One can see elements of aikido in berumbak.
Firdouz leading his charges during training.
THE stomping from the top floor of a commercial block at Bandar Baru Samariang caught my attention as I was parking my car nearby.
After I got out, a man approached, extended his hand and introduced himself as Mohammad Firdouz Sazali.
“Welcome, brother. Thank you for coming,” he said, pointing to the stairway leading to Kelab Beladiri Kontemporari Kuching — or Berumbak Studio, for short.
As we ascended, the stomping got even louder.
Once inside the studio, I saw a group of young men practising a form of martial art that looked very much like silat. Then, very swiftly, the movements changed into those resembling either aikido or taekwondo.
“You’ve heard of MMA (mixed martial arts), right? Berumbak is exactly that, incorporating the best of many martial disciplines such as silat, kali eskrima (a martial art from the Philippines), hapkido, aikido and Brazilian jujitsu,” explained Firdouz, the founder and president of the establishment.
The objective is to build the basic know-how on how to react during real life-threatening situations.
Backyard training
The 33-year-old father of two said he first set up the studio in 2013 as a venue for local silat practitioners to train together.
“I have been practising silat since 1996 and what I know is the training venues are usually open spaces exposed to the elements.
“We started as a home backyard training centre at Taman Sukma before opening this studio in June (2013) for the trainees to work out more comfortably. However, the reception was lukewarm, at best.
“It was then that I came up with the idea of incorporating the best aspects of each martial discipline I have learnt into one concept which I call berumbak — generally it’s a Sarawak Malay word for to rumble,” he told thesundaypost.
The studio was approved by the Registrar of Societies in March last year. There are now 22 trainees under Firdouz, assisted by his deputy Mohd Sophian Yahaya and secretary Mohd Noor Azam Abdul Malek.
The idea is for participants to learn and master berumbak as an art of self-defence to face and handle real life-threatening situations.
“The concept begins with empty-hand combat skills, incorporating the core movements from silat. As the trainees progress, we induct them into armed combat, using weapons comprising kayu selengan (rod), kerambit (spur) and pisau belati (dagger).
“Don’t worry. The kerambit and pisau belati are made of wood while kayu selengan uses rattan,” Firdouz assured me with an ‘it’s okay’ smile, after seeing my rather apprehensive expression.
The principle behind berumbak’s armed combat is that the trainee — of any age — can apply the exact moves of this multi-faceted martial art during threatening situations, such as muggings or gang assault, by using everyday items like sets of keys, umbrellas or pens available as a means of self-defence.
An exponent, with a plastic kerambit in his right hand, fending off an attack during a demonstration.
Facing criticism
Berumbak — as novel as it is — has its share of criticism, especially from martial art purists.
According to Firdouz, a number of silat gurus stand by the orthodox methodology of “learning the discipline from A to Z”.
“In berumbak, however, one gets the D, then W and followed by F. Moreover, these moves are not from just one discipline but many. Like I said earlier, it is to build the basic know-how on how to react during real life-threatening situations.
“However, should some exponents wish to learn more about a particular discipline like silat or aikido, we would direct them to the guru or dojo who are experts in those arts. Moreover, I always tell my charges which move is derived from which discipline during training.”
Firdouz also stressed that the very essence of berumbak was never to dismiss or devalue existing martial arts but rather to further complement them.
“As the saying goes, to love something, is to know something. There have been times when some of my charges were drawn to certain moves and strove to learn more about them. This is where I would direct them to respective masters — be they in silat, boxing or jujitsu.”
Going forward, Firdouz said he would want berumbak to be something identifiably Sarawak as far as mixed martial arts are concerned.
In view of this, he said the club held several short-term intensive courses throughout last year where local masters as well as those from Peninsular Malaysia were invited to attend as facilitators.
“We will conduct the second series of the kerambit and pisau belati seminar next weekend (March 28-29) at this studio, which will be a follow-up to the first one we conducted in 2013.
“We are inviting the gurus from around Kuching to conduct sharing sessions throughout the series,” he said.
The berumbak founder showing some moves to Gabriel Facal, a Frenchman who is doing his PhD on silat. He spent a week of training at the studio last year.
Looking ahead
On the bigger picture, Berumbak Studio is considering organising a martial arts week this year.
Firdouz said all the paperwork has been completed.
“Maybe for this, we will start small — about 30 people. Our plan is to gather experts of jujitsu, muaythai, silat, boxing, aikido and traditional archery to hold workshops on their respective masteries for enthusiasts, who must attend each and every session. The objective is to identify the strength and effectiveness of each discipline and pick the best to enhance one’s skills and knowledge.
“I would like to see it (berumbak) become something solid and established — sort of the martial arts version of the Rainforest Music Festival,” he said.
For now, Firdouz is concentrating on training his charges every Wednesday and Friday, with each session running from 8.30pm to 10.30pm.
“Many have asked if we conduct sessions for children. It’s not we don’t want to but at the moment, the centre is lacking facilities such as matting, for training the young.
“Soon, perhaps we will have such sessions. For now, our focus is on establishing and promoting berumbak to the masses, especially youths,” he said.
Firdouz, flanked by Noor Azam (left) and Sophian, says berumbak began with the idea of incorporating the best aspects of various martial arts into one concept.