Someone recently asked me if I was "worried about putting my material on DVD" because people would steal it?
Well, there was a time when I wouldn't have put the information out and certainly wouldn't have made it available to everyone but somewhere along the line, my thoughts on the subject changed...
First, people are typically, not very honorable. I know that is an aspersion against the whole rather than the few who are obviously dishonorable, but there are few of us that are without flaw. Those flaws manifest themselves in little things most of the time. This is just a principle of life. For it is within the little things that we can see the flaws of larger things. So for instance, would a person who cheats on their taxes today, when they have little, do so when they have much? Yes, and probably much more.
Well, this is also a reality concerning those who try to shortcut training. If you are trying to find a shortcut by "stealing" material and claiming it as your own, or trying to bypass real training for superficial training, the reality will show itself eventually IMO.
Second, I don't worry much about stealing my material since the majority isn't mine to begin with. I've added quite a bit, but within the martial arts, there are few "secret techniques" (which is about all someone not studying the system would get) therefore, there's not much to steal. The primary secret technique within MA is training and lots of it.
Third, for someone looking at the material as a quick fix to their martial dilemma, PSP won't help them much. I recently had someone contact me who was interested in PSP because he felt that he really needed more help in entering. He assured me that he had good hands, good trapping, good kicking, good grappling, blah, blah, blah. I in turn, assured him, that based on how he was communicating, I couldn't teach him. He was already set in what he knew for the most part, and I'm not interested in trying to fit my materials into his context. This is what the majority of people who steal from DVD's are trying to do. They will fall short, because PSP is a system of thought.
It isn't just about this piece or that piece, it is about the entirety. Furthermore, as those who have studied with me personally can attest to, what you might see on the DVD does not quite communicate the reality of the methods, principles, movements, etcetera. Be assured, I've tried to be very careful to communicate it all via the DVD's and books, but it is still yet again, seemingly quite different in person. This is because, words don't always have the same meanings for everyone and our brains don't process movement the same way, and we are all cognitively different in our make up. As such, once you have studied with me, and then you go back and view the materials again or read the material again, you will understand them differently. Same words, same movements - deeper and more meaningful.
When you train, context is everything. When you read this, context is everything.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Explosiveness in Pencak Silat - Part 4
This will probably be the final piece of the explosiveness topic for now. It's taken much longer to put out to you all than I had planned.
Being explosive with footwork is something that few arts seem to address as a whole. Yet, there are a few arts out there which do address footwork as being of importance. Often the methods outlined for teaching footwork though are devoid of any discussion of becoming explosive and focus more on patterns of movement. In pencak silat and escrima for instance, there is a focus on langkah.
In many styles, there are a plethora of langkah to learn and in other styles there are but a few. Still in other styles there may even be pancar or platforms for the pesilat to learn more about footwork. These are all good and necessary to learn and can truly help your pencak silat but they often still lack the element of understanding that leads to explosiveness.
One of the primary methods of explosive footwork within the context of Pencak Silat Pertempuran is to put energy into your feet to propel you. You can do this in a couple of primary ways. For instance, stomping your feet is a basic method which can get your body moving quickly and can be combined with the next method rather than using it in isolation. One aspect to this method that can also be used is the ability to fall or use gravity to add to the stomping. It can appear to be a quick leaning forward in which the foot is not all that apparantly involved, or it can clearly incorporate the movement of the foot. It is situational and depends on the distance that needs to be covered however, either version tend to set you in motion by the same basic principle of movement described in the following version.
A second method might be to imagine yourself a sprinter preparing to start a race. Most of us have seen how a sprinter does this and few sprinters vary from this method because it sets your body up to be explosive and to propel you forward. By simply moving your lead foot backward and keeping your heel raised you set your body in motion forward.
With a little practice you can learn to combine both the first and the second method in conjunction with each other to create a good explosive foot entry.
Being explosive with footwork is something that few arts seem to address as a whole. Yet, there are a few arts out there which do address footwork as being of importance. Often the methods outlined for teaching footwork though are devoid of any discussion of becoming explosive and focus more on patterns of movement. In pencak silat and escrima for instance, there is a focus on langkah.
In many styles, there are a plethora of langkah to learn and in other styles there are but a few. Still in other styles there may even be pancar or platforms for the pesilat to learn more about footwork. These are all good and necessary to learn and can truly help your pencak silat but they often still lack the element of understanding that leads to explosiveness.
One of the primary methods of explosive footwork within the context of Pencak Silat Pertempuran is to put energy into your feet to propel you. You can do this in a couple of primary ways. For instance, stomping your feet is a basic method which can get your body moving quickly and can be combined with the next method rather than using it in isolation. One aspect to this method that can also be used is the ability to fall or use gravity to add to the stomping. It can appear to be a quick leaning forward in which the foot is not all that apparantly involved, or it can clearly incorporate the movement of the foot. It is situational and depends on the distance that needs to be covered however, either version tend to set you in motion by the same basic principle of movement described in the following version.
