he most closely guarded secret in silat is the spiritual knowledge- ilmu batin. Literally translated it means knowledge (ilmu) of the soul (batin). Often referred to as ilmu or kebatinan, one needs to ensure clarity and precision of terminology. Ilmu is knowledge.... of anything: Makan, berjalan, anything. It’s counterpart is ilmu sihir- knowledge of sorcery, or black magic.

Silat has many stories associated with it and the batin. Many people talk about the death and destruction that can be performed by adepts of the systems, few talk of the good that can be done. I attempt to show people the better side of this wherever I teach, so that people can better understand the good to which we must all strive.

One hostile silat practitioner was interrogating me about my beliefs. Silat is linked with Islam. I am Catholic, and I do Acupuncture also. He could not understand how I could work with three disparate philosophical sources. To me it is very simple. The batin knowledge I have, I am told, predates the arrival of Islam in Malaysia. It transcends religion and religious barriers. It therefore does not affect or offend my Catholic beliefs. Acupuncture to me is also a life philosophy preaching balance and moderation in all things. In itself that is a spiritual path. But what is spiritual?

For me the spiritual path is the one that takes you to God or more to the point that it takes me towards my God. That is all it can be. That means that what many people practice and teach as spiritual is nothing more than Black Magic, and cheap tricks. Naked rituals, (not Wicca), blood offerings, cutting yourself to cause damage to others, are all examples of black magic.

As well as an interest in the Arcane I have been instructed in Ilmu batin by my teacher Maha Guru Haji Omar Din, the only remaining Maha Guru in Malaysia. The title Maha Guru in Malaysia is held in the same awe as the Pendekar in some Indonesian styles. He is the physical and spiritual leader of the system. As such, his power is well known, and I am told he has demonstrated this in many countries. (I’ve seen the newspaper cuttings).

His knowledge is beyond superlatives. I derive my authority from him. As wakil maha guru: as his representative I speak with his blessing and authority. So let me explain the bit you all want- how to do it. The best I can do is tell you how I do it.

Firstly there are two ways: the good and the bad.

The bad you will find easily enough from others. You will not find it in me.

The good then. The central point in all magic/ spiritual silat is focus, intent, and vision. See what you want- feel it, smell it, touch it. I create a special area, not always on my property, which I seal and bless. This is to keep out negative or evil forces. I then cleanse and purify myself, using a smoke ritual. When all is prepared, I then start to concentrate on the task in hand.

For this explanation I will tell you about healing. I have the use of several mantras and prayers for this.

These I recite over the person concerned. There is a technique that I use which is similar to Mesmerism in the true sense, or to aura work. It involves moving the hands over the body about 2-3 inches away from the skin. The purpose is to generate energy and transmit this into the patient. Whilst doing this one must also concentrate on the intent; so for example on reducing a cancer healthy recovery after an operation, wounds knitting together quickly etc.

The process takes anywhere from 5-25 minutes, depending on the problems involved and encountered.

Generating the energy is the next thing. How? This is again a matter of intention. The easiest is to imagine a ball of light being formed from your hand, somewhat like blowing a bubble from soapy water, except this ball is solid, and comes from your hands. Feel the ball, the weight, texture, smell even, throw it to the other hand and catch it. This process takes time. In ilmu batin there are no quick fixes, no easy options. You obtain the ability by studious adherence to all that is good- a strict moral code. For the easy way out look to ilmu sihir. It is the way to know what your teacher is giving you, but you then need the strength to walk away.

I trained with one teacher who started teaching me some magic. He told me that he wanted me to fight a particular well known teacher, and started to psyche me up for this. He gave me a badge with Mohammed written on it in Arabic, and instructed me to wear it daily. I later found that it made me very aggressive, and edgy, and I would unconsciously try to take it off. I finally had it checked and was told that it had had something bad done to it, and that it was evil. it was not the badge, but what had been done to it that was the problem-it was a corruption of something good. I disposed of it. From that time my teacher’s attitude changed towards me. He was less friendly and open, and at times actively hostile. I stopped training with him. I am happy to be following the straight path. Later I talked to other teachers on the Continent, who told me that this particular type of sihir was typical of this teacher’s school. The purpose is to control and subjugate the wearers, giving them no will of their own. It is a process very much akin to Voodoo.

