Be Clear!

YOU could be teaching Combat Silat within two years.

Did you know that with a strategy, a little hope, and some sweat you can achieve your goals?

The majority of us do not think so out of the box crazy that we cannot achieve what we set our mind to. If you wanted to do the work, put in the time, and bust your ass, you could achieve the instructor level rank of Pelatih within 2 years!

I've already helped you more than you realize. I've provided materials that you can use as the basis of that study. I've provided the goal of Pelatih. I've provided the timeline of 2 years. The curriculum itself is attainable, organized, measurable, and relevant.

The only thing really left for you to do is take the lead on your own education and goals.

Here's how you do that:
1. Set up a strategy.
2. Then follow it. Do the work. Find the path that gets you there.
3. Set milestones along the way for your goals.
4. Think of what if scenarios. What if I my knee craps out? What if my elbow, shoulder, back gives out? What if my job changes? What if....? Make some contingency plans. Measure your risk areas.
5. Then, in the face of setbacks adjust your course. Keep pursuing. Be consistent and diligent.
6. Review your progress and see if it aligns with your goal. If not, adjust.

100% of this is consistent time and energy.
There are no secrets.
There is nothing esoteric. It is all exoteric.

But let's be honest, not all the people who travel through the doors of a training area want to teach or even should be teaching.

Perfect!

You should still have a goal. Do the work of giving yourself something measurable to work towards. Include a timeline for that progress. Part of that will be determining for yourself, what it is that you want from your attendance, from your sweat, from your effort.

It doesn't need to be a particular rank. The point of martial arts training is not a fixed destination in my opinion, but the journey involved. Get your mind wrapped around what it is that you are looking for. Is it personal growth? Physical health? Spiritual change? Combat efficacy? Development of grace, balance, and flexibility? Cultural attachment?

Meditate on your personal pursuit regularly. Define what you are looking to obtain. Be open to changing that as life changes, or as you mature in the arts.

Silat can be a journey that provides different things to different people, meeting you where you're at and giving you purpose or it can be as simple as something you do to develop one aspect of yourself. Do the work of figuring out what that is.

For example, you read through this and determine that you really have no interest in teaching but instead want to develop your combat efficacy. Great! Do you know why? Is it something you like because it seems cool to kick ass? Or do you live in an unsafe environment? Do you come from an abusive background?

You will benefit more from the act of meditating on your purpose of the pursuit than you can imagine. Burrow down and try to be specific. Truly meditate on it. Figure out what you are looking for in the pursuit. Only then can you make a sure target of your training and have a way to measure your journey, make adjustments, or completely flip.

Accidental learning is the slowest way to learn. Be intentional. It's no different than trying to find something you've misplaced. You think. You draw conclusions based on your thinking. Then you act accordingly. Adjusting your journey as you go, until you find the thing misplaced. And, just like a thing misplaced, if you don't know what you're looking for, it's pretty damned hard to find it!

Move with intention and as in an attack, have clarity of movement, clarity of target, and clarity of the results.

Sincerely,
Sean Stark
Pendiri--Combat Silat

PS: Just to clarify. I don't give any certification away. This is not a attend a seminar and get certified thing. I'm sorry, that it may sound like it in hindsight, but in the past 16 or 17 years of involvement in pencak silat. I've awarded a grand total of 3 people instructor level rank in Combat Silat. All have taken more than 3 years to earn the lower level instructor ranking. The majority around 4 actually. However, much of that has to do with life, the ebb and flow of desire, etc. It is doable in 2 years. IMO with the right combination, which is mostly dependent on you!

Big Picture of Pencak Silat Pertempuran

The last post I spoke about the name of Pencak Silat Pertempuran, it's foundations and reason for use.

in this blog post, I want to address one of the "Big Picture" ideas behind the formulation of PSP. There are several.

Pencak Silat Pertempuran was, and is, meant to be a workshop for pencak silat community for those who share in its foundation.

What does that mean? Everyone who participates in PSP has a legitimate stake in the direction and evolution of PSP. Likewise, it can, and will BE, whatever YOU make of it.

That said, it is my expectation that instructors of PSP will, not only grow themselves and their students skills, but that they will also bring that knowledge and growth back to the nucleus to be discussed, analyzed, dissected, and assimilated into the PSP curriculum. It is meant for the growth of all. I have shared my knowledge with you, be honorable and share your knowledge to me. Don't hoard it away or run off on your own, disappearing into the mist.

I don't expect robots in performance, in teaching, or in expression. The individual pesilat must bring themselves into PSP. By doing so, they are bound to see it differently, and their vision for it changes the course of PSP forever. That's the beauty and struggle of martial arts. 

