KunTao Silat videos

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 Indonesia, the Chinese fighting arts, and the arts of India and Arabia. These videos show the background, specialty skills, techniques, applications and practice methods of this exotic and unknown, very direct and brutal art.

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 unparallel 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 Indonesia continuously for at least one and one half million years generating a culture of unsurpassed sophistication and subtlety. Practicing all of the arts of civilization; worship, painting, sculpture, music & the dance, poetry and letters, statesmanship and diplomacy, they have been makers and traders, artists and warriors, a people of great wisdom, sophistication and spirituality.

As the producers of the spices relished all over the civilized world, they have traded since antiquity with India, China, the great Southeast Asian cultures, Thailand, Burma, the Malaysian Empires, and later the Dutch, Portuguese, and other Europeans. These were the "seven seas" that sailors of great expertise sailed. These were the seas fraught with the most feared pirates, cannibals, head-hunters, dangerous waters, jungles, volcanoes and wildlife as well as the most holy people, beautiful women, honorable men and civilized society found on Earth. These islands were never conquered in the literal sense; they have tolerated immigration and intermarriage, they enjoy trade and exchange- but these peoples were never conquered.

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 Mountain Forest". Said to be clairvoyant, able to become invisible, able to confuse enemies and to slay from a distance, the Badui' are a people of great spiritual depth and discipline.

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 Indonesia.

He is also descended from the Norman peoples of Holland/France. Originally raiders, headhunters and warriors, the Norsemen swept over Europe, claiming the best land and hunting. Willems' family are nobility, trading across the world for hundreds of years in their own ships, leading their own companies of fighting men and trading in their own products. Le Vasseur de` Cognee` de Thouars controlled vast trading companies, factories, townships and agricultural land in the area known now as the city of Thiers. Known as men of the blade, the de Thouars family has been prominent in the martial aspects in the European model for generations as producers of fine weaponry and the patrons of fighting masters. The title still vests in the de Thouars family in the person of Victor I.C. de Thouars, Willems' younger brother.

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 China, expressed by an ethnic Chinese culture that may have been on Java for 500 or more years experiencing the inevitable change that occurs from being so far from home. The father arts of Shaolin styles; Honan, Fuchien, Fukien, Kwantung and Shantung are melded with the Mother styles of Taiji Chuan, PaQua Chang and I Hsing-Ie.

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 3:30 A.M. every morning for 3 hours of solo practice. He awakens internally; praising God for another day and the Joy of it. The opening of the body asserts the cleansing and enervating of the muscles, tendons and strengthening of the bones. His practice starts with the time before the rising of the Sun in preparation to receive that energy as the rest of the Earth does also.

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 Battle. Additionally, we present Taung Lung, the Preying Mantis form of KunTao Silat. Mantis is a form of great sophistication and is performed by one of Uncles' seniors with commentary, technique, practice drills and applications. Also featured is the Monjet Bletet (a Monkey Silat form with roots in Honan Shaolin). This is a very direct and uncompromising approach to martial usage.

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’. You are shown various sorts of knives and their characteristics discussed; sheathes and carry systems, grip styles, blade presentations, and practice methods. There is a long section on wounds, first aid and body trauma by an EMT persilat; Steve Rollert.

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, India and Chinese. The flow of the form melds one with the other seamlessly, and virtually any application can find it’s practice mechanism in Djurus Satu.

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 Series

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.

Entrances Seminar 45 mins

One of the famous skills of the kuntaoer 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 Indonesia. It is one of Willem’s specialties of practice, and he shows the practice model, clarifies a lot of applications and principles found in the system, and shows some variations not often seen in the Chinese model.

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 Indonesia are about fighting with the knife. To understand the actions of knife-fighting; attack and defense, the draw, the grip, &tc., one must understand the basics of silat.

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 Indonesia lends an overwhelming barrage of hitting, tearing, twisting and mangling techniques to Malabar defenses.

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, Colorado or Cheyenne Wells or Dirty Creek, you're not going to have access on a

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.