5 TRUTHS IN SILAT SHARAF THAT WILL SHARPEN ANY COMBAT ART5. 4. Learn from your enemies as much as your friends You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your strategy. Napoleon Bonaparte You can thank God almighty for the enemy who is ruthless and cunning. That person will make you a far better fighter and thinker than you ever thought you would be. All your plans and ideas will be shaken up and all the beliefs you held to be iron clad will be ripped asunder. That kind of enemy, if you survive him, will help you build a fortress of iron in your heart. That enemy is your best teacher. The Romans were such an excellent enemy to the Islamic Caliphate. They taught us the power of organization, a disciplined army and multiple layers of leadership instead of one central figure. Before fighting sophisticated enemies like the Roman Empire and the Persians, the Muslims were just tribal warriors fighting small scale wars for control of the Arabian Peninsula. The high quality of our enemies was an important factor in making the Islamic State a global military power capable of ending the Persian Empire with the sack of their capital. And sacking the last great capital of the Romans with the fall of Constantinople, effectively closing the long chapter of Rome as a superpower. 5. Never allow an enemy to take advantage of your chivalry Never let your lofty ideals victimize you, and never let anyone abuse your chivalry. Be pragmatic and be simple when you make serious decisions that will impact you or other people in a heavy manner. Idealism doesnt feed your children or help the poor, its a powerful thing , but it must be tempered with the cold hard steel of reality. The Prophet Muhamad (pbuh) said, Some things can be accomplished with Quran that can never be accomplished with power. And some things can be accomplished with power that can never be accomplished with Quran. Therefore it is required to look at both in order to plan for the longterm and achieve what one wishes to achieve. The Jewish tribe of Banu Nadhir tried to play on the Islamic military ideal that the Prophet Muhamad (pbuh) had made famous; Do not cut down trees, destroy livestock and abuse peoples livelihood. It is a chivalrous ideal, the best to look up to and work for, but when the enemy attempts to use that in order to destroy you, it must be reexamined. Banu Nadhir betrayed the peace agreement between their tribe and the Islamic State, then barricaded themselves in their town and prepared for war against the state. They secured everything except their livestock, vegetation and water supply as they believed the Prophet Muhamad (pbuh) would not destroy those so they could use that as a weakness to exploit and continue to fight for the longterm. That was a miscalculation. He did exactly what they expected him not to do. He cut off all supply lines into the town and destroyed everything around it. Banu Nadhir quickly capitulated and were expelled from Madina. These are the essential 5 things that everyone can benefit from regardless of what system you learn or where you are. The principles of combat and strategy are not for your dojo, theyre for life. Use them before you loose them. Pencak Silat Sharaf is not a martial art, its a system of strategy in which martial arts is part of the package. Learn to think then learn to fight. Thats a truetraditional martial art from people who lived because of what they learned and practiced properly, as should we.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:37:25 +0000
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