▁hand sign ▁apparently ▁ro bb ed ▁from ▁the ▁Chinese ▁in ▁which ▁the ▁left ▁hand ▁clas ps ▁the ▁right ▁f ist . ▁Despite ▁illegal ▁claims ▁have ▁been ▁made , ▁it ▁is ▁still ▁being ▁used ▁in ▁Dutch ▁East ▁Ind ies . ▁In ▁the ▁context ▁of ▁sil at , ▁the ▁f ist ▁symbol ises ▁mart ial ▁skill ▁while ▁the ▁opposite ▁hand ▁is ▁a ▁sign ▁of ▁cour tes y ▁and ▁cam ar ader ie . ▁This ▁is ▁meant ▁to ▁convey ▁mut ual ▁respect ▁and ▁shows ▁that ▁the ▁f igh ters ▁are ▁willing ▁to ▁learn ▁from ▁each ▁other . ▁Like ▁the ▁nam aste ▁it ▁rec alls ▁the ▁idea ▁of ▁du ality . ▁A ▁few ▁systems , ▁such ▁as ▁sil at ▁P att ani , ▁may ▁have ▁their ▁own ▁form ▁of ▁sal ut ation ▁unique ▁to ▁that ▁particular ▁system . ▁ ▁St ances ▁and ▁foot work ▁ ▁Every ▁style ▁of ▁sil at ▁incorpor ates ▁multi - level ▁fighting ▁st ances ▁( s ik ap ▁pas ang ), ▁or ▁pres et ▁post ures ▁meant ▁to ▁provide ▁the ▁foundation ▁for ▁remaining ▁stable ▁while ▁in ▁motion . ▁The ▁horse ▁st ance ▁( ke k uda ) ▁is ▁the ▁most ▁essential ▁post ure , ▁common ▁to ▁many ▁Asian ▁mart ial ▁arts . ▁Begin ners ▁once ▁had ▁to ▁practice ▁this ▁st ance ▁for ▁long ▁periods ▁of ▁time , ▁sometimes ▁as ▁many ▁as ▁four ▁hours , ▁but ▁today ' s ▁pract ition ers ▁train ▁until ▁it ▁can ▁be ▁easily ▁held ▁for ▁at ▁least ▁ten ▁minutes . ▁St ances ▁are ▁taught ▁in ▁tan dem ▁with ▁lang