Guru Edwardo St Panduko Guci, born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra in June 1973, embarked on his martial arts journey at the local Kung-Fu school after Bruce Lee mania swept into Indonesia. However, it wasn’t until his father sent him to his home village on the shores of Lake Maninjau to receive injury treatment from his uncle, who also happened to be a Shaman, that Ed discovered his native Silek in 1989. Eager to showcase what he had learned from Kung-Fu, Ed confidently demonstrated his skills to his elder relative, only to be consistently countered and put to the floor by his uncle. This shocking and embarrassing experience prompted the young Edwardo to give up Kung-Fu and pursue a deeper understanding of his native Minangkabau Martial Arts, starting with learning his uncle’s Style of Silek Balam.

This transformative journey led Ed to extensively travel across the region of West Sumatra, engaging in research, discovery, and training with numerous masters of Minangkabau Silek. To support his exploration, he would take a guitar and perform music on buses, earning meager funds for survival during this period of profound investigation. Throughout his encounters, Ed noticed a distinct line of similarity among the various styles he encountered, with minor variations in movement and training methods.

In 2002, Ed crossed paths with Johnny Silmon in Bukittinggi, establishing an immediate connection. Although they lost contact around 2005, the advent of social media facilitated their reconnection in late 2009. With several training and research trips together throughout West Sumatra and West Java, Johnny support Ed to co-host the successful Minangkabau Silek Camps in 2013 and 2014.  The camps were rebranded as the Minangkabau Silek Retreat for the 2017 event with Ed being Chairman.  The 2019  event, also in Padang Panjang, was supported by the local government and received great reviews and regional press

As an authentic and straightforward teacher of Silek Minang, Guru Ed is highly sought after. He has imparted his knowledge in Malaysia and plans are underway for his inaugural visit to the U.K. in 2024. Additionally, he serves as the W.A.I ‘on the ground’ researcher, frequently traveling to remote corners of the archipelago to connect with hidden teachers and meticulously document rare forms of Indonesian Warrior Arts.