Welcome to
Pencak Silat Mande Muda Oklahoma
Greetings and thank you for your intrest in Pencak Silat Mande Muda.
Currenty we are located at 211 N. Cabaniss Ave, inside the Bixby Community Center and we train on Tues. and Thurs. We are a growing group, and love newcomers and visitors. This site will be under construction for awhile and will be continuously updated with Photos, videos and information about Pencak Silat.
Some General Information about Pencak Silat
Pencak Silat is a martial art originating from Indonesia. There are more than 13,000 islands, 360 spoken languages and a population of approximately 200 million people in making up the Indonesia Archipelago.
With over 1.800 different styles of Pencak Silat throughtout the islands of Indonesia, you can imagine that no two styles of Pencak Silat look exactly alike. Each style depicts the area of origin and its' ethnic group with their own characteristics.
WEST JAVA: The beautiful rice fields, tea plantations and rubber tree crops are the result the rich earth that is surrounded by volcanoes making West Java beautiful and colorful in the scenery, culture and the arts. The West Javanese people, otherwise know as the Sunda people, are easy going and happy.
The Term "Pencak Silat"
The word pencak is originally from Java and it refers to the martial arts of that area. Penca, without the k is the original spelling of the Sunda language. Pencak with the k , comes from Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of Indonesia and refers to the movement or beauty of the martial arts. The word Silat comes from the areas of Sumatra, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and others. Silat refers to the actual fighting.
In West Java, the application of Pencak is called Maenpo which means to do Pencak. In the past the word Maenpo was referred to when challenging people to a fight to the death. Maen, the Sudanese spelling, literally means "to play". The word Main is the Bahasa Indonesia spelling of the same word. Po means "forget" so the translation of Maenpo is "forget to play". This terminology is rarely used today. In Indonesia, Pencak Silat was originally taught as a secretive art to the family and to members of the village. Now there is a modern version of Pencak Silat which caters to the public. It is taught in the school systems starting in elementary schools and continuing throughout the colleges and universities.
In West Java during the 1940's through the 1970's you could see Pencak Silat routinely performed in village ceremonies. It was most commonly seen at weddings, celebrations of the rice harvest and circumcisions. It was especially important to perform Pencak Silat at circumcisions because it is believed when a boy is circumcised he changes from a boy to a man. Pencak Silat was a reflection of his manhood and it also helped divert his concentration from the pain of the procedure. This ceremony can still be found in some villages but it is rarely performed in the big cities.
The names of the Pencak Silat styles come from various sources such as the name of the village it originated from or the name of the founder or creator of the system. Most villages in West Java start with "Ci" Ci means pointing to a particular village or Chi which can mean water. This is why many of the rivers start with Ci.
There are three major styles of Pencak Silat in West Java. These are Cimande, Cikalong and Syahbandar.
Pak Herman & Ibu Shannon Suwanda Pak Uyuh Suwanda
THE HISTORY OF MANDE MUDA
Uyuh Suwanda was the founder of the Mande Muda system and the father of Herman Suwanda, Bapak Uyuh passed on in 1989. The Mande Muda school of Pencak Silat was formed in 1951 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Like the traditional Pencak Silat the teaching was not open to the general public. Bapak Uyuh studied 17 styles of Pencak Silat until his marriage to Mimi Rukmini, who came from, and practiced Cimande. Together they taught Pencak Silat to their family and friends.
The word Mande come from Cimande. Bapak Uyuh used this name because he believed Cimande was the original Pencak Silat from West Java. He removed the "Ci" because his system taught more than just Cimande. The word Muda means young or new. Mande Muda is like a young child, always growing and looking for new Silat material.
Bapak Uyuh believed that each Silat technique could mean many things in combat, but also that there was no one technique that would always answer the many questions of attack. For that reason he studied many systems of Pencak Silat and this provided him with many answers to the question of combat. Eighteen styles, including the Cimande, (at the present there are 25 styles within Mande Muda) combined to make one method of fighting and this is what makes Mande Muda unique and rich with knowledge.
The main principle of Mande Muda is to continue to grow as a practitioner. Only death can stop your growth and study in Mande Muda. Another principle is waiting, Bapak Uyuh believed it was better to answer the question of attack rather than ask it. His definition of asking a question was your attack to the person, if the person gives you a good answer you will be on the ground. A good answer will leave the person or attacker unable to ask another question.
After God decided that Pak Herman’s mission here on Earth was complete, he was taken in Germany, March of 2000. His presence is always felt and we know that during our training, he is watching, lets make him proud. It was decided by the Suwanda family, and Pencak Silat Mande Muda Indonesia that Ibu Rita Suwanda was to become the third Guru Besar of Mande Muda. Ibu Rita has continued in her father, and brother’s path by continuing to teach and spread her family’s art.
Guru Besar Ibu Rita Suwanda
Here at PSMMOK we are doing our part to keep the art growing throughout not only Oklahoma but across the US.
Not sure that Pencak Silat is the art for you? We encourage everyone to take advantage of our trial class, to experience the art first hand.
