HE is waiting for us. We see him seated on a plastic recliner, as we enter the compound of his house. Had it not been for Fahmi Abdul Malek, a staff of the Teluk Penyambung Resort, we would’ve taken a longer time to get from the resort to Jalan Awang Daik near Mersing town. With intermitten connection, Waze is quite useless over here.
“Come after Isya’ prayers. It’d be easy for all of us to meet,” Pak Mat Samurai advised us earlier on the phone. The drive takes us all of 45 minutes. It’s close to half past nine when we finally reach his house. We greet him with the salaam and apologise profusely, half-afraid we’d have incurred his wrath for our tardiness. After all, he’s no ordinary man. We’re here to meet the legendary grandmaster of Buah Pukul Mersing, a self-defence martial art originating from Yunnan, China.
“Masuk... masuk...” he welcomes us in, rising from his comfortable perch on the recliner. He’s decked in a white Pagoda cotton t-shirt, kain pelikat wrapped around his black trousers held up by a wide belt and a songkok on his head. “That’s like his uniform. He goes everywhere looking like that,” whispers Fahmi. Taking off our shoes, we enter the newly-minted Gelanggang (arena) Pak Mat Samurai.
GRANDMASTER
Pak Mat Samurai is not his real name. It’s a nickname he’s earned due to his fondness of the 60s television series, The Samurai, and the fact that he makes his own swords including the Shuriken or the throwing star, a weapon commonly used by the Samurai.
His real name, we discover is Sulieman Ariffin, but for every Buah Pukul Mersing exponent — even those from as far as London and Manchester — he’s simply known as Pak Mat. A fifth-generation grandmaster or Mahaguru of the Buah Pukul Mersing, Pak Mat is still actively teaching. Those who graduated around the same time with him are either dead or inactive, he points out wryly.
He was only 12 when he first trained in the martial art. He tells us he had two teachers, Abdul Rahman Awang Chik (Chu Aman — who passed away before Pak Mat could finish his training) and Abdul Sani Abu Samah (Pak Sani) who later certified him as a Mahaguru in 1972.
Not long after, the Gelenggang located next to his house at Jalan Awang Daik was opened.
BACK IN TIME
History has it that Buah Pukul Mersingor known as Lian before, was brought to Southeast Asia by Syed Abdul Rahman, a Muslim trader from Yunnan, China in the late 1800s. While in Singapore, eight dock workers attempted to attack Syed Abdul Rahman but he defeated them easily.
News of this incident reached the ears of the Johore palace and the commissioner of Endau, Awang Daik. The latter and his friend, Muar police chief Pak Long Mat Yasin — both respected silat practitioners — asked that Syed Abdul Rahman spar with them.
The trader fought the pair together. Both Awang Daik and Pak Long Mat Yasin were overwhelmed by his skills and became his students to redeem themselves. Syed Abdul Rahman certified them as grandmasters of the Buah Pukul Mersing in Muar in 1897, making them the second generation grandmasters of the Chinese-originated martial arts.
THE MASTER AND HIS STUDENT
Buah Pukul Mersing practises an offensive style of fighting, specialising in creating multiple rounds of accurate and destructive pressure point attacks. The style is sparse, simple and straight to the point. He explains that silat mostly comprise of two components, one is murni (pure) movement while the other is maknawi (gestures). Buah Pukul Mersing is a martial art based solely on gestures.
“There’s no art in Buah Pukul Mersing. It’s not sports. It’s only for self-defence,” he says bluntly. He sums it up simply in Malay: “Cara-cara tak nak kena dan cara-cara nak mengena.” (ways to avoid being hit and ways to hit your opponent). He further explains that the buah or technique in silat is “rahsia.” — a secret kept between the student and his teacher: “It’s an agreement between student and teacher. The student has to keep it as a secret. If he reveals it, he not only reveals his own secret, but that also of his teacher.”
“Orang Melayu mengajar tengok orang (The Malays observe the people they teach). I want to see if the student will be responsible with what I teach him. For that reason, a Mahaguru is very selective of his students as the knowledge he dispenses can be misused or abused,” he says.
The main criterion Pak Mat looks for is their aqidah or creed (a set of beliefs that guide someone’s actions). “People of old used tilik (fortune telling). like cutting limes over water and all that. I don’t do that kind of thing. I simply observe them from the first day they enrol for class,” says Pak Mat. He tells us that his youngest student is 10 while the oldest is 51. He runs his classes every Friday night and he has students travelling all the way from Pasir Gudang, Kluang and even Kuala Lumpur.
FIGHTING STYLE
The training can be divided into 5 stages, and students are graded after completing each stage. However, there is no outward hierarchy in the form of a belt system like judo or karate.
A student’s progression to the next stage is purely through the understanding and relationship between him and the grandmaster. His grading is carried out behind closed doors in front of the grandmaster and other trainers. The grandmaster will assess the student and will decide if the student is permitted to progress on to the next stage. At each stage, the student is presented with a certificate. He will have to repeat the stage if he fails to be certified. At the end of the fifth stage, a successful student will be given a nukil.
We’re curious as to what a nukil meant. “Do you want to see it?” he asks and we quickly nod in assent. “This is my nukil,” he says with pride as he holds up a manila cardboard with Jawi script written all over it. It details the names of his teachers and the lessons he learnt from them.
KEEPING THE TRADITION ALIVE
Growing up, Datuk Captain Jaffar Lamri, chief executive officer of CME Group — who trained under Pak Mat — recalls that boys from the other districts would hesitate to mess with those from Mersing. “Most of us, if not all, learnt Buah Pukul Mersing. They didn’t want to get beaten up by us!” he says with a laugh.
Jaffar completed all five stages of the Buah Pukul Mersing when he was young under the tutelage of Jaafar Endut. At that time, Pak Mat Samurai was one of the trainers. He later initiated the move to preserve the heritage of this unique martial art by forming a society. Today Jaffar is president of the Persatuan Buah Pukul Mersing. He along with his friends also pooled their resources to upgrade the Gelanggang Pak Mat Samurai which they named after the grandmaster.
“Pak Mat and I trained under grandmasters of the original Buah Pukul Mersing, the exact one brought in by Syed Abdul Rahman from Yunnan years ago,” he says pointing out that there are other versions of the martial arts which have been incorporated with other silat movements. “We want to preserve the original Buah Pukul Mersing,” he stresses.
Over time, derivatives of this style were passed on to the descendants of those who learnt it. As Buah Pukul Mersing spread outside the state, its variations were known by several names including Lian Paduka , Gayang Lima and Senjata Lapan. “It’s a great way to get teenagers to spend their free time productively,” he comments, adding that he’s delighted that the martial art has extended its reach beyond Mersing and Malaysia. He informs us that there is already a gelanggang in Rawang, Selangor and even far flung cities like London and Manchester! “There are some 50 non-Malaysians who are training in Buah Pukul Mersing,” he says proudly.
It’s way past midnight when we leave the Gelanggang. The grandmaster of Buah Pukul Mersing dispenses with some sagely advice in a form of a traditional pantun or verse, which urges one to work hard and talk less.
“Jangan mudah terkinja-kinja
apatah pulak di jual jaja
jangan diumpat jangan di puja
Sedikitkan cakap, banyak kan kerja,”
He pauses for bit before concluding: “If one wants to learn, don’t do it half-heartedly. Belajarlah sampai habis (Learn it fully).”