Videos of KunTao Silat
by ThunderRock Media Productions
KunTao Silat Thouars
is the Dutch Indonesian art based on the
combining of Silat, the fighting art of
Made over a period of twenty five years, the information in these tapes will
never be available again. These
are tapes made by martial artists, for martial artists.
The production values may not be as good as some others, but the
information is what you would hope to have in any martial arts tape.
Willem de Thouars is one
of the worlds' finest fighting men.
For over sixty years, he has studied with some of the foremost teachers
of some eighty martial art styles; Pentjak Silat, the Chinese KunTao on Java,
the Five Majors of Shaolin and the Three Crowns of Chinese art in
China, Western Boxing, European weapons arts and so on.
He has produced fine students for over forty years, teaching in the
privacy of his own home to students accepted by invitation only.
For the first time anywhere, Uncle Bill makes his art accessible to the
public by way of these videotapes of his work.
They give us an insight into the practice of a martial artist
unparalleled in his intention and dedication to honoring his teachers and
their gifts.
The
Archive Series: 
The Documentary;
an over view of the art of Willem de Thouars
We
see Uncle Bill in his most candid moments; practicing, teaching,
demonstrating, active in seminars and with his Inner Circle Seniors.
He speaks of his teachers, his culture and the fighting art that
emerged from his sixty years of continuous study and practice.
You will see many forms shown in their entirety, many applications,
demonstrations by senior students and other aspects
of technique and practice. This
video is the companion to "A Philosophy of Bamboo", Uncles' autobiography and
history of his fighting arts.
Uncle Bill’s Backyard (djurus satu; djurus kendang) 90 mins.
INTRODUCTION TO MASTER WILLEM DETHOUARS VIDEO
Human beings have lived
in
As the producers of the
spices relished all over the civilized world,
they have traded since antiquity with
Hai-Teng Sifu Willem de
Thouars is the flower and fruit of this grand history of culture, art and
the exchange between equal cultures.
He is a melding of the two cultures, Indonesian & European.
His family are of the of the Menangkebau people of Sundanese Sumatran
extraction living on the Western end of Java.
The Badui are known as the "Invisible people of the
Sundanese immigrants to
the Java, the Menangkebau Bugis people, from the time of great antiquity
have maintained their own culture and language.
They are formidable warriors; afraid of nothing, technically capable
and possessed of an intent and warrior purpose of great power.
They have been a culture that has provided the great builders,
engineers, men of letters, statesmen and explorers of the empires of
He is also descended
from the Norman peoples of Holland/France.
Originally raiders, headhunters and warriors, the Norsemen swept over
KunTao Silat is an art
that finds its' roots in several cultures; Silat is the native art
of the
Indonesians. It is complete in
itself-- subtle, terrible in its' affect and
sophisticated in technique. It
shows the complete range of weaponry, has a deep spiritual content and
expression and an historic organizational structure.
KunTao is the arts of
Born to a prominent
martial arts family of some one hundred and fifty years history as champions
of the Kendang, Uncle Bill was a sickly child.
For this reason, he was allowed to seek other means of strengthening
himself than only the family martial art of Silat Serak®- he
sought the expertise of the Chinese ethnic community and their
Internal arts. The unusual
opportunity in this Javanese culture was only afforded him because of his
family connections and the honor given them.
Ordinarily, in the Indonesian culture of the 1930's and '40's, the
simple desire to learn an art from another culture would not be sufficient
for acceptance. It was the
stature of the family that opened doors to him that would otherwise have
been closed- this coupled with his great personal desire has built a bridge
between styles that has not been seen before now.
His practice of the
family art of Silat Serak® formed much of the basis for his later studies.
As a fully finished fighting art, silat teaches combat attitudes,
practices and technique that have been formed in the crucible of an
intensely aggressive people.
