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Pak Rifai

: No We better try it first. Allah has given us the same body, the same hands. It
depends on how we use it. I often admire Cimande peoples strength as my honor,
not to admit my fail.

Randy

: So, the whole movement consists of 4 parts, whats the name of the movement?

Pak Rifai

: Gelanggang or Panggung of self-defense art.

Randy

: Pak Rifai, so the first part is

Pak Rifai

: First of all, the music is Padungdung, Bubuka, Rincik and Racekan. You can do it
slowly or fast. The faster you do, the power you give. Dont be weak. Keep your
balance. It is Patokan symbol. If you will have mastered the movement, you can
learn farther about it. However, for now, I suggest you to learn the simple one. Ill
show you about Bubuka: dung ting plang dung ting plang (singing a rhythm).
Thats the first movement which comes from Sundanese. Anyway, how was the
rhythm that we learnt last night?

Kyoto

: I dont remember it, Pak..

Pak Rifai

: In the beginning, there are Bubuka and Padungdung rhythm, Betawi people call it
Ngundang Naik. Then, there will be Rinuk and Racekan, afterwards we back to
Rincik before close it.

Kyoko

: How do we call Rinuk in Bahasa Indonesia?

Pak Rifai

: Rincik is shown when we are walking at the same time moving our hands. Unlike
Rincik, Racekan is the combination of technique and defense movement. In
Bahasa, Rincik means mixture, but in self-defense art, Rincik isnt a mixture. As a
person from Betawi, I didnt understand about it. Then I tried to learn Sundanese
and now I get it. Its better if we record the rhythm to listen it continuously. We
must work hard. We dont only learn about the exercise, but also the rhythm.
Theres beat in every movement. Like what I taught yesterday, there is a rhythm
in every movement, the rhythm of movement. Its self-defense art. As I said to
Sam, you have to learn totally, in for a penny in for a pound. We cant only learn
some parts. So we have to memorize the rhythm, plak ting ting plak. If today
youve learn all about it, then tomorrow you forget it, you wont success.
Yesterday, Kyoko complained that she has been learning self-defense art for more

than 10 years, but she cant do anything. We shouldnt be like this. Apart from
that, every rhythm has its own characteristic. Blang tung blang tung (singing a
rhythm). For instance, Gendang (a traditional Indonesia music instrument that
looks like a drum without any stick) beat for Panglipur isnt same with other
rhythm. Panglipur rhythm will sound good if its combined with Gendang beat of
Panglipur rhythm, and wont sound good if its combined with Gendang beat of
other rhythm. Thats why Bambang and Erik always carry a cassette of Gendang
recording to train themselves and teach others. Dum tim pak dum ting, we should
pay attention which one is loud and soft rhythm. Thus, if were going to learn, just
do it totally, the whole package. Dont be shy when youre practicing the selfdefense art, just focus on listening to the rhythm. This is a modern, classic and
unique rhythm. Even, Indonesian people, such as Jojo, Sam and Tazkia arent able
to understand it easily. (Page 34) If we dont have eagerness to learn it, we wont
be able to understand it no matter how hard we try. To be a master, I used to play
Pamor or Panglipur rhythm differently. I had to learn Rincik, unfortunately I
couldnt. Every Gendang musician has his own trick. The beat in Bogor is
different with the beat in Sukabumi. The beat in Sukabumi is different with the
beat in Cianjur. The beat in Cianjur is different with the beat in Cimahi. Every
area has its own beat characteristic, includes in Cimande. Theres no different
plak tung (a part of rhythm) in Sunda. If were going to learn it, we must be
sincere and we must work hard 100%. If we learn it seriously, well understand it
at least 75%, yet if we dont, only 10% that well get. You must always remember
man jadda wa jadda (an Arabic proverb: whoever sincerely does, will get), its
totally true.
Jojo

: Is it possible, Pak, for them who dont like to sing cant learn it?

Pak Rifai

: No. They must be cheerful, funny and entertaining people. If they like to frown
and theyre lazy to talk, its hard to learn it, because it shows that they arent able
to communicate well, hablu minallah hablum minannas (we should maintain our
relationship to God as well as people). We can see different communication way
of people who are sociable and people who arent. Dont be shy and afraid. Look
at Bambang and Erik, they are active people, right? Not the quiet one. People who

