating the movements of animals, she fights off a group of drunken men who attack her. She then taught these techniques to her husband, from whom they officially passed down. The legend about Shila shows that Shila began with women, reflecting the status of women in traditional Southeast Asian society.

Malay martial arts in literature can be traced back to ancient epics. In recent years, there have been an endless stream of film and television dramas related to Sheila. In Malaysia's first big-budget movie "Kingsama", there are two fight scenes carefully choreographed by martial artist Sheila, which have attracted widespread attention.

Clothing and music are important components of Xiela culture. They not only reflect the spiritual connotation of Xiela, but also add to the ornamental and ceremonial sense. In terms of clothing, it can be roughly divided into three types: training clothes, ceremony clothes and formal clothes. Training attire usually consists of a pair of baggy black pants and a black long-sleeved top.

Schilla's accompaniment music is mainly percussion instruments, and there are also some wind instruments. This kind of music not only stimulates the practitioner's sense of rhythm, but also brings both visual and auditory enjoyment to the audience.