There can be no doubt that I have ideas that I'm trying to communicate with the material and I've created a curriculum that is based on the sweat of generations, including my own BUT it is not sacred. If the curriculum needs to change, then let's change it—together! Don't criticize, instead critique and offer value. Help instead of harm. Do what's right instead of acting selfishly.

I have few expectations as the founder of Pencak Silat Pertempuran but I do have some. One expectation is the acknowledgment of where you learned and bringing your brothers and sisters within Pencak Silat Pertempuran (and other pesilat) along with you as you grow, or helping those struggling by giving them what they need. Likewise, this could include the greater pencak silat community.

I'm not looking for a kickback on your teaching and I won't strip away your instructor ranking. I gave you what I gave you because you earned it. Bring honor to it by sharing with the whole family.

Pencak Silat Pertempuran Seminar

Posting a seminar announcement. Would love for anyone to come out. It's pretty inexpensive at $25 and will last 2-3 hours.  

It will barely interrupt your Saturday but could change your perspective for ever.

When: June 26th, 2010 (tomorrow)
Time: 10am

Location:

Hero Academy

225 Ronald Reagan Blvd, Suite 103 Longwood, FL 32750 407-260-9279 

Guru Sean Stark's background consists of a wide range of martial arts experience that includes Hok Kuen, Kali, Arnis, and Pencak Silat, just to name a few. During his search for the all encompassing art, his idea of what that art should entail changed. After seeing overlap in many systems, he decided to find a way to organize the ideas in such a manner that would have the most efficient and maximal impact. This resulted in the development of Pencak Silat Pertempuran (PSP).

The PSP seminar itself will focus on several scenarios that will include knives, sticks, and guns. Counters, disarms, and finishes will be explored. Some scenarios may include both the knife and stick simultaneously.

The seminar will be held at Hero Academy and will last about two hours starting at 10am on Saturday, June 26. The cost per participant will be $25 and only those who are 16 of age and up will be allowed to attend. Space is limited.

More information on Pencak Silat Pertempuran can be found on Sean's website: http://combat-silat.net

Silat Seminar

I know it's been awhile since I've posted out here... sorry for those who were following.

Just wanted to take a second to announce a two day seminar that will be held in St. Cloud, Florida, February 14th and 15th, 2009. This two day training event will be focused on the expansion of the basics to include a weapon and additional ways to increase the realism of your PSP study.

Bring training weapons, safety gear and a hard work attitude.

Contact me if you have questions are would like to attend.

Sincerely,
Guru Stark

www.combat-silat.net

Pencak Silat Pertempuran Seminar in San Diego

Selamat All;

Just wanted to take a minute of your time to announce a seminar that I will be doing in San Diego.

9a-1p at a local park.

Topics covered:
Evasions
Entries
Pembasmian (just for fun)

This is my first time in San Diego so I will have to start with some foundation stuff and then work to doing some apps from there.

If you're interested write me and I'll get more specific details from the hosts.

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

www.combat-silat.net

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.

PSP Announcement

Selamat All;

Just wanted to announce quickly the promotion of Matthew Lesko to Murid 3. He came over from Louisana and tested for Levels 1 and 2 this past week. Also, it was great to meet Matthew and get to know him. He brings 23 years of martial arts experience with him, and God willing, we will have a lasting relationship and many more years to add to that foundation.

Please congratulate Matthew on his promotion(s)!

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat - Pisau and Kerambit

Just wanted to quickly announce that the second DVD for pisau is complete. The second DVD contains a demonstration of the Jurus-jurus pisau and some pisau bela-diri. This DVD is more about "ideas" for those moving into the weapons areas of Pencak Silat Pertempuran. It also contains a section on understanding Kerambit within the context of PSP working with Dasar and Penjebak or trapping primarily. Introductory content which should be enough Kerambit material for anyone wishing to pursue it further on their own.

Also, sorry for the lack of posts lately. I was layed up in bed for a week with bronchitis and sinusitis and just wasn't able to function. As a result, this week I'm playing catch-up with a bunch of things.

Part 2 http://www.lulu.com/content/732832
Part 1 http://www.lulu.com/content/692135

Pencak Silat Pertempuran - Level 10a Pisau

The newest DVD for Pencak Silat Pertempuran is now available. The subject of this DVD is Pisau. This one is full of material, so full in fact, that we will have 2 DVD's on the subject. The first contains berhormat, evasion, entries, combination entries, trapping, catching and more. Obviously necessary if you are a PSP practitioner.

