Seni Gayong is a style of silat from Malaysia. It was the first martial arts association to be registered in the country, and is now the biggest and most internationally known Malaysian silat discipline. Gayong is overseen by the Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia or the Malaysian Silat Seni Gayong Organisation. This organisation is currently led by Dato' Ismail Jantan. While it is most popular in Malaysia and Singapore, there are also branches in Vietnam, Australia, France, Kuwait, Tunisia, Britain, and the United States.
History
Seni Gayong originated among the Bugis people of Sulawesi in Indonesia and was called Silat Sendi Harimau. Literally meaning "tiger joint silat", the system utilised the tiger claw technique to lock opponents' joints. The Bugis prince Daeng Kuning, descended from a long line of warriors, brought the style to the Malay Peninsula in the 1800s. It was eventually passed down to his great-grandson Meor Abdul Rahman. The teaching of Seni Gayong, as with most styles of silat, was once restricted to relatively few students under each master. In 1942 during the Japanese occupation, Meor Abdul Rahman taught Seni Gayong publicly in Sudong island, Singapore when the locals feared an attack by the Japanese. Having inherited the art from his grandfather; Syed Zainal Abidin Al-Attas, Dato Meor Abdul Rahman eventually founded Malaysia's first martial arts association, Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia. It was and still remains the method of unarmed combat taught to the Royal Malaysia Police force
Training
Seni Gayong incorporates strikes, grabs, joint manipulation, and weaponry. Acrobatics are also included but are comparatively less than other styles of silat. The curriculum is divided into the following stages: ;Tapak Gayong The student begins by learning foundation stances and footwork patterns or tapak along with basic punches, kicks, blocks, counterattacks and reversals. ;Seni Tapak Gayong After learning the basic forms of attacking and defending, the student is next taught seizing techniques, takedowns and how to manipulate, lock or strike the opponent's joints. ;Seni Keris Having becoming proficient in unarmed techniques, the student is ready for training with weapons. The first weapons taught include the kris, pisau, kerambit, kapak, tekpi and sundang. ;Seni Simbat More weapons are introduced, namely the tongkat, simbat, tembong, parang, tombak and lembing. ;Seni Cindai Flexible weapons are taught. These are traditionally taught last because they require their flexible nature requires the wielder to have great control to use them skillfully. Moreover, many of these weapons would be near useless in the hands of an inexperienced fighter when compared to a more lethal sword or knife. The weapons taught in this component are the tali, cindai, rantai, and bengkong. ;Seni Yoi Having learned to fight armed and unarmed, the student is now taught fast and nimble movements to dodge or confuse the opponent. This may also include various athletic moves. In the past, this stage was comparable to Chinese qinggong, but today it consists mostly of deceptive attacking techniques. ;Seni Belian Belian is an old Javanese word for a dukun who has died and taken the form of a tiger spirit. This stage focuses on spiritual and internal training. With the rise of Islamic conservatism in Southeast Asia today, esoteric aspects of silat are either downplayed or re-interpreted to fit into modern religious thought. However, the traditional seni belian is based more strongly on indigenous Indonesian kejawen rather than the Muslim faith.
Weapons
Seni Gayong makes use of a variety of weapons, some of which may not be included in the mandatory syllabus. Trainees begin weapons-training by learning the use of the kris. Other small easily learned weapons follow, before progressing to long weapons and finally the more difficult flexible weapons. Cloth weapons like the chindai and bengkong are considered the most advanced of all weapons. Seni Gayong as taught to the police and special forces may replace some traditional weapons with modern knives, brass knuckles or even firearms for reasons of practicality. The traditional tonfa is retained, however, as its techniques can be applied to the T-baton used in law enforcement.
Progression
Seni Gayong adopts the modern Japanese coloured belt system to indicate students' progress. The bengkong or waist sash is used for this purpose, and the passing of a test is required before a student can progress to the next stage. Trainees under the age of 12 go through separate stages than older students. These are as follows: ;Adult 01. Hitam Mulus 02. Awan Putih 03. Pelangi Hijau 04. Pelangi Merah 05. Pelangi Merah Cula I 06. Pelangi Merah Cula II 07. Pelangi Merah Cula III 08. Pelangi Kuning 09. Pelangi Kuning Cula I 10. Pelangi Kuning Cula II 11. Pelangi Kuning Cula III 12. Pelangi Kuning Cula IV 13. Pelangi Kuning Cula V 14. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti I and so on.. 15. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti II 16. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti III 17. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti IV 18. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti V 19. Harimau Pelangi Hitam Cula Sakti VI ;Children ; 01. Hitam Mulus 02. Awan Putih Cula Hijau 03. Awan Putih Cula Merah 04. Awan Putih Cula Kuning 05. Awan Putih Cula Hitam When a child attains ''Awan Putih Cula Hitam, they are taken in the same level as Pelangi Hijau.
