Silat Cekak
A Malay silat from Kedah whose public teaching began on 28 December 1965. Sources differ on whether Hanafi Ahmad was its founder or reviver.
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MalaysiaCharacter & Origin
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
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About Silat Cekak
Silat Cekak is a Malay silat associated with the state of Kedah. According to Janudin and Yusoff (2019), who are members of the PSSCM organisation, the art was passed down orally from Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin to Panglima Ismail, who left it to Panglima Tok Rashid of Sungai Daun in Yan, Kedah, and he to Yahya bin Said of Batu Kurau in Perak with an order to return it to the descendants from Kedah if they wanted it. The oldest written source for this history that the authors give is an article by Mansor Tobing in Utusan Zaman of 23 October 1966. Everything before 1965 therefore rests on oral tradition.
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Public teaching began on 28 December 1965 in the house of Shafie Darus in Alor Setar. According to Janudin and Yusoff, Ustaz Hanafi bin Haji Ahmad asked Yahya Said to teach a group of twenty new pupils. Hanafi went on developing the art until his death in 1986. The sources describe his role differently: RTM in 2024 calls him pengasas, that is founder, and UUM (Hamdan et al. 2025) writes that Hanafi Ahmad founded Silat Cekak. Malay Wikipedia calls him a reviver who revived the silat after receiving an ijazah from Yahya bin Said. The meaning of ijazah as a certificate is given only by Malay Wikipedia, the other sources say only that Yahya Said taught. That is why we give 1965 as the year of the event, not as the year the art originated. The years of the organisations differ. According to Sains Insani and an interview with Maideen Kadir Shah, PSSCM was founded in 1971, according to UUM and Rosli et al. in 1975. PSSCM explains the word cekak as Segenggam, a symbol of the unity of members, Malay Wikipedia as mencakar. After Hanafi's death the movement split into two organisations, Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak Ustaz Hanafi Malaysia and Persekutuan Seni Silat Cekak Pusaka Ustaz Hanafi Malaysia.
History
According to Janudin and Yusoff (2019), Panglima Ismail was panglima kanan under Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II (1804 to 1845). Before his death he passed the art to Panglima Tok Rashid of Sungai Daun in Yan, who moved to Kerian after the plague (taun) in Kedah. Tok Rashid taught, among others, Encik Yahya bin Said of Batu Kurau in Perak, who was twenty years old and to whom he entrusted the art at the age of twenty-four, around 1925, with the wish that he return it to the descendants from Kedah. Tok Rashid died, according to one informant, in 1943 at about 107 years of age. According to the article, Yahya Said then kept the art secret for forty years, until he met Ustaz Hanafi bin Haji Ahmad of Kedah.
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According to RTM, Hanafi was born in 1923 in Kedah, studied at a Malay school in Alor Setar, travelled for the martial arts also to southern Thailand, and died on 13 August 1986. He was survived by a widow and six children. Public teaching began on 28 December 1965 (5 Ramadan 1385). According to Janudin and Yusoff, Yahya Said stated that the art handed down was called Silat Cekak, and told its origin. At the beginning of 1966 teaching got under way in cooperation with Perkumpulan Seni Sari Budaya Seri Kedah, where Yahya Said was appointed teacher. By 1968 the association Persatuan Seni Silat Chekak Kedah Malaysia was formed, in 1970 teaching moved to Kuala Lumpur, and according to Sains Insani the organisation became independent as PSSCM in 1971. Malay Wikipedia gives 1967 for the first association. Azlyn Ahmad Zawawi (2025) writes that the art has roots in Malay history, from the time before Langkasuka through Thai imperialism in 1821. This is the legendary framework of the school.
How it differs
Hamdan et al. (2025) compare Silat Cekak with Silat Kalimah, which Yahya Said opened as a separate association: Kalimah has twenty-seven buah and no Peringkat Asas. Malay Wikipedia states that Silat Cekak was supposedly created as a counterweight to Thai styles and that it is defensive, with ninety-nine percent defensive and one percent offensive techniques. Other details from Wikipedia, for example that Silat Cekak was first registered in 1904 in Kedah, contradict the other sources and we do not adopt them.
