Guru Muthalief showing some of the subtleties of
Raja Sterlak to Guru Cruicchi - 1978

I have been recently informed that Guru Muthalief passed away about 5 years ago.

To start off, not much is known about the origins of Sterlak Silat. Or, at least not much is publicly known about this art. Which is odd in many ways because there are many other styles of Silat which contain Sterlak methods within them. The most basic thing that can be said about Sterlak Silat is that it was designed to defeat the more popular Harimau style of Silat and, according to the late Donn Draeger, resembles the Chinese Xing Yi system. For sure it is a very direct style that emphasizes the powerful attacking of an opponent. One of the well-known sayings of Sterlak is: "If an elephant gets in my way, I knock it down!".

As for the actual history of Sterlak the bulk of what I know was supplied to me by Guro O'ong Maryono, a respected silat historian, pracitioner, teacher and author. Below is the history as it was presented too me by Guro O'ong Maryono: Sadly, there is not much information available about Silat Starlak. I have heard from some pendekar in Indonesia that the Starlak/Sterlak style originated from Kamang, Agam Regency of West Sumatra by Ulud Bagindo Chatib (1865). From there it spread to the Indonesian archipelago and to Semenanjung (Malaysia). The founder or "Grand Master" of the Starlak style was Tuanku Syech Habibullah (master of tarekat/sufism). Silat Starlak is not to be used for competition, but rather for self-defense and spiritual growth. Nowadays this style can still be found in the Sawahlunnto Regency, a province of West Sumatra. In other parts of Indonesia it is difficult to find practitioners of this old style among the young generation. However, more recent styles are influenced by silat Starlak, such as Persaudaraan Setia Hati in Java.

Another silat practitioner and historian has said that the name Sterlak is descended from the Dutch words Staart Laag which means to "begin below/render". This may or may not be true.

As for Guro Cruicchi's lineage... He was introduced to his Indian teacher by his friend of many years Donn Draeger. Guru Abdul Muthalief's lineage is unknown. Guro Cruicchi hopes to travel to Malaysia this year (2001) to complete his studies in Ilmu and see what other information he can learn. For sure there is more to be learned of the intellectual inheritence that Guro Cruicchi and I share. For Adat and Hormat to be given it is necessary that we continue to try and learn as much as we can. If you have questions concerning any of the information or would like to contribute any information please feel free to drop us an e-mail. I cannot guarantee any answer regarding questions submitted but I will do my best.

Murid Sean Stark