A second method might be to imagine yourself a sprinter preparing to start a race. Most of us have seen how a sprinter does this and few sprinters vary from this method because it sets your body up to be explosive and to propel you forward. By simply moving your lead foot backward and keeping your heel raised you set your body in motion forward.
With a little practice you can learn to combine both the first and the second method in conjunction with each other to create a good explosive foot entry.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Pencak Silat Training Camp - 2007
KELUARGA 2007
Theme: No. I don't play nice!
Location: Des Moines, IA
Length: 3 Days of training
Date: Aug 3-5, 2007
Cost for Training: $180
Hotel: Heartlands Inn - link: http://www.heartlandinns.com/loc_DesMoinesAirport.php
Room Rate: $67.50 per room, per night, plus tax for a traditional
room with one king size bed or two queen size beds.
10 Rooms set aside (8 Doubles, 2 Singles)
Group name: Keluarga (ask for Keluarga Rate when you book a room to get the special rate. Also, please let Jay know if you book a room so if we need more we can add some AND you must book them at least 2 weeks before the event to get the special rate. You can't wait until the last minute.)
Complimentary Breakfast Daily 4:30-10am (hot and cold items)
Wireless Internet
Pillowtop Mattresses in Every Room
Indoor Swimming Pool and Fitness Center
Complimentary Evening Snacks
24 Hour Airport Shuttle Service
Airlines:
American,
Comair,
Continental,
Midwest Connect,
Northwest,
Skywest,
United,
US Airways
Car Rental:
Recommended by Jay - Enterprise (at the airport)
Event Information:
Plan on tuning up your pencak silat. We will work on:
PSP fundamentals
jurus-jurus,
harimau-monyet,
applications - bela diri,
understanding and doing pencak silat movement,
connectivity of fundamentals to create techniques,
training methods,
weapons work,
Explosive Entries,
Level Testing,
various adhoc discussions on strategy, psp, philosophy, spirituality, pencak silat, leadership, teaching, and growth.
bonfire at Jay's
It's going to be a great three days of training to introduce people to PSP and help those who are midway and nearing the end of the general curriculum. As always, it's a great time to test. Don't wait for Keluarga, but if you can push a little to test in person is a great opportunity.
We will probably work play harder this year than in past years.
Equipment to bring:
MMA style training gloves,
Full face headgear,
kicking shields,
focus mitts,
training and "sharps" (pisau - knives),
Golok,
Looped sarong
Pay for the event by sending payment to pesilat@combat-silat.net via paypal to reserve your spot. We are looking to have around 20 people this year so get in before it's full.
If you have questions about ammenities, training location, car rentals, or event resources, contact Jay at ksmaguro@hotmail.com.
Event particulars, equipment, and questions related around partiicipation in the event should be sent to Guru Stark at pesilat@combat-silat.net.
Theme: No. I don't play nice!
Location: Des Moines, IA
Length: 3 Days of training
Date: Aug 3-5, 2007
Cost for Training: $180
Hotel: Heartlands Inn - link: http://www.heartlandinns.com/loc_DesMoinesAirport.php
Room Rate: $67.50 per room, per night, plus tax for a traditional
room with one king size bed or two queen size beds.
10 Rooms set aside (8 Doubles, 2 Singles)
Group name: Keluarga (ask for Keluarga Rate when you book a room to get the special rate. Also, please let Jay know if you book a room so if we need more we can add some AND you must book them at least 2 weeks before the event to get the special rate. You can't wait until the last minute.)
Complimentary Breakfast Daily 4:30-10am (hot and cold items)
Wireless Internet
Pillowtop Mattresses in Every Room
Indoor Swimming Pool and Fitness Center
Complimentary Evening Snacks
24 Hour Airport Shuttle Service
Airlines:
American,
Comair,
Continental,
Midwest Connect,
Northwest,
Skywest,
United,
US Airways
Car Rental:
Recommended by Jay - Enterprise (at the airport)
Event Information:
Plan on tuning up your pencak silat. We will work on:
PSP fundamentals
jurus-jurus,
harimau-monyet,
applications - bela diri,
understanding and doing pencak silat movement,
connectivity of fundamentals to create techniques,
training methods,
weapons work,
Explosive Entries,
Level Testing,
various adhoc discussions on strategy, psp, philosophy, spirituality, pencak silat, leadership, teaching, and growth.
bonfire at Jay's
It's going to be a great three days of training to introduce people to PSP and help those who are midway and nearing the end of the general curriculum. As always, it's a great time to test. Don't wait for Keluarga, but if you can push a little to test in person is a great opportunity.
We will probably work play harder this year than in past years.
Equipment to bring:
MMA style training gloves,
Full face headgear,
kicking shields,
focus mitts,
training and "sharps" (pisau - knives),
Golok,
Looped sarong
Pay for the event by sending payment to pesilat@combat-silat.net via paypal to reserve your spot. We are looking to have around 20 people this year so get in before it's full.
If you have questions about ammenities, training location, car rentals, or event resources, contact Jay at ksmaguro@hotmail.com.
Event particulars, equipment, and questions related around partiicipation in the event should be sent to Guru Stark at pesilat@combat-silat.net.
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