The Tiger of West Java

Combat - February 2004

The mannerisms of the tiger are emulated in many forms of martial arts. The indonesian martial arts which are usually associated with the tigers are Sumatran based systems such as Harimau.

One of the most common stories about the origins of Pencak Silat (the generic name associated with all Indonesian martial arts) concerns a woman, who by watching the actions of a tiger was able to defend herself from the husband's beatings!

Embah Kahir is the founder of the West Javanese art of Cimande and his style went through a process of trial and error before culminating in Cimande. First he studied the monkey's ability to dodge, deflect and unbalance its opponent. He developed a system called "Sera" from this study.

Once developed and battle tested, he then introduced his characterization of the tiger. So instead of a deflecting blow followed by a strike, the opponent's arm was now simultaneously grasped and struck. The attacking hands take on a claw type form because more nerve centers can be struck at once when a claw hand strike is delivered! Then body weight can be used to drag the opponent to the ground where claw-hand strikes, low kicks, rolling elbows and knees finish him off.

The beginning stance is normally a low crouch with both hands in claw position and slightly extended towards the opponent. From this the practitioner can quickly drop into seated or full supine position (even on the flat of the back!) as a decoy to lure the unwitting opponent into thinking the Pamacan exponent is defenseless.

In the original Embah Kahir tradition, Pamacan in Cimande contains five Jurus (sets of moves) that take the practitioner through strikes, low positions and leaps. Leaps are often used once the opponent has fallen, the Pamacan exponent dropping on then with elbow and knees leading the attack.

The great thing about Pamacan and Sera for the Cimande exponent is the complementary flavor of the moves. The principles and attitudes of the fighter remain intact. The result of this is to give the impression of one system utilizing many techniques. Compare this with a person who attempts to glue together different systems that simply don't match up in terms of intent or type/style of actions. One is a cohesive fighting system; the other merely a cobbling together of techniques.

Embah Kahir used the same framework to build his evolutionary progression of fighting ideals. However, some practitioners took only a portion to practice, and eventually changed it. That is why today it is possible to see Sera that looks nothing like its original version. One person I know believes that he must be doing a different art because what he does looks nothing like the original Sera! Another teacher has removed this and added that, so though his art bears the name "Sera", it isn't any more!

That's why it's so important to find a Cimande teacher, who knows the roots of this great art and can teach Sera and Pamcan in a way that does not alter the final Cimande. This is important because it was the combining of these two concepts that allowed Embah Kahir to develop Cimande. which is considered by West Javanese Pendekars as the most superior in terms of fighting.

The Pamacan is a fantastic way to develop the tiger aspects found in all Cimande exponents!