Every silat journey begins with a question: what are we truly seeking? Some say victory, others say mastery, and some even say perfection. Yet the deeper we train, the more we see that perfection is not a destination but a shadow on the horizon. The closer we walk toward it, the further it seems to move away. Still, we must not stop striving. The effort itself sharpens our movements, steadies our breathing, and strengthens our spirit. If we stop seeking to improve, we begin to weaken. If we continue, even while knowing perfection cannot be caught, we keep growing without end.
Silat also teaches us to remain humble. There are moments in training when we must pause, not from weakness, but from awareness. In those still moments we reflect on what we already know: a strike we have learned, a step we have mastered, or a mistake that has taught us a lesson. Then we hold it against what we do not yet know.. the deeper wisdom passed down through generations. This awareness does not make us small. It grounds us, for true strength lies not in claiming complete knowledge, but in recognizing how much still lies beyond reach.
The seeker of knowledge must never claim to have reached its end, for knowledge has no shore. What we hold is only a drop, while the ocean stretches beyond sight. To keep walking the path is better than to boast of arrival, for the one who walks is alive in his learning, while the one who thinks he has arrived is already lost.
Here we are reminded of the words of Imam Zarnuji in Alim muta'lim, who said: “Knowledge is not attained except through six things: intelligence, desire, patience, sufficiency, the guidance of a teacher, and length of time.” The path of silat follows the same law. Without desire, we cannot endure hardship. Without patience, we cannot overcome struggle. Without a teacher, we lose direction. Without time, our roots remain shallow.
When we train with this awareness, we see that what we know will always be smaller than what remains hidden. This humility does not weaken us but it completes us. It is in the balance between striving and stillness, between knowledge and mystery, that we move past perfection. Perfection is stiff and unchanging, but harmony is alive. Harmony is when body, mind, and spirit move as one. It is when the silat player no longer fights against the world but flows with it. In that state we are not perfect, but we are whole. And in silat, wholeness is greater than perfection, for it is unity with the rhythm of life itself.
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