Guro Laurence Sandum Kali / Maphilindo Silat Seminar – July 2016

Robin French with Guro Laurence Sandum and David Farmer - July 2016

When Guro Laurence Sandum told me that he was running a Kali / Maphilindo Silat seminar at his academy in Witham, I knew I had to go. And for good reason; not only is he an instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto, he has also received the rare accolade of a black belt directly from Guro Inosanto.

Guro Laurence covered what is referred to as the sweep series; the movements of which, he took the time to explain, are common to both Kali and Maphilindo Silat.

Often taught as a counter to the Muay Thai four-count, where the series is known as the Karasac series, Guro Laurence explained how Guro Inosanto likes the series to be drilled from a variety of entry techniques. As such, throughout the seminar, the series was drilled against different feeds.

After a total of fifteen options, including variations, Guro Laurence took time to demonstrate how they could be used in combination, when the first option was resisted.

The seminar closed out with some puter kepala variations, some of which I had seen, and some slight variations that I had not.

Although not all the material was brand new to me, the excellent structure of the session meant that I could see the bigger picture; the cross connections and the details of each option.

Thanks to Guro Laurence for hosting, and for always pushing his own learning forward, so he can share it with us!

Finally, special thanks to David Farmer for being my training partner for the day.