Silat Pattani
| Also known as | Silat Tua, Silat Patani |
|---|---|
| Country of origin |
 Thailand
|
| Olympic sport | No |
Silat Patani (Thai: silat Pattani) is a style of silat originating in the Pattani kingdom, now a state of Thailand. It is primarily practiced in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand. The art is also known as silat tua (old silat) because tradition credits it as the oldest form of silat Melayu.
Silat Pattani is said to trace back to the pendeta guru (panditaguru), the youngest of three brothers who had been trained as warriors. By their masters' instruction, the brothers were travelling north in the hope of attaining moksa (enlightenment). On their journey, they were caught up in a bloody battle near the Siamese border. The youngest of the three was wounded but managed to escape into a forest. Following a stream, he reached a waterfall where he stopped to rest. The warrior noticed a lotus flower come down the waterfall but even as it was pushed below the surface by the waterfall, the lotus would float back up completely intact. The warrior tried throwing a stone and then a stick at the lotus, both with the same result. Finally he went into the water and tried slashing at it with his sword but the lotus would only swirl away, still unharmed. The exhausted warrior then fell into the water and upon climbing out, he contemplated how this principle of overcoming the hard with the soft could be applied to battle. Over time he studied the movements of animals and mythical figures which he incorporated into his fighting style. This story is believed to have taken place during the 14th century.
Jantan betina literally means "male-female" and is the Malay concept of opposites. It also refers to the concept of relativity wherein hard is only harder than something that is softer but is softer than something that is harder. Jantan is represented by hard, fierce, fast actions while betina is slow, subtle and soft. The two opposing forces are dynamic – never in perfect balance but constantly changing from one into the other by leading or following, forcing or flowing. In silat practice, this means that one force must be met with its opposite. A strong attack may be defended with a soft, evasive response but heavy and powerful actions might be useful against a yielding, subtler opponent. For this reason, fighters must be able to instantly change from strong to gentle. Jantan and betina must also complement each other so that, for example, when the dominant hand is high the other is low or when one palm faces up the other faces down, etc.
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