Resource Spotlight | Mr. B Silat: A Living Proponent of Ancestral Martial Arts
© Mr. B
Mr. B is adept in a broad diversity of traditional Indonesian martial arts known generically as silat or pencak silat. He also received early training in judo and jiujitsu, as well as later in various forms of kun tao or Chinese Indonesian martial arts. He has senior roles within various government and private amateur and professional organizations devoted to the national and international development of Indonesia's national sport, pencak silat. Mr. B has decades-long experience as a teacher, trainer, and coach and has also worked in body movement choreography for cinema and for large groups. Currently based in Jakarta and West Java he teaches martial arts, health, and fitness body movement, as well as coaching young aspiring fighters preparing to compete in the domestic combat sports of Indonesia and the global MMA arena. He has long trained bodyguards, security personnel, as well as elite special forces commandos. Over the course of his long journey within the silat world, Mr. B has been a champion fighter, a film star, and a teacher to thousands of martial arts students.
Mr. B was born in Ujung Pandang, Makassar, South Sulawesi, and later raised in Java, where he lived, studied, and competed at different times in the cities of Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung, and Bogor. In the 1960s Mr. B was a star pupil in Judo and Jiujitsu from an early age, trained by famous Jakarta-based Yudo Waza Shinse Robert Yudono. Mr. B was the Junior Judo Champion of West Java for multiple years as a pre-teen and young teenager.
During the 1970's Mr. B studied silat and dramatic arts at Bengkel Theater Yogyakarta under the direction of W.S. Rendra. At the Bengkel Theater, Mr. B was initiated and trained intensively by Bangau Putih Silat Master Max Palar. Through W.S. Rendra and Max Palar, Mr. B was introduced to Suhu Bapak Subur Rahardja, the Grandmaster and Founder of Persatuan Gerak Badan Bangau Putih Silat Academy of Bogor, West Java. Mr. B was first initiated as a direct disciple of the Grandmaster at PGB Bangau Putih headquarters in Bogor and subsequently formally adopted as a son by Suhu Bapak Subur Rahardja. Mr. B's extraordinary agility, eye-hand coordination, and sharp memory for technique and movement arts captured the approval of his teachers who immersed him in advanced 'old school' style training and fighting methods. Mr. B quickly rose through the ranks to be named Head Trainer of PGB Bangau Putih and was awarded the highest belt rank of all disciples of Bapak Subur Rahardja.
On two trips, once in 1979, and again in the early 1980s, Mr. B was a star participant in Silat demonstration tours of mainland China. With the support and blessing of his teacher, Mr. B founded and served as Master Teacher of the White Crane Foundation in Pulo Mas, Jakarta where he trained many hundreds of students. Mr. B created at this time the fitness system that forms the basis of Quantum Silat Fitness with the full approval and support of Mr. Rahardja. During this period Mr. B also began to serve as a hand-to-hand combat trainer and advisor for rapid deployment strike force commandos, security forces, and bodyguards. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Mr. B became an official at IPSI, the national Indonesian silat umbrella organization, led at the time by Brigadier General (ret.) Eddy Nalapraya. Mr. B fought on a world championship level as an open weight class fighter in IPSI Pencak Silat competitions and also became a film star in numerous silat films produced for the domestic Indonesian entertainment Industry. At this time Mr. B became a PARFI (Film Artists Association) Executive Committee Official and also refined his skills as a stunt man and fight choreographer.
From 2000 forward, Mr. B continued his work as a silat teacher and as a member of IPSI. He maintained a senior advisory and supporting role at PGB Bangau Putih while pursuing a broad diversity of roles in martial arts education. In February 2016 Mr. B was appointed Executive Chairman of PERSILAT: The International Silat Federation. He is now orienting himself as an international ambassador for Indonesian martial arts and working to create a more robust presence for Indonesian silat on the international scene, particularly in relation to the global explosion of popularity of MMA. Mr. B is also Vice President of FB Pro: an association of professional martial arts fighters in Indonesia and Chairman/Chief Trainer of Ksatria Petarung Indonesia: a working group dedicated to the establishment of the Pencak Silat Free Fighting System as a new MMA combat sport in Indonesia. Mr. B currently works as an MMA competition fighting coach, private self-defense instructor, and as a security consultant.
Silat Demonstrations by Mr. B
