About 2 years ago I came across video clips of Maul Mornie’s Silat Sufian Bela Diri (SSBD) on youtube. I found the system extremely effective for self defense and I was amazed by Maul Mornie’s high level of skill and control. I thought that I would really like to train with him, but I assumed that he must be living in America or some place far away. When I found out that he was living in Cardiff and teaching in Europe I was very happy! So it was with great anticipation that I set of to Cardiff for a week long SSBD seminar with Maul Mornie.

When I arrived at the Cardiff train station Maul Mornie was there to meet me. My fist impression was that he was a very friendly person. For the next week I stayed at his house, together with the other members of the seminar who came from far away. We were made to feel very welcome and everybody was in high spirits. Maul’s fiancée, Nira, was a great cook and she introduced us to some traditional Brunei-style food!

The training was done in Maul’s back yard and sometimes in his living room, as there was a double booking at the intended venue. But it turned out to be very enjoyable training right at the house. The training was mostly drill-based and Maul took great care in instructing the basics of his system. SSBD is a blade fighting system that relies on correct body mechanics and footwork. The basic principals are conveyed through a various sets of two person drills that can be done with knives, sticks, machetes or empty handed.

The training was enjoyed by all the participants and there was much laughter. Maul actually encouraged the laughter and was often ordering us to smile during training. According to him smiling relaxes the body and the body learns the correct form much quicker when it is relaxed.

I found the training very useful and it helped me understand how to apply the movements of taiji, bagua, xing yi and liu he tanglang in fighting.

I felt very grateful for the experience and I made new friends. I highly recommend SSBD workshops with Maul Mornie!

For more on SSBD, check out my “Kuntao Silat” page or Maul’s website:
http://silat-suffian.blogspot.com/