Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Paladin Press
• VHS Release Date: February 26, 2002
• Run Time: 180 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000063K5D
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,385 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Despite controversy, still useful, July 15, 2003

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Advanced Silat Concepts: Secrets of Modern Pentjak Silat Serak [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am mainly a karate, Chinese Chin Na, and Okinawan Kobudo instructor, but I have over 35 videos just on Silat, including the de Thouars brothers, and despite the other negative reviews on this video, I found Simonet's four videos helpful and well-done for increasing my knowledge of Silat. His demos of the hand jurus and the foot langkhas are clear and concise and he demonstrates many applications which are practical and effective. I note that Pak Victor himself panned this video with his own review here, saying it wasn't the actual Serak curriculum, and then another reviewer here from Thailand amazingly said that Victor himself only studied for one year from his older brother. Well, I myself have little formal training in Silat except for watching dozens of videos, but as a student of a number styles and an instructor myself for 40 years I think I can tell good technique when I see it regardless of the style, and Simonet is certainly competent in that regard, even if the techniques depart somewhat from the official curriculum as stated by Pak Vic. Also, Simonet mentions in the introduction to the video that he is modifying the classical techniques and interpreting them his own way. Hence, Simonet is quite clear on what he is doing, and states that his videos only contain a portion of the entire curriculum that he learned from Uncle Willem de Thouars. Well, regardless of the ultimate denouement of this dispute here I still found these tapes worthwhile and informative on the Serak style. I've also found the videos by Stevan Plinck on Pukulan, Rudy Terlinden two videos on Ratu Adil, Steve Gartin on Silat knife-fighting, Richard de Bordes on Harimau Tiger, Uncle Willem de Thouars' several videos on Serak, William Sanders' 10-tape series on Pukulan Pusaka Tjimande, Terry Gibson's several videos on Danny Inosanto's Maphilindo Silat, Datu Kelly Worden's 9-tape series on Silat, Pak Engku's two videos on Sapik Kalo, and Bob Orlando's, Leo Gaje's, and Danny Inosanto's many videos also to be helpful.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable & informative, November 25, 2006

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Advanced Silat Concepts: Secrets of Modern Pentjak Silat Serak (DVD)

A few years ago Guru Simonet's two video sets on Serah or Serak joined the ever growing list of quality videos produced over the last ten years by a number of Pentjak Silat and Kuntau-Silat instructors. Perhaps the first videos to reach a large audience, Guru Simonet's two 2-disk sets on beginning and advanced Silat concepts do a fine job of presenting the history, theory, concepts, techniques, and applications of this still relatively unknown art. Also shown are very nice demonstrations of the 18 jurus by Simonet and some of his students, who look very good and are certainly a credit to Guru Simonet. In the first or beginning DVD set, the first six jurus or forms are shown, and in this advanced set, the other 12 for a total of 18 jurus are demonstrated. Also some lankha or lower art forms with footwork are shown. Aided by professional filming, editing, and a frenetic hard-rock musical accompaniment this video remains one of the most dramatic and informative ever produced on the subject.

I had the opportunity to see Gurus Simonet and his partner, Addy Hernandez, do a demo at the 2004 Dragon Fest in Glendale, CA held by Gerald Okamura, and also met Pak Victor de Thouars of Pentjak Silat fame there. My style of southern Philippines Kali in which I hold instructor rank is said to be about 25 percent Silat, so I have always wanted to learn more about the subject. Dozens of applications are shown, including many empty-hand, and also some knife and stick applications. Guru Simonet's excellent videos helped me to broaden and deepen my knowledge of the art of Silat.

If you enjoyed this video I can also recommend the five DVD Kali-Silat set by Jim Mahan and Roger Lewis which is available on e-Bay (I mention it since it doesn't come up on Amazon), the Silat videos from Stevan Plinck and Richard Crabbe de Bordes (also available from Paladin), and Steve Gartin's video (also from Paladin), and Ron Balicki's Kali Entries and Combos video. Also, if you can find it is the Blitzing Sticks video that Danny Inosanto did at the VDT Silat Academy in Bellflower, which shows a large number of entries, combos, and grappling applications. It is very strong on the Serak takedown applications, and which he mixes in with the John La Costa system escrima stick entries for an extremely effective combination.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great video., July 20, 2010

By 

T. Roberts (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Advanced Silat Concepts: Secrets of Modern Pentjak Silat Serak (DVD)

I have several of Guru Simonets DVDs. I have liked them all. Good demonstrations, explains the details and explins the importance of mental attitude when fighting.