Silat Body Conditioning & Esoteric Teachings

Satria Fighting Arts is a Pencak Silat system passed down by Sat Guru Ma Prem to her student Steven Benitez. Among the many Silat systems of Southeast Asia, this one traces to the royal palaces of ancient Nusantara, where it was practiced by the Kshatriyas — the warriors who protected the palaces and the priests who carried the sacred texts and the Dharma. A student of Guru Ma did not learn Silat alone; the training encompassed the sacred texts, therapy and healing, meditation, and the esoterics as one indivisible art.

This course introduces both halves of that art. The first is conditioning. It comprises six lessons drawn from the full 40-lesson SFA Conditioning Course, together with two videos from the SFA seminars, chosen to show the correlation between the postures, the motion of the art, and its application in basic self-defense. The conditioning develops a strong foundational base of strength that serves any martial art or physical discipline, and it teaches how to train on the ground using one's own body weight and natural body mechanics — a fundamental principle of the system.

The second half is an introduction to the esoterics, comprising the first four lessons of the Kejawen Esoteric Course. In this tradition the esoteric aspect carries the soul of the art. It concerns numerology and the workings of life and nature; the distinction between the true Self and the false self; the operation of karma; the reading of times and seasons; and the universal laws and how to work with them. The lessons are practical as well as philosophical, offered as principles a practitioner can apply directly toward a more peaceful and harmonious life.