Technique
Azlyn Ahmad Zawawi (2025), in a UiTM Kedah bulletin whose author is an adviser to the association Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak, writes that Silat Cekak is inspired by the movements of Islamic prayer: kaedah A comes from doa, kaedah B from qiam, kaedah C from rukuk and kaedah D from takbir. According to the same text, the style rests on a philosophy of ninety-nine percent defence and one percent attack, attack is the last resort of personal safety, and it relies on economical direct techniques instead of acrobatics or brute force. These are claims of the school relayed by a member. Hamdan et al. (2025) mention training with jatuhan and kuncian at the Peringkat Jatuh. Malay Wikipedia writes that the style does not use dance movements.
Training
According to Azlyn Ahmad Zawawi, the material is arranged into a systematic three-tier curriculum that stresses effective learning in a short time. Hamdan et al. (2025) state that Silat Kalimah, which Yahya Said opened as a separate association, has twenty-seven buah instead of twenty-one and has no Peringkat Asas, and that the Sistem Peringkat Asas was devised only by Hanafi Ahmad. The authors of the article are members of other organisations, so this is a critical view.
Ranks and progression
Hamdan et al. (2025) describe three tiers. Peringkat 1 Upacara Ijazah Asas comprises Peringkat Asas, twenty-one buah menanti shown at half speed without jatuhan, and Peringkat Jatuh with full movements including jatuhan or kuncian. Peringkat 2 Upacara Ijazah Potong teaches four to five attacks by which all twenty-one buah menanti are mastered. Peringkat 3 Upacara Ijazah Tamat teaches one Buah Serang, the kaedah Enam Tolak Enam and training against other martial arts. We have not found coloured belts in the sources.
Today
According to Bernama of 27 December 2025, the first demonstration of Kedah Malay silat and Silat Cekak Pantomime took place in Alor Setar on Medan Bandar for the sixtieth anniversary of Silat Cekak, with practitioners from the Tunas Cekak programme. In 2024 RTM announced a film about Hanafi's contribution to the Malay martial arts, to be released in 2025 for the sixtieth anniversary, in cooperation with Yayasan Ustaz Hanafi Ahmad. According to Malay Wikipedia, PSSCM was led by Tuan Haji Ishak bin Itam from 1986 to 2009 and since 2009 it has been led by Datuk Haji Maideen bin Kadir Shah. The school's website mentions Kejohanan Wajadiri PSSCM Ke-11, that is a competition organised by the association.
Did you know
Janudin and Asnarulkhadi (2020) state that PSSCM explains the word Secekak as Segenggam, a symbol of the unity of members, in line with the expression Makan Cekak in the sense of responsibility. Malay Wikipedia explains cekak as mencakar or to grasp an opponent. The Malaysian inventory JWN lists Cekak among the great names of silat schools alongside Gayang Lima, Gayung, Pulut, Bunga, Harimau, Sendi Naga, Cimande, Kuntau and Hamboran.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Silat Cekak?
The sources differ. RTM calls Hanafi Ahmad pengasas and UUM writes that he founded Silat Cekak, Malay Wikipedia calls him a reviver who revived the silat. According to Janudin and Yusoff, Yahya Said passed it on to Hanafi.
What happened on 28 December 1965?
According to Janudin and Yusoff (2019) and Hamdan et al. (2025), Yahya Said taught a group of twenty pupils in the house of Shafie Darus in Alor Setar. According to the former, Hanafi asked him to.
What ranks does Silat Cekak have?
Hamdan et al. (2025) describe three tiers of ijazah: Asas, Potong and Tamat. The first comprises twenty-one buah menanti. We have not found coloured belts in the sources.
What does cekak mean?
PSSCM explains Secekak as Segenggam, a symbol of the unity of members. Malay Wikipedia gives mencakar or to grasp an opponent.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.