Traditional Malay Wood Carving - Wood carving is traditional with many cultures in the world and influence eachother worldwide, woodcarvers are seen as artists who have a mystical affinity with wood.
Bulatan dan Badek - The Bulatan (circle) and Badek stand for Duri and the actual weapon Duri.
Hitam dan Merah - The Ikhtiar arms features 2 colors representing Dua. Hitam (black) is the highest level of proficiency. No snobbery intended here. It just means: full knowledge of the system. No more, no less.
Merah (red) is the colour of Ikhtiar Bela Diri. Red is the symbol of courage and sacrifice.
It is the only colour name that can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European word 'reudh'.
Ribbon - The ribbons entangling the weapons represent Sentuhan and Pengangan.
2 ribbons are featured, representing Dua.
Badek (or Badik) - The Badek stands for Duri. The Badek is one of the many Bugis weapons. It is believed to originate from Java, Indonesia. It is characterized by a single edge blade with a straight back and a distinctive curved hilt. The Ikhtiar arms features 2 Badek representing Dua.
Tombak - The Tombak in the Ikhtiar arms stand for Akhir. The Tombak (Java) or Lembing (Malaysia) is a spear and is an older weapon than the Keris. It is said that the first Keris was a Tombak mounted on a short hilt. The featuring of 2 Tombak represents Dua.
Bugis keris with Java style hilt. The Bugis people travelled and lived in many places in Indonesia and Malaysia. WIth them they took a wide range of weaponry and influenced and dominated design and weapon philosophy. The Bugis were feared warriors and had skilled craftsmen making armored clothing and weapons. The 'Bugismannen' spread great fear amongst the Dutch forces in Malaka in Malaysia and Java in Indonesia with their nightly attacks. For many generations Dutch children where told that if they where naughty, the Bugisman would come to get them at night. Dutch people who went to live in the Americas took this with them. The word changed into 'Boogieman' and the rest is history.
European Saber - The preffered weapon of the cavalry Inspired by weaponry of the Hungarian light horsemen (hussars) who derived the weapon from the scimitar of the Ottoman Empire. The sabre featured here is a North-West European design with a double edged blade and not the later foil type blade. It was considered the weapon of a gentleman. Fencing requires great skill and rapid inter-exchange of attack and defence characteristics. Big movement is made with minimum muscle power, small movement with use of the wrist.
