Fighting machete of the Malay Archipelago
The Parang is an innocent farming tool, but in the hands of Silat expert, it becomes a deadly weapon. Silat styles across the Malay Archipelago have used the Parang in their weapons training for hundreds of years.
Not all Silat styles use the parang. The parang is used vastly by the commoners or the middle class Malays of the time. Where else the upper class or noblemen and royalties use the Sundang and Pedang instead.
Quote: Jak Othman " I love the Parang because it is so to get one. It's also cheap and sold in any hardware shop. Having a parang or few can also be a great help in the wilderness.During these antient Malay Empires there were three main classes of people. The Sultan and royal families were are the top of list. Then came the King's nobel men followed by the working class or commoners. The parang was most popular among the commoners of ancient times.
Parang of Silat Gayong Harimau
This article will hi-light the Parang fighting methods of Silat Gayong Harimau, which originated from the 1st century Kedah Empire.
In the early 1970's, Haji Alias Jamis was given the role to lead and teach the art to the next generation by his teacher Mahaguru Nordin. Silat Harimau Seri Rama was the name of the style. Haji Alias Jamil then changed the name of the art to Silat Gaying Harimau leaving the word Harimau (Tiger) and dropping Seri Rama (Demi god). Rama was a Demi god hero of the ancient Indian epic of Mahabrata. The word Gayong was added which is another name for "the fighting art" commonly used during the Kedah Empire. From Harimau Seri Rama, which means Rama's was of the tiger to Gayong Harimau, which means the Tiger.
In the early 1970an’s, my teacher Haji Alias Jamil was given the role to lead and teach the art to the next generation from his teacher Mahaguru Nordin. Silat Harimau Seri Rama was the name of the style. Haji Alias changed the name of the art to Silat Gayong Harimau, maintaining the word Harimau (the tiger) dropping Seri Rama that reflects Hinduism. Rama was the Demi god hero of the ancient Indian epic of Mahabbrata. He added Gayong, which is another name for "the fighting art" or martial art commonly used during the Kedah Empire. Harimau Seri Rama which means Rama’s way of the tiger. Now Gayong Harimau means the Tiger martial arts of Kedah Empire.
Prof Jaks second weapon of gayong harimau after the tongkat
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Anatomy
The size of the parang vary from one to two feet in length including the handle. A Parang is made from several metals depending on where it came from and what its main purpose it. Today a Parang is made from hard steel of different grades. Some prangs come with a sheath made out of hardwood, hard leather(cowhide/buffalo-hide) or polyurethane leather too. Most Parang are sold without a sheath.
​The blade has 4 parts. The handle is made of hardwood, nowadays, hard fibre or plastics. It's normally made for single hand. Traditionally, the blades were heavy for effective hacking and cutting. Today there are many designs, which are light compare to the traditional ones. The blade consists three parts which the tip, the top blunt and the bottom sharp parts.
The handle of the parang is made of hardwood, fibre or plastic. The grip is normally made for a single hand. Traditionally, the blades were heavy making them great for hacking and cutting. Today there are many designs which are much lighter than traditional ones. The blade of the parang consists of three parts. The tip, the top (blunt) and the bottom (sharp).
In Silat, ever part of the parang is a weapon even the sheath which can be used for striking, sheilding, blocking and trapping. The handle is used to trap and strike like a knuckle-duster at close range. The top blunt part of the blade is used for striking, trapping, blocking and defecting. The tip of the blade is sharp and perfect for stabbing. The bottom part of the blade if well sharpened makes the parang like a short sword that can be used for hacking, cutting and slashing.
Being a farming tool, the hardness and strength of the blade are also important because the parang is primarily used to cut bushes, wood, fruits as well as animal skin, meat and joints of animals. The parang was not designed to clash with fighting swords but can withstand significant levels of assault by a sword attack. This makes the Parang an ideal self-defence weapon when necessary.
​Parang warriors carry more than one with them, a minimum of three. It is a projectile weapon for ranges between 6 feet to 12 feet. If you think flying knife is scary, come and experience parang throwing. It is heavy and will penetrate deeper into the flesh and bones.
The standard hold for Gayong Harimau stylists is a double hold. It is held high at the side of the head, across the chest or pointing low to the ground. From this position, it can be thrown to the opponent, stab, slash, cut and hack from any angle you can imagine. It can also use for defence with footwork, deflections , blocks and shielding methods before countering.
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Single hand held parang is only used for long-range situation if necessary since the blade is naturally heaving, a good gripping is very important. While gaining a longer reach to hit the opponent it becomes venerable to being disarmed by the opponent. In Gayong Harimau, single hand techniques are used to catch an unaware opponent with a lightning fast stab or slash from the closest distant between the target and us.
Combative principle
A popular Silat principle among Parang fighters is "Defang the snake. Cut it into pieces. Cook it. Eat it. Make it disappear." This ancient fighting principle of Silat have influenced many fighting arts. This is an ancient fighting principles of Silat that has influenced many fighting arts across the Archipelago and into ancient Siam, northern Philippines and Indochina. With the principal in mind, a Silat warrior will look for the chance to take the limbs and weapons off the body of their opponent. By doing so, the snake is no longer venomous. A cobra without fangs is just a big worm. Defang a snake could also be taking the head off if you are faced with an anaconda.
Cut it into pieces seems like overkill but in ancient times, the Malays fought among warriors who continued to fight after being stabbed and chopped. Today it may sound barbaric but it was necessary when half dead warriors would still come at you just like a zombie but it knows how to fight.
"Cook it! Eat it! Make it disappear! " Ancient Malays believed that when you kill a cobra you must make sure it disappears or another will come looking for you. Another cobra will look at the images in the dead cobras eyes and will come back looking for revenge. Although modern scientist dismissed the theory, the philosophy still remains in the teaching of the Silat warrior. This will dismiss any chance of revenge from family and friends of the dead.