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Hello all!
This is Jonathan Pyndus down in Houston, Texas. I’m currently working on getting a space set up at a dojo for a formal Kuntao Silat class, but if anyone is interested in meeting up to train beforehand, let me know!
You can reach me via Jon@kuntaosilat.com.
Looking forward to training with everyone!
Jonathan Pyndus
Guru Muda Malabar Kuntao Silat -
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Howdy!
Not to resurrect a dead thread, but I also have a question about Ling Sing Toi!
In the only video I have seen of the form (with Guru Ted Garcia), Guru Garcia turns away from the camera during the last section of the form. I recognize he starts with Tiger circles then transitions into Twin Dragon strikes, but what is the last set of movements he is doing? His body obscures his movements, although it sounds like he is slapping/striking his own body in some way.
Is there another video of this form out there from a different angle?Any and all clarification is appreciated 🙂
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Howdy gents,
If I may add my two cents as a graduate level student of/future practitioner of Traditional Oriental Medicine:
Sigung Aric’s methods hit the nail on the head when it comes to the how. I have met/seen/tried many different versions of “Iron Skills” having been fortunate to grow up around a lot of different martial artists. Each school of karate, Gong fu, etc has its own theories and progressions, but the one sticking point I feel obligated to share is that having good Dit Da Jow/Dia Da Jiu is CRITICAL for preventing injuries later on.
According to Oriental Medicine, bruises and abrasions, particularly INSIDE the joints block the Qi/Ki flow of the meridians, which can lead to serious consequences later on. Most Dit Da Jow recipes are based upon a basic formula that breaks up bruises and promotes wound healing.
In the older theories, it is interesting to note that as a martial artist progresses through his iron skills, his skin should be tough but soft, his bones hard but his joints supple. You should not necessarily have a lot of obvious callous or scar tissue. Rather you should present “iron wrapped in silk.” I have actually met men who have this and it is amazing: their hands look almost dainty in their old age, but they can break stones with their fingers.
Make sure that as you practice Iron Skills, you apply Dit Da Jow before and after each training (I prefer to ere on the side of caution, some schools say only before or after). Getting regular massages is good too.
If you are looking for a reliable dealer of Dit Da Jow, I recommend Shen Martial Arts. They have an online store that should pop up on a google search that stocks formulas from several different styles across China, Japan, and Korea. Maybe Pak Steve can check it out and recommend a particular formula that seems closest to what we might need?
Regards,
Jonathan -
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Sounds good to me! I definitely like the no-nonsense approach.
I always find it fascinating how the different cultures and their martial arts approach similar ideas. For example: Shaolin Kung Fu likes to use locks to control or immobilize, whereas old style Japanese arts throw the person into the lock so that they break as they fall and are crippled, modern sport arts focus on compliance or “submission” etc.I managed to get a video of my current progress on Langkas Dua up on Vimeo. It is still pretty rough, but I am really enjoying that form and looking forward to any advice you can give me!
The audio on the video isn’t the best because of how windy it was on the coast, so I apologize! -
Wow, it must be nice to already know it all lol
Thanks for the answers! I didn’t realize that a Tibetan teacher was in the lineage. Most excellent!
I have really been enjoying the Kendang forms…they seem short and simple but there is a LOT going on inside each one.
Pak Steve, I noticed that most of the videos that show you using wrist or elbow locks to throw people tend to be Kuntao rather than Silat. When practicing Kendang Silat, should I look for openings for locks as I enter, or wait until the person is down and then break them against my horse/tiger stance?
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Wow! I can’t believe that there aren’t any questions!
Here’s a few:
What made you decide to make Kendang Silat the primary Silat base for Kuntao Silat?
Do we know which systems of Bagua, Taiji, and HsingI that our Indonesian lineage was derived from? (Yang, Chen, Gao, etc?)
In Kuntao Silat, where is the gaze directed?
Blessings!
Jonathan -
Pak Gartin,
Thank you for your thorough and insightful reply! And much gratitude for the promotion. I am humbled by your compliments! I really wasn’t planning to try testing until August!
Please nit pick away! I want to get better, and it is double important to have the details drilled in when the master isn’t immediately present!
The martial arts as a whole have truly become watered down here in the west…and from what I have seen and heard in much of the East as well. This is a point I always try to share, albeit gently, with my friends who do not study more “rigorous” systems like Kuntao Silat or Koryu Bujutsu. I realized fairly young that there is a whole world out there beyond what you see at the strip mall, and I have endeavored since to try to follow the Old Ways as best I can!
As to my Sensei’s exposure to Silat, all I know is that it was late 70s, perhaps early 80s. Evidently, at least one of these seminars was a summit or gathering where teachers like Jhoon Rhee and Remy Presas were all present, sharing their respective arts. Perhaps it was a kempo seminar of some sort: I know that Sensei’s teacher, a man named Dr. Lonnie Green, was always cross training with men like Bong Soo Han of Hapkido and Nakayama of Shotokan, so it isn’t unreasonable that he would have also gone to Kempo seminars.When I see Sensei next week I will inquire further.
I am very lucky to have parents who are still in good health and are motivated to stay that way. If only more people realized that life should not merely be a mindless shambling from one entertainment to the next.
