Basics in Silat Sera - Curriculum

A series of articles by Todd Ellner and Tiel Ansari, from Guru Plinck's website:

The Sera curriculum is really very small. There are eighteen fundamental upper body exercises known as djurus. There are four essential footwork patterns called langkas. A short form called djuru sempok teaches multiple opponent footwork and kicking.

Students demonstrate their ability to improvise while maintaining good form and intention through a framework called djuru combinasi or kembangan. There are sets of techniques for a number of weapons.such as the knife, the big knife, the staff, the whip and the cabang. A number of exercises such as leg work, sensitivity drills, and counter-for-counter frameworks develop important skills and attributes. They show up in different forms depending on the skill of the students.

Gurus pass on or develop exercises of their own. A common one would be a set of sambuts - two- or multiple-peson attacking or defending combinations which illustrate important tactical principles and useful tools. Add a few throws and locks, sparring and similar techniques and you pretty much have what is taught in Serak.

This isn't a very large syllabus for a comprehensive martial art. The guiding idea may be summed up as "Simple tools used with sophistication". The training methods and teaching progressions of the system force students to apply a relatively small number of movements in many different situations in many different ways combined in any order with anything else that he or she has been taught.