There are many other examples of uses of batin. In Malay history, is a Keris called Tameng Sari which bestowed invincibility on it’s wearer.

Warriors wore amulets to protect them from harm. I was told that when the Dutch invaded Indonesia, the silat practitioners ran to the beaches to ward off the white invaders using their batin. The Dutch, unaware of the niceties of this type of attack, failed to oblige, and instead shot them in their thousands. Sometimes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be!!!

Now most information about silat batin is well shrouded in myth and mysticism. I have seen demos of supposed batin- Children breaking steel or iron bars, people fighting blindfolded, and taking repeated blows without injury. I know them for the tricks they are- the iron is chemically treated to be brittle; the blindfolded fighters move the blindfolds so that they can see. The most impressive is actually the receiving of blows of the Tenaga Dalam. Kateda had a similar way of operating till it’s leader fell into disgrace. One of my friends saw a chap he had hit the day before- sporting 2 broken ribs. So they are not quite as invincible as they make out. But then image is everything.

The basic plan for actually generating the energy is to visualise it. You start by sensitising your hands to feel this energy. Hold your hands a couple of inches away from each other, and slowly move them away from one another. Quickly return them to their starting positions. Repeat continuously. You should start to feel a pull or push between them, like a soft ball. Once you can do this, increase the distance between them, and continue.

To learn to scan for disease, run your hand over an area and see what you feel. One Chinese doctor I have met describes a gentle blowing sensation, like a draught or an emptiness. Strong energy will return heat to you. By moving your hands slowly over an area you may distinguish a different sensation in different areas.

To affect an illness, you need to clear that coldness, and replace it with warmth. Now one of the major problems arises at this point. With what do you replace it? If you are a good channel, or transmitter of God’s force or energy, then you have little problem. If however you are sick yourself, or a poor quality individual, you will transfer your sick or bad energy to your patient, making them sicker. The way to make yourself the best carrier that you can is to pray, meditate fast, and live according to strict rules. Then, the energy that you generate will be “clean”, and you will get good results. This is where the spiritual side is involved. To be able to do this requires effort, practice, diligence perseverance and dedication. That doesn’t come easy. This is why so few people actually practice this part of the art.

The next problem is that if you do practice it openly, then someone practising the dark side may want to stop you, which can lead to things like psychic attacks and then you are back to the things in which I will not deal here. Many people feel that to open themselves up to such forces is to lay themselves open to attack, and if you just do what I have described you are vulnerable. You therefore need a guru who knows about this subject, who can deal in it, and with it, and who is prepared to take you on as a student. If you do not give yourself to his care he cannot care for you, and then you are truly alone.

One student of another silat told me that some healers had come to England but that his teacher would not permit him to go and see them. Healing is not restricted to religion or style. One of the best teachers I have met says that you can learn from everyone.

There is too much said about the destructive side of the batin. I will touch on it now. If somebody attacks you with batin, you are entitled to defend yourself with it if you have the knowledge. Often people have the knowledge, but do not have the practice to back it up. I have been called upon to remove this type of problem from people. I am not a great fan of “Ghost Busting” and didn’t even like the films. It is not a major part of the silat spiritual knowledge- but it is there.

If you go to Indonesia you will find many people will talk about the magic and the tricks. Ask them to do it and they will say that they saw someone do it- they were actually there and witnessed it. I was once told that if you are told anything by anyone in silat to get it confirmed by at least 4 independent witnesses BEFORE you start to consider it’s authenticity.

I have seen operations performed by Maha Guru using the power of the batin, under extremely primitive conditions. I have seen a waiting room of 50-60 people waiting for a consultation with him. That is what I want to leave you with. The true power of the ilmu batin lies in using it for the benefit of others.

Selamat jalan.