Permitted to seek instruction from very influential teachers, Willem studied
other silat systems, the Chinese arts; I Hsing-Ie, PaKua Chang, Tai Chi
Chuan and the animal systems of Shaolin stylings.
He is an accomplished boxer in the traditional Western style, a
fencer in the European style and has investigated over 80 other martial arts
stylings in depth. He is the
lineage holder in several diverse arts, each having its' own specialties and
sophistications.
Uncle Bill rises at
By the Way, Grasshopper,
if there is a secret to the refined mastery of the work of Martial Arts, you
just heard it: Get up early in
the morning, greet the Sun, practice your art in
Joyfulness.
His personal practice is
ongoing in the study of specific aspects of martial usage; targeting
precision, distancing and positioning, anatomy - the tools of our work.
A man of great personal discipline and rigor, he sets himself
problems and solves them in great scholarship and experimentation.
As you receive
instruction from this remarkable man, remember that you see the distillation
of fifty years and more of deep study and practice.
His information is not just how to wave your arms and legs around.
It isn't just how to develop the power or speed. Certainly those
things are available to you but that isn't where it ends.
His expression of the Art has layers and layers of information that
will bear watching many times in your practice and study.
Watch his positioning,
posture and body alignment, notice his angle of
incidence to the opponent and the timing of his actions.
Pay attention to the precision of his targeting of the opponent and
his usage of the anatomical manipulations.
Seek to understand the intention of this man, to experience the depth
of spiritual focus that yields the warrior.
It is not enough to be
strong, to have endurance, or even enough to have courage or a desire to
protect oneself or others.
A serious man, a martial artist, must have the spiritual purity to
accept the responsibility for the Terrible Craft.
Djuru Satu (the First Hand/Elbow Form)
the Djuru of Total Destruction
Djuru Satu opens a
technical understanding of the Menangkebau Kendang Silat arts.
It presents many forms and applications that show us the depth and
sophistication of the Indonesian art.
The first hand/elbow form, Djuru Satu, is performed by two Senior Gurus
(Practice Leaders) with multiple views of the action and slow motion analysis
of the movements. A broad range of
applications and techniques are shown with emphasis on different levels of
sophistication and finesse in the principles that are presented.
This video, as the others, will be a source of practice and study for
the most advanced of martial artists of whatever background, as well as the
most elementary practitioner. This
video expounds upon the Djuru published in “Indonesian Fighting Fundamentals”
by Bob Orlando (Paladin Press, 1997) and featuring the same Senior Student
demonstrator. Tapes two and three are essential for the knife art.
Djuru
Dua 60 mins.
Djuru
Dua (the Second Hand/Elbow Form) the Djuru of Total Evasion
As Djuru Satu is the 'blasting in' form, Djuru Dua explores the
circular and evasive actions of Sumatran- West Javanese Silat.
It is sometimes thought of as the feminine aspect of the Silat, as it
does not confront with direct power, but evades, deflects and redirects the
attack by the opponent. The Dua is
especially useful in the blading art and teaches the use of subtle traps,
unusual attacks and decoys. The
Dua tape also includes more forceful applications that give a subtlety and
sophistication to other more external arts, including command of the fighting
floor.
Pai
Yun 60
mins.
The
first Shaolin form of KunTao features Uncle Bill,
two senior students and lots and lots of Tiger form.
This will give you a good look at the differences and similarities of
the Silat and the Chinese arts.
Neither of the arts is as good as the combination of their strengths and
subtleties. Pai Yun is an art of
great ferocity and intimidation.
The applications range from skin attacks, joint blasters, skeletal throws and
manipulations to positioning secrets and responses to attack by other martial
arts.
Wu Kung 60 mins.
The 'hard martial
conditioning for battle' is a broad application and approach to martial
training. You will see practice
drills, equipment, applications and attitudes for the Warrior in
Uncle Bill’s Greatest Hits 60 mins.
