Seni Silat Kuntao Tekpi (or “Tekpi” for short) is a very old and well-established combat system from Malaysia.  It hails from the northern Malay state of Kedah which borders southern Thailand.  

Tekpi was established by Panglima Taib in the 17th century.  As I understand it, the sultan of Kedah at that time wanted to develop a security arm of his government.  In order to accomplish this, he sent word out in the region that there would be some sort of competition to determine who would head this new organization.  Panglima Taib answered the call and ended up proving victorious.  As a result, he was appointed as the leader of this new security organization whose tasks included personal protection of the royal family.  Panglima Taib’s descendants are the heirs to his system and continue to propagate it today.

While Tekpi is very old and well-established in Malaysia, its introduction to the United States is quite new and has only trickled in so far.  Beginning in the early 2000’s only a small number from the US were fortunate enough to discover Tekpi while spending time in Malaysia.  There was some early effort to introduce the art to the US, but it was a difficult prospect.  Until more recently, the only way to continue training was to return to Malaysia.  Due to various commitments with family, work, and related logistical complications, no one was able to persist in training with any regularity.  However, due to the unique and brutal effectiveness of Tekpi, there remained a dedicated following in the United States who longed for further instruction.  Meanwhile, Tekpi has been experiencing something of a renaissance in Malaysia.  Where once the local arts were being somewhat taken for granted in favor of more “exotic” styles, there has been a gradual rediscovery of the indigenous arts which has been a real boon for Tekpi.

Generally, in the US there has been a growing interest in Southeast Asian combat systems.  While certain arts like boxing, wrestling, muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and similar are very effective under certain circumstances, practitioners have at times been tempted to seek out other arts in the hopes of attaining a greater advantage – or mitigate the disadvantage – against weapons and multiple opponents.  Such situations are at the core of silat in general and Tekpi in particular.

Unfortunately, the so-called martial arts industry is not regulated in the United States, and this has led to a great deal of misinformation and, in too many cases, outright charlatanism.  Due to the lack of regulation, when it comes to self-defense and fighting arts, there is little to no recourse when someone makes false or fantastical claims and offers their services and expertise for a fee.  It is truly a caveat emptor marketplace for combat training in the US.  Partly motivated by this fact, there have been some recent efforts to institute something of an exchange program to encourage proponents of Malay silat to participate in training camps abroad in Malaysia.  An even more recent and very exciting development occurred in the summer of 2019 when the first of hopefully many training camps in the US was held where the Malay mahagurus (think “grandmasters”) were in attendance!  We were honored to be instructed by Wakil Mahaguru Amirul Mukminin (who came to represent his father, Tuan Haji Sani bin Haji Zainal, who is the current head of Seni Silat Kuntau Tekpi).  Guru Amirul is the Master Instructor of Tekpi in Malaysia.

Following the US training camp, there is a renewed effort underway to more firmly establish Tekpi in the United States.  This site is being established in support of this process.  It is a work in progress and will likely evolve substantially in the coming months.  This is an exciting time for Malay silat in the US, and PSSKTM-USA hopes to be instrumental in helping Tekpi spread.  Please check back often for new developments!