often do performance on stage tend to be cheerful, but they who often keep silent
will look old and wrinkled. So, we should be cheerful, have a good selfconfidence and sure that we have potential. If a person hasnt eagerness to
communicate and feel difficult to have a conversation politely, he/she must be the
grumpy one. Before I joined IPSI, I was a sensitive person, and I couldnt argue
as well as negotiate, you can ask my wife about it. In IPSI, I learnt about
psychology. If a person is too quiet and reclusive, he/she will have less
knowledge and have big ambition. We should be flexible people. If Im asked to
talk in front of the people, I can talk much more than what I have prepared in a
text, although at the same time Im looking the text. Long time ago, when I tried
to look back the text, I could be out of the topic, because I didnt fully understand
about the problem. After I had learnt to be more mature, I could talk for 2 hours
without any text. Thats the different. When the sociable people face the problem,
they will make themselves calm down yet deep inside their brain, they are
thinking of the solution. You can talk anything with them. They will take part in
the conversation, because theyve a lot of knowledge. Thats why in self-defense
art, theres art lesson. Some of grumpy people just do fight easily when theyre
angry, whereas were able to solve the problem in the right way without fighting.
By being warned politely, people will feel more shame than being defeated in the
fighting. I couldnt talk in front of people, so I learnt from Pak Yon Warno how to
do a public speaking, how to talk in a university scope. Then I did it in UNPAD,
UNISBA and UNKRIS, in fact I never had a formal education in university.
Thats because I learnt how to do it. The way we talk to the village chief as well
as sub district head is different with the way we talk to the neighborhood
association head, isnt it? People said that Im brave, because although Im not the
type of the smart one, I have eagerness to do a public speaking. I learnt about
manner. Jojo, as a leader of a big club like Al-Azhar, its important to have a
diplomatic capability. We should know the situation and condition before going to
talk. Theres should be a diplomatic language. I had been arrested in police station
for some times, and then I was always rescued, because I talk to (page 35) them
and they understood about my act. I should have been arrested for 3 days, but the

police said, you can be here for 1 night only, tomorrow you are able to go
home. I was arrested in sector 1 of a police station in front of Koja at Tanjung
Priuk with a group of thief. I just tried to be safe from them. Jojo, youre the
leader of the trainers, you should deliver your argument to them properly and
politely. When I was a head of a referee institution, I had hard times. I was
protested by others.
Kang Sariat : Thats true. We must have a grip on psychology and rhetoric.
Pak Rifai

: Yes. We should know when to talk loudly, softly and firmly. We should arrange
the chronological idea of our speaking, it dont have to be monotonous. I leaded a
community of Perisai Diri (a kind of self-defense) championship in IPB, Bogor.
The committees were students of IPB. Although I never become a university
student, my voice was dominant (by serious and relaxed facial expression that I
showed). Theres no one believe that I didnt graduate from Senior High School.
However, I dont want to die because of my folly, I dont want to die because of
less knowledge that I have. I want to live although I have weakness. I dont want
to die because I dont have certificate, should I die, then? No. I must stay alive
although I have weakness. I must show my achievement, look, I dont have
certificate, yet I can do it. When I was in other country, my English could be
better, because I talked with the native, you can ask Randy. So we should
maintain hablu minallah and hablu minannas. We shouldnt die because of our
folly. We must have capability in arguing. We should deliver our opinion in the
right way to be accepted by others. I never learnt about leadership formally, but
Im able to lead. Ive no idea about leadership, yet I can lead my men. I leaded
Sugeng-PSTD, Berry-PSTP, Ujang-PSTD, Iko Uwais and Bambang Wahyudi
(from Madura) to have a journey in Korea. In the beginning, I wasnt informed
that I would get money; suddenly I got it from PB. I was confused, because our
accommodation had been covered. Where I should waste this money for? I would
like to return the money, but Pak Eddy said that I should share the money with
others. So I shared the money equally. In fact, we also got the facility from the
Major of Cungju, such as food vouchers and other vouchers. Thats why my men
said, I never have a manager like Babe Rifai. When I asked whether weve got

the cash or not, they answered, yes. Then I asked about the nominal, they
answered, $250. Afterwards, I asked whether they wanted more or not, they
answered, of course, Babe Rifai. I gave them more money, and they were a bit
surprised by saying, are you sure? I admitted and asked them to count, they
asked, where did you get this money? I gave them my explanation that our
accommodation had been covered, so I asked them whether I should return the
money to Pak Eddy or share it, they said, just share it, Beh. They looked so glad
until
Kang Sariat : Thats good, the way you share the money made them happy, didnt it?
Pak Rifai

: You know, if Im not wrong, after had heard it, Bambang jumped, hit his head on
the wall and said, hurray! I never have a manager like Pak Rifai, like Babe. He
had arrived from England. Sam, how long has Jojo been teaching in ASBD? Has
he been got surprised for his birthday on a yacht?

Kang Sariat : In the middle of the night, his students woke him up, gave him a cake and sang
happy birthday to you my coach. They gave him decoration from shell as well
as stork. In Bangka Belitung, he got surprised birthday party as well. He is a
special person for his students.

(Page 36)
In Padjajaran language, Cimande means a Waruga (building), specifically, Mande means an
internal building. Moreover, Pencak means five. The first one is training our body, second is
training our mind, third is training our feeling, fourth is training our Qalbu (heart) and fifth is
training our Ruhani (spiritual). These are what we learnt in Cimande. In Pancer (the first
strategy) we are stricken and our bones are trained(done)