Willem de
Thouars has had some wonderful moments in various seminars, workshops,
intensives,
private classes and Inner Circle Seniors’ gatherings, and we’ve
compiled them into a single video. It’s just one treasure after another; a gem
here, a gem there. All clips that we chose because they had something really
worthwhile, startling, funny, insightful or definitive to say.
It’s just a really fun video of one of the world’s great martial artists.
The Training Series
Heartless Monkey Knife: 120 mins.
Heartless
Monkey Knife takes it’s name from Willem’s
description of the Ape Form; he is ‘wide-open, heartless and inviting’.
There
are lots of applications, footwork, hand positioning, body angulation and
torquing. There are discussions of the combat mind-set, tactical
considerations, and mental preparation.
Djurus Satu 2000 120 mins.
Djurus Satu is the
seminal form of kuntaosilat. It can be practiced as an entire martial art;
percussion, grappling, grasping, throws, weapons. It is a wonderful
base on
which to learn and practice any skill or any application.
Djurus Satu is the form
from which most demonstrations of application are made. Much of it is derived
from PPS Serak®, some Arabian sources,
This video stands completely alone from the #2 Uncle Bill’s Backyard (archive set), and they are complementary without unduly repeating the same information. There are additional corrections, methods and styles of doing the forma, including a weapon in practice and the two tapes represent a good overview of the Djurus Satu.
Combat Cane 120 mins.
Silat
stickwork is unique. This video takes basic silat
principles for the mid sized fighting stick and applies them to the Common
American Cane.
You are shown various cane
styles; how to regulate them to your body size, and the proper way of using it
for support.
Much of the material is
addressed to people who have temporary need of a cane, those who carry a
walking stick as an accessory, and the lightly chronically handicapped. The
techniques are short, direct, and retain well with a little reflection each
day.
For more hearty stick aficionados, the first few djurus of stick fighting are shown; some practice drills and variations, footwork and angulation principles and so on.
Malabar Legwork Training
Malabar's
flavor is distinctively "Indonesian" but draws its tools, training methods and
tactics from many sources.
Monkey style KunTao is found in all levels and most applications of Malabar.
Preying Mantis KunTao hitting tools provide the Malabar practitioner with
unusual attacks from
unusual angles.
Handwork: 120Mins.
The hand
stylings of Malabar Kuntaosilat are generally
taught separate to the legwork and to the footwork patterns. That allows the
hand positioning to be keyed to any leg position and to any footwork pattern.
In olden days, the
handwork patterns (called djurus) were taught while seated. That required the
practitioner to find a belly support for any movement, and to compensate
through the hips for movements of the arm.
This shows a number of
forms and variations of practice, applications of the hand techniques and it’s
translation to weapons usage.
Seminar material is
edited to remove ‘dead time’ and needless repetition. The practice of students
is only included when Willem or a Senior is giving
corrections to a common mistake. This set of 13 VHS gives the viewer a
deep insight into the many martial arts and styles that comprise Uncle Bill's
KunLun Pai System. Videoed in private inner circle classes, open
seminars, private workshops, lakeside and up on the Mountain, these are
moments to be treasured by any serious martial student. Willem de
Thouars is truly a martial treasure.
Entrances Seminar 45 mins
One of the
famous skills of the silatkuntaoer is to cover the ugly distance between when
we’re not fighting and when we are. These clips are demonstrations and
explanations of the entrance options used by KunTao Silat. There are drills to
practice the skills; applications and variations. You’re shown common
mistakes, corrections made and common variations and options ‘when things go
wrong’.
Legwork Seminar 120 mins.
Legwork means a few
different things; conditioning exercises and drills; kicks, blocks, steps,
sweeps, reaps, hooks, stamps, heels, toe drills and
footwork within the patterns.
Kuntao Silat Seminar 90 mins.
An hour and a
half of good instruction taken from a lot of source material; forms, drills,
applications, principles, corrections and explanations by the Founder of the
Art.
Po
Qua Zen 01 Seminar 75 mins.