I hope yours is a relaxing weekend! Enjoy all that summer Yang qi!
Blessings and regards,
Jonathan Pyndus -
Pak Steve,
Sorry it took me so long to hop onto the forum to check what was going on: it’s the busy life a grad student who works part time I am afraid! And trains constantly 😉
I am honored that my simple letter has become a part of the conversation stream!
And blessings to you and your house as well!
To elaborate a little more on my view of Video Training:
Not tooting my own horn, but I’ll elaborate on my background so that when I say that the DLP and GCC have value, people will see that I have some experience to stand on.
Like yourself sir, I started in Traditional, rough and tumble Taekwondo as a boy. Unfortunately, most people these days will have no idea what that means, as TaeKwonDo has largely become a fast food martial art with lots of calories and no nutrition, but that’s a different rant…I eventually become an instructor and have worked to preserve what I was given to my teacher’s current generation of students as best I can (boy do they hate iron forearm training and knuckle pushups!).
Through my graduate program in Traditional Chinese Medicine, I’ve been able to study Shaolin Gongfu and Yang Taijiquan of the Yang Jwing Ming lineage for free (why more of my schoolmates don’t take advantage of this I will never understand), which has given me a wonderful foundation in understanding the principles of the Chinese arts! They are beautiful to behold, deep as the ocean, and deadly as a viper in the hands of a true adept. I am humbled to just be around such people.
Taekwondo and Gongfu aside, I am predominately a student of classical Japanese martial arts (i.e. traditional combat arts not post Meiji restoration sport arts) who has been blessed with the chance to train in Japan several times (and am going back later this year).
In fact, it is one of my teachers in these arts (who is among the seniors in the world in the organization), who pulled me aside a year and a half ago and began teaching me Naga Monyet Kuntao Silat, as he had learned it alongside his karate/judo/kali master during a series of seminars and classes with the De Thouars brothers in the 1970s (does this older style name mean anything to you now?) Despite eventually focusing on the Koryu Japanese arts, he has held the Indonesian teachings in equal reverence and was able to show me how both cultures teach the same principles but in a different and complementary way. All roads lead to Rome if properly traveled. Needless to say I’m hooked.That’s how I fell backwards into the distance learning program. I was looking for reference material to practice what I had been shown, and when I ordered the DVDs I realized I had been enrolled in the Guru Certification Course. I was skeptical that I could acquire real skill without a teacher constantly correcting and guiding me, but fairly quickly I saw the value of the fast forward, slow motion, and rewind that a life teacher doesn’t have 😛 Plus, this method forces the student to ponder and observe himself with ever greater attention to error.
So I’m a believer. Anyone can benefit from training in the Guru Certification program. While having a background in other martial arts definitely helps, I think it comes down to discipline and dedication. Just do the work.
We live in a world where access to information on virtually any subject is open and available. This is unprecedented in known history. So we owe it to ourselves, our ancestors, and our descendants to study, embody, preserve, and pass on the martial arts (as well as healing arts, true religion and philosophy, craftsmanship, music and art, etc) to the next generation, because someday someone’s life is going to depend upon the martial arts. As Pak Steve said, our world is crumbling before us, and people seem too wrapped up in the Kardashians to pay attention.
Anywhoo, that’s just my two cents. Take it for what it’s worth.
A couple of quick questions for Pak Steve and any of the Gurus present:
I’m focusing on Malabar, but can a student study both Malabar and American once we reach the stage where the arts diverge? I’ve been sharing the basic warm up with my mother (who is pushing 60) and she really digs hitting stuff with her elbows (she’s part Filipina-I’m convinced that’s a major part of it). But I know that the Malabar forms will probably end up being too tough on her, so I’d like to eventually jump into the Chang Style so I can still share with her and my Dad (who’s in his 60s but stills does burps, so I’m less worried about him).
On the list of stances on an earlier post: is the Turning Leopard the same as the leopard posture in Djurus Satu?
Anywhoo, thanks to anyone who read this far!
And much gratitude to Pak Steve and the Gurus for sharing their experience and knowledge!
Blessings,
Jonathan Pyndus -
Howdy, Jonathan here. We talked on Vimeo earlier Sigung.
Definitely keep me posted! So long as nothing crazy comes up in Grad School around then, I’ll be there 🙂
jon@kuntaosilat.com -
That’s why!
My PayPal account is linked to jjpyndus@sbcglobal.net. There is no paypal account for jon@kuntaosilat.com (I tried logging in just to be sure but there isn’t.)
Sorry about that.
Check your account. Your transfer to jon@kuntaosilat.com should have been rejected or not gone though. -
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Pak Steve,
I replied to this last week but it seems it did not post!
Thanks for your clarification. I’ll look forward to feeling Kuntao Silat gunting.
I personally encourage being unapologetically American, but that’s another conversation.
Out of curiosity, is there still work being done on a book or manual explaining all the basics and theoretically foundation for KTS in the works? It would be invaluable.
Did you get my last email 2 weeks ago? I’m afraid for some reason my posts and messages aren’t working!
Thanks!
Jonathan
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