Hello and if you’re a member of the Silat Community. I’m either going to give you something to think about, or I’m going to really piss you off. Either way, I’ll be telling the truth and the truth does hurt a lot. Some go get some whisky (not a spelling error), or your little security blanket and settle in for a good read.
When I was training in an unknown style of martial arts call Cimande Silat, and Poekoelan Tjimindie, there wasn’t many teachers of this system. So, finding a qualified teacher was hard to find because no one knew that Silat was, and so few teachers of the system. Today, a lot of people claim to teach Silat, but it is still just as hard to find a qualified teacher that was trained by a qualified instructor and not YouTube.
The number of instructors to teach the art of Silat has grown by a large number since the 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s. The problem with a lot of instructors is that they want to be the only qualified instructor in their area, but they're not. So how does some instructor combat this? Easy, just claim that the Master of the Silat or Kuntao system does Kung Fu and not Silat. Even better, just bad mouth the dead Silat or Kuntao Masters. It’s not like they can could back and kick your ass.
The younger Silat instructors has their ways of claiming they're the truly qualified over everyone else. Just go to Indonesia and train for a week or so. Then you can claim that instructors that learned their system in the US are to disconnected from the true art of Silat to be a “REAL” Silat instructor. However, be careful not to include your instructor(s) in your claims of superiority. If called on your load of horse shit, just ignore the person, or apologize and talk in circle on how this doesn’t mean the pissed off instructor. If they’re still extremely pissed off at you, tell them to remember Hormat even though you didn’t.
If you’re a new instructor, try still this. Find a qualified Silat Instructor to train you. Then take that knowledge to impress other instructors more popular than your own instructor. Make them think you’re learning this for the first time, and you can very quickly pick it up and remember it. Before you leave the seminar, make sure you get a photo of you and that teacher to put on your wall to impress others. Because being associated and trained by a badass, means you’re a badass until it’s time to do what badasses do.
I challenge the Silat Community to help each other, raise each other up, and use your knife to cut the tie burdening other instructors instead of stabbing them in the back. Be out for someone other than yourself. I have done so much for this community behind the scenes that no one would ever know. I didn’t do it for fame or a pat on the back. I did it to help others, and the community. I’ve given advice, mentorship, drawing logos, proof viewing and reading of materials, and much more.
I challenge the Silat, and the martial arts community to do something out of love for the arts to help their fellow students and/or instructors. I challenge you to promote the art and not just yourself. I challenge you to be a better person.
When I was training in an unknown style of martial arts call Cimande Silat, and Poekoelan Tjimindie, there wasn’t many teachers of this system. So, finding a qualified teacher was hard to find because no one knew that Silat was, and so few teachers of the system. Today, a lot of people claim to teach Silat, but it is still just as hard to find a qualified teacher that was trained by a qualified instructor and not YouTube.
The number of instructors to teach the art of Silat has grown by a large number since the 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s. The problem with a lot of instructors is that they want to be the only qualified instructor in their area, but they're not. So how does some instructor combat this? Easy, just claim that the Master of the Silat or Kuntao system does Kung Fu and not Silat. Even better, just bad mouth the dead Silat or Kuntao Masters. It’s not like they can could back and kick your ass.
The younger Silat instructors has their ways of claiming they're the truly qualified over everyone else. Just go to Indonesia and train for a week or so. Then you can claim that instructors that learned their system in the US are to disconnected from the true art of Silat to be a “REAL” Silat instructor. However, be careful not to include your instructor(s) in your claims of superiority. If called on your load of horse shit, just ignore the person, or apologize and talk in circle on how this doesn’t mean the pissed off instructor. If they’re still extremely pissed off at you, tell them to remember Hormat even though you didn’t.
If you’re a new instructor, try still this. Find a qualified Silat Instructor to train you. Then take that knowledge to impress other instructors more popular than your own instructor. Make them think you’re learning this for the first time, and you can very quickly pick it up and remember it. Before you leave the seminar, make sure you get a photo of you and that teacher to put on your wall to impress others. Because being associated and trained by a badass, means you’re a badass until it’s time to do what badasses do.
I challenge the Silat Community to help each other, raise each other up, and use your knife to cut the tie burdening other instructors instead of stabbing them in the back. Be out for someone other than yourself. I have done so much for this community behind the scenes that no one would ever know. I didn’t do it for fame or a pat on the back. I did it to help others, and the community. I’ve given advice, mentorship, drawing logos, proof viewing and reading of materials, and much more.
I challenge the Silat, and the martial arts community to do something out of love for the arts to help their fellow students and/or instructors. I challenge you to promote the art and not just yourself. I challenge you to be a better person.