Po Qua Zen 02 Seminar 45 mins.
Pagua is called the
‘Formless Art’ in
Kun
Tao 01 Seminar 75 mins.
Kun Tao 02 Seminar 45 mins.
Kun Tao 03 Seminar
Good solid seminar
material in the Chinese roots of KunTao Silat. Willem shows forms,
methods of conditioning and practice, principles of combat and
their application in several different emphases.
Silat
01 Seminar 60 mins.
Silat 02 Seminar 60 mins.
Silat 03 Seminar 75 mins
Willem shows a number of
systems of silat; Serak®, pamor, tjimande and variations of practice and
similarities between them. He shows the principles of body mechanics,
leverage, tricks of timing and distancing, evasion, decoying, hitting into
grappling principles and so on.
Knife 01 Seminar 60 mins.
Knife 02 Seminar 60 mins.
“There is no Silat without the knife,
there is no knife without silat!” The
arts of
The two videos offered
start the practitioner on the movements and postures necessary for
knife-fighting in the Indonesian manner.
Tiger style KunTao permeates the Entry and Controlling aspects with a startling ferocity that establishes immediate superiority and total control of an assailant.
The tornado-like circularity of the Ancient Chinese PaKua as practiced in
Internal principles of Chinese Tai Chi and I Hsing ie are focused on combat,
rather than health, although the basic health principles are applied in Daily
Training.
The footwork, triangulation, and unique close-quarter hitting tools and the devastating bladework of Poekulan Pentjak Petjut Kilat Silat have been integrated into virtually all of the Technical Applications we present to you in this video. Combined, these elements have evolved into a fighting system designed to protect its Practitioner from skilled fighters, with or without weapons.
Each of the Systems and Styles from which Malabar has derived technique,
training method, principle, or tool is honored by the Forms (Choreographed
movements designed to ingrain "muscle memory" and skeletal alignment into a
Practitioner's consciousness), which retain the ancient teachings of the Bapak
Willem de Thouars lineage of the Dutch Indo/Chinese Family System of KunTao
Silat de Thouars.
Subject: Learning from video
We all know that it's best
to seek out the lineage holder of a system; to enjoy the personal corrections
of a credible teacher; to seek
instruction thrice a week and to practice daily.
But, sometimes that's not
possible. If you live in Kiowa,
regular basis to corrective
instruction from a known practitioner.
For the past few years, I
have been corresponding with video 'students' and have come to some thoughts
about trying to learn about an art
through instructional tapes.
1) Watch the tape a lot.
It's good to watch the tape a dozen times or more *uncritically*- after that
time of exposure, you'll start to see 'common' moves or techniques. You'll see
how those common moves 'connect' to other expressions-
2) Piece it out. Don't try
to learn the slickest thing that's done- break the technical series into
'pieces'- short drills of movement or other skill. Practicing short drills
will give you the 'body set' that is necessary for some systems.
3) Try to look like the
guy on the tape <g> Really- try to model his
carriage and body attitude. So much of a system is held in the basic body
carriage. Stance training is a necessary part to most systems.
4) Different times,
different skills. Watch the tape for hand movement, watch the tape for foot
position, watch the tape for timing, watch the tape
for distancing. Most tapes have five years of instruction on them (I would
think)- you'll need to spend the time with the tape
that you would otherwise be spending with the instructor.
5) A little piece of silat
(for instance) is better than no silat at all. Don't get bored- change your
focus of learning, your emphasis of practice, add skills as you can and try to
keep the ones you've got by practice.
You're not going to learn
'the entire system' from watching tapes and practicing.
So What?
You'll have useful pieces
and parts- generally emphasized from your own needs, strengths and interests.
At some point, you'll probably have an
opportunity to work with an
advanced practitioner and you'll be prepared for useful correction.
If you're lucky, you'll have a practitioner you can call or write to that will answer particular questions or make suggestions for useful practice.