Pencak Silat Mande Muda

Pencak Silat Mande Muda is a style of pencak silat created by Uyuh Suwanda in 1951 and continued by his son Herman. Mande Muda is a composite martial art from Bandung, West Java. Based primarily on cimande, it contains elements of 18 systems, principally cikalong, Syahbandar, harimau, pamonyet, Kari, Madi and Serak and was increased to 24 styles by Pak Herman up to his passing.

With the help of his wife, Ibu Mimi Suwanda, Uyuh Suwanda thoroughly developed the style, earning recognition and respect from the major governing silat bodies. After Uyuh Suwanda's death, the art was spread, throughout the United States and Europe, by his son, Herman Suwanda. Herman Suwanda and his wife, Shannon, died in a car crash in March 2000. Shortly after, Herman Suwanda's sister, Rita Suwanda, was named Guru Besar of Pencak Silat Mande Muda. She continues to travel throughout the world, teaching the techniques of Pencak Silat Mande Muda. The other siblings in the Suwanda family are also actively involved in spreading the art.

Bambang Suwanda, the primary training partner of Pak Herman as seen in a majority of Herman's commercial videos numbers 1-15 actively teaches pencak silat under the umbrella name of sunda silat. He is also continuing his late brother's mission of spreading the art and continues to research other styles found in West Java as well. Official DVD's of both Pak Herman and Bambang can be purchased on the sundasilat.com website along with other information.

Of all the Silat styles, Mande Muda is the only one that has the Sabetans. These training drills were developed by Herman Suwanda. He took the first eight from his father and developed 32 more with the help of one of his lead students, Antonio Somera. These drills were developed to help give the student the attributes he would need in combat. The Sabetans are what Chi Sau is to Wing Chung, What Hubbud is to Kali and so forth. They developed sensitivity, speed, reflexes and hand,eye, body coordination.

The Sabetans were developed from the cimande style. Traditionally, cimande was taught first and then the sabetans. The student would then be able to process the information better because he could see the similarities. The Sabetans were practice empty handed and eventually with a specially developed knife that had blades both on top and bottem. The sabetans when practice incorporate both left and right sides, giving the student the ability to perform in either right or left stances. The drills are also designed to go completely against logic, but the results are marvelous. The student becomes an unorthodox fighter using the moment and the given stimulious to stop the attack instantly. These drills were given directly to the Jagabayas (selected few) who would grow with the art and eventually become Ksatrias (Warriors). Some would become Pendekar Mudas (young clever minded ones). Over the years MandeMuda has continued to be taught. Some of the Jagabayas have chosen to keep the lessons that Pak Herman taught and to pass them on to a very selected few. When Sigong Bruce Lee crossed over, many were teaching JKD, When Guro Dan Innosanto decided to teach to the public, it was mainly because he wanted to pass on the lessons that he learned from Sigong Bruce Lee himself. Some of the Jagabayas have chosen this path. In either case, MandeMuda will go on and hopefully the next generation will come to learn the dream of Pak Herman Suwanda.

External links

• Suwanda Academy Website
• Summary article on Mande Muda
• http://www.sundasilat.com