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;D . . . thanks!
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I've been thinking a lot about this recently. (Most of it focusing around the arguments on Silat.tv.)It's a funny thing that we study martial arts, which mostly require a) knowledge and b) practice, but since we can't do much of the first on the internet, and we can't do any of the second, we go through long stretches where we have nothing to say to each other.I'm hoping the other members will join me in coming up with ways we can use this forum to keep ourselves on track and studying, even through those rough spots where regular life gets in our way.I think the Peer Review Group will really help us with this, not just for the sake of direct review, but also to spur us on to practice as well. I know I work much harder when I have people to interact with.
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Hi Mas Jonty,Are you re-located yet?I don't know what is going on on Silat.TV.
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I'm fully relocated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I even have a job insulating houses, which gives me a surprising amount of opportunity to practice both Harimau legwork and long blade technique.I know there are some other members in this area, and hopefully we will be able to connect with and form practice groups.The trouble on Silat.tv, unfortunately, mostly revolves around Willem Dethouars. He has been flooding the site with long, rambling hate mail, and people have chosen to deal with it by responding in kind. It's best to avoid it, I think, except as a learning experience.I think the encouragement is important. It's easy to lose track of your practice when you are alone, so logging on and sharing a few words with other practitioners is wonderful. Those of us who remember the days before the internet know what a blessing it can be when used properly.Anyone else remember having to order VHS tapes from the back of a martial arts magazine? Or sending off for a catalog. They'd show up 3 weeks later, and you'd have no idea what was worth ordering until it arrived.
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Glad to hear you are settled in.
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::)"Holy Cheese and Crackers" as Pak Vic would exclaim!Man, I'm sorry to see Willem acting in such a void of integrity.
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I too got every one of the comments posted by Willem. Rough stuff going on over there! A split in the family where Vic and Willem are fighting with Paul and the students and instructors are threatening each other with physical violence!! No thanks I love my family on this side of the tracks. How the hell can you focus and learn and progress when there is a constant bombardment of strife.
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:'(
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😮 Nice perspective!Sigung Steve has told me some of that, and I've heard others allude to those 'facts.'Sigung told me that the most difficult part of putting together the Distance Learning Program is that Willem always wanted to mislead the DLP people, so we could all tell who taught them.
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I'm excited about Stevan Plinck teaching more openly, and even producing more videos. As a former VDT student, who went through more than one teacher, curriculum, etc., I'd like to see something solid and honest.Pak Vic changed the curriculum several times while I was a student. He'd add a new secret level whenever all his lineage holders either quit or were kicked out, just so he could say "They didn't learn the whole system." I'll always respect and love Pak Vic, but I have chosen to never relate to the DeThouars brothers again. I spent at least a third of all my study time and money keeping up with the new versions of the lineage story, or who has been permanently expunged from the system.Serak fits me like a glove, but I may never finish my studies if someone doesn't step forward and ignore the politics.
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Hello,I was unaware of all of the "politics" within the system and reading this thread has opened my eyes. Still, I feel right at home here as I come from Wing Chun which is also very much infected with infighting. It must be a Chinese tradition to teach students the wrong way and keep the "real" knowledge for the chosen few, as it seems to be a often encountered technique. Although, to be fair, most of the "real" techniques were the same with minor differences. When I left my first WT Organization I was also threatened if I ever taught anyone. I was also told that all of my ranking was now voided. I remember laughing as I told then that they could void my rank within the system/organization but could not take back the knowledge I had gained. It is sad to see when family does not get along. However, that mirrors life as well since many families outside of the arts also do not get along. I believe this is part of the curse as well as a result of the "confounding of mans language at the Tower of Babel". Perhaps by keeping us in strife it insures that we will never ever see our full potential. Neither as man nor as martial artists. Anyhow, sorry for the rant. I just wanted to let y'all know that Wing Chun and its infighting is far worse in many ways. The bottom line for any of us, IMHO, is to train and move onward to better ourselves. To hold no ill towards one another and to strive to be the best we can be. One thing that our "family" can do which is of benefit no matter what, is to hold each of us accountable, but to do so out of a spirit of love and not anger or hate. I know I am a lazy one who does better with someone holding me to task..............though that does not mean I like it
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Well, that's good news!
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It might be said that Sigung Steve's opinion on his title doesn't count.[Bear with me, I'm not being rude.]We could say that titles such as "master" have lost their value because people declare themselves to be master, or because their students give the title to their teacher out of blind respect or adoration.Perhaps it's time that these titles are bestowed by other knowledgeable practitioners who are in a position to make that judgment. Perhaps the Sigung or the Sijo should be reluctant to take the title.Just a thought. I'd love to hear what other people think. We're in a position here to fix what isn't working.
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😮
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