http://www.OrlandoKuntao.com

Review by Wim Demeere
January 28, 2001.

Bob Orlando is a well known American Penchak Silat instructor.  He has an extensive martial arts background including Silat, Kempo, Aikido, Iaido, Arnis de mano, and Eskrima.  Despite perhaps not being the most mediatized person in the martial arts world, he has earned an impressive reputation as a highly skilled practitioner and even more so as a teacher.

He is the author of this video and two other books, which will be reviewed at a later date.

Mr. Orlando starts the tape by describing to the viewer that it's primary goal is not as much to teach techniques but more so to show the principles that make these techniques effective.  To do this, he shows some basic techniques to work with, to facilitate explaining the principles.  These techniques are block left, block right, strike left and strike right.

The first principle is "Adhesion".  This is the concept of sticking close to the opponent in order to control him.  The concept is then divided into strategic adhesion (sticking close by from start to finish, from first contact untill he is no longer a threat.) and tactical adhesion (specific techniques like the hacksaw and flipkick).  Mr. Orlando does state very clearly that adhesion is not a good idea against multiple opponents.

The second principle is "Whiplash", which is based on the fact that you can only resist force from one direction at a time.  You can in fact use natural unvolontary reactions to your advantage.  Bob then shows you how to combine Whiplash and Adhesion in an application.

Next is "Gyroscopic rotation".  This concept is similar to the previous one but differs in the fact that it is a bit more "circular" in nature.

"Shearing" is next.  Mr. Orlando explains this as two parallell but opposing lines that cross each other but don't converge.  You can use this to manipulate the opponent, increase impacts or break bones, amongst other things.  I especially liked this subject, as I vividly remember the first time my training partner applied this concept on me.  He wasn't even hitting me that hard and my arm was sore for a week.

Another fundamental is "Seating" which can be sub-divided into active, passive, seating without direct impact and as an evasive maneuver.  In essence, you are lowering your center of gravity by dropping or sinking into a number of stances.  The variety of techniques you can derive of this principle alone is worth the price of the video.

"Leg maneuvers" includes stepping on and locking feet, or grinding an opponents leg.  Bob shows a number of drills that teach you how to practice this concept.  By applying this principle, you can do all kinds of nasty deeds to your opponent with such often neglected things as placing your feet in the most strategic spot.

This part reminded me of the "Ghost kicks" my teacher showed me while I was studying hard-style Wushu.  These techniques don't look very impresive, but you have to feel them to believe their effectiveness.  Or, you can allways pick a fight with a Silat player...

The last instructional segment of this tape is "Peanut brittle".  Bob explains that it is a combination of Philipino flow drills and Indonesian concepts.  In practice, this translates into a series of continuous blocks and counters in a variety of ways.  The object is to absorb the techniques and grind them into your subconsciousness.

The tape ends with some words from Mr. Orlando regarding his purpose in making this tape and some other clarifications.

Interest: Without a doubt, this is one of the best tapes I have ever had the good fortune to stumble upon.  If you are into Silat, then this is a "must have" tape.  If you are training in another martial art, you'd better view this tape too.  The concepts that are explained in it can be found, to some extent in Aikido, Wing Chun, Karate, Tai Chi Chuan and many other arts.  Few teachers are aware of these concepts, even though they might subconsciously understand them.  Others try to keep this information to themselves or classify it as "secret teachings" and refuse to disclose it.  Mr. Orlando deserves credit and applause for sharing this much and especially for explaining it in a clear and pleasant way.

This brings me to one of the fundamental strong points of the tape: Mr. Orlando shows and explains the principles in such a way, that they are easy to understand.  There is no excess of information that would clutter your mind.  Neither does he imitate the clich‚ of the "Master" who uses three-word phrases and then demonstrates once (at full speed) the techniques, leaving you to wonder what actually just happened.

Bob also seems to be enjoying himself all the time and jokes around a bit.  The sardonic laughter as he shoots a hacksaw into his partners ribs is but one nice example.

Quality: The tape is of excellent quality.  There are many different viewing angles and speeds are varied to allow a better understanding of the material.  Very impressive.