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Ancient form of martial arts
helps people protect themselve

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Tournaments and belts
aren't in the offing.
Pencak silat is strictly a
form of self-defense.

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SUSAN TAWIL

Special to the Jewish News

S

he's 5 foot 1 and 98
ounds, but don't mess
ith her. Reggie Levi
ovbin of Oak Park is a
student of pencak silat (pro-
nounced "pen-shock see-lot"), an
ancient form of martial arts that
originated in Indonesia.
Unlike karate, judo and other
forms of martial art, pencak silat is
not a "sport" but is taught purely as
a means of self-defense. Practitioners
don't compete in tournaments or
earn belts. Pencak silat's purpose is
making students ready for actual
fighting on the street. Students learn
to defend themselves, disarm attack-
ers bearing knives and guns, and
vanquish multiple opponents. Judy
Gunsberg-Freier of Southfield and
other students call it -the most effec-
tive self-defense method there is."
Pencak silat is different from
other martial arts in that it does not
rely on the practitioner's size or

Above: Guru Besa Jeff Davidson instructs a class in pencak silat. He is demonstrating a move
on student Fred Bigliardi of Dearborn

Left: Reggie Levi Tovbin of Oak Park looks on.

strength,
but rather
on leverage, body mechanics and sci-
entific principles. For Tovbin, that is
what makes pencak silat ideal for
women to master.
"To me, self-defense is only as
good as the time it has to be used,
says Tovbin. "I lived in New York for
16 years and remember when Yankel
Rosenblum was murdered in Crown
Heights (a neighborhood in
Brooklyn). He had a black belt in
karate, but unfortunately, karate peo-
ple are not trained for real-time
armed attacks."
Jeff Davidson, 29, of Oak Park,
teaches pencak silat at the King
Dragon Martial Arts School in
Farmington Hills. He is the only
person to carry the ranking title of
Guru Besa, or master teacher, out-
side of the Indonesian family from

whom he learned the art.
The Detroit native studied karate
at the Jewish Community Center,
earning his black belt by age 16. At
18, he took over teaching the JCC
karate program.
During this time, he met a 73-
year-old man from Indonesia so
impressed by Davidson's ability and
drive that he agreed to teach him his
family's secret art of pencak silat.
With his teacher's encouragement,
Davidson traveled to Indonesia to
continue learning this obscure form
of martial art from members of the
man's family in West Java.
Many of the students at King
Dragon Martial Arts School are law
enforcement and military personnel.
Enrollment is $65 per month, which
allows unlimited classes. Prospective
students get a free first lesson.
Although only about 10 percent

of his students are women, Davidson
notes that his female students learn
pencak silat at least three times faster
than men do. This is because of their
greater flexibility and because they
try not to use their muscle and
strength to fight-, he said.
Pencak silat, which means "to
fight with grace and fluidity," uses
skill and strategy. Its fast, fluid move-
ments catch opponents off guard
and throw them off balance.
Movements mimic the animals of
the Indonesian jungles. For instance,
attacks low to the ground imitate the
tiger, while swift, bouncy move-
ments are styled after the monkey.
Gunsberg-Freier, who has studied
ballet, jazz and tap, feels pencak silat
has elements of dance, and develops
coordination and balance. "Because
you have to focus," she says, "it's a
good way to de-stress. It's really very

t:S'i,AA

V

12/3

1999

47