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Coming Soon....

I just wanted to post something out here to let people know that I haven't forgotten about the blog. I will be posting something about a common topic for PSP members concerning Nafas or breathing. Especially as it relates to combat within pencak silat pertempuran.

It's a relatively large topic but I am working on making it presentable and easy to understand.

Hormat saya
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat Promotions

Selamat All;

Rocco and Doug have both passed level 3 and moved on to Level 4. They tested Saturday and did pretty well. They do have to do some more review on Level 2 things because it wasn't quite at the level I wanted to see it but they did well enough that they are moving on.

Level 3 is probably the hump for most people and probably the place where I lose the most students - that and level 1 that is.

Once you get through Level 3 and if you are making the effort to train with me personally, you will start to see how the material comes together, how connected it is, how fluid it is, how complete it is. Each successive level only adds to it BUT until you get there, it is hard to see. Rocco and Doug are starting to see it which is cool

Please congratulate them.

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat Training Camp - Keluarga 2007

KELUARGA 2007

Date: August 3rd-5th, 2007
Theme: No. I don't play nice!
Location: Des Moines, IA
Length: 3 Days of training
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 .

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat Desa Forum

Well, if you're a visitor of the Desa forum on my website you'll probably be unhappy to know that spammers have forced me to update the forum.

The past few days I've had to remove spam from the forum and the last time this happened it didn't stop and I was forced to remove a link builder for pesilat.

I didn't wait to find out. I've got a new forum posted but there's no content yet. I'm going to try and port over some of the content or post it on the blog here so it's available some place.

For everyone else, it's time to create a new account. It's a great forum and will more than serve the needs of our little group but has some wonderful new features. Check it out by clicking the title of the blog here or go to the combat-silat.net website and follow the links to the desa.

I haven't had a chance to change the looks yet so it's out of the box fresh.

hormat saya,
guru stark

Pencak Silat Class Tuesday 1/23/07

The Tuesday class was mostly a private lesson for Doug. He and I got to work out together which was nice for me. I don't get to workout as often as I'd like with a training partner so that was reall good.

We started out with more Harimau Monyet work trying to get the legs going, hips going, knees going, whatever... We did about 30 minutes of this type of work, but rather than just do a single thing or two with lots of repititions, we worked a bunch of variations of things with sets of 10 or 15 each. Enough to get the feel of it but not enough to get bored with it and not really burn out on it either. It was good to be able to do it this way because we flowed various harimau monyet things together in little min-series. I like doing that and we'll probably do a lot more of that.

After that we went right into Level 3 work which is where Rocco and Doug are. Doug and I worked pretty good at the Exchanges, Trapping, and catching. About this time Rocco showed up. It was probably almost 8 or even later. (Shame Shame). Of course I had to stop showing Doug all the secret stuff then because Rocco came...

Then we caught Rocco up on most of the Level 3 stuff of course Rocco strategically misses the conditioning portion and he probably thinks that's a good thing but in reality, the little bit of workout he could get by doing it would probably do his knees a ton of good over time and build a lot of strength and flexibility... but what do I know...

Anyway, then we finished off with checks and worked Jurus Tiga. For a moment these guys were actually looking like silat pesilat. It was startling. A few tweaks here and there and Doug was "striking a pose." Rocco followed and with a little work they could meet the deadline of testing this Saturday. It's up to them, but just about 1/2 hour a day of jurus tiga would probably do it for each of them.

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat Grading

Selamat All;

Jay Carstensen has passed the Level 1 testing. Great job Jay! Keep moving!!!

Hormat saya,
Guru Stark

Pencak Silat Pertempuran Level 9 Monyet 2

I just wanted to quickly announce that the Level 9 video for PSP is now available. It is the second of the two ground-fighting Monyet/Harimau dvd's of the basic system that is why it is called Monyet 2.

This video is the complete Level 9 curriculum of pencak silat Pertempuran. Monyet or monkey and Harimau combined to create an effective ground system for combat. Includes many takedowns, destructions, jurus, langkah, and more. A must have for the serious PSP student.

This is a link to the site you can purchase it from. http://www.lulu.com/content/614090

Here are some photos from Volume 2 which also deal with this portion of the PSP material.

Pencak Silat Pertempuran: Vol. 2 Book Release

WOO HOO!

The Pencak Silat Pertempuran: Volume 2 is now available!
http://www.combat-silat.net/edges_store/default.asp

If I seem excited it's because I am!
Check it out.

Hardcover or Softcover
Nearly 500 pages
Jurus-jurus
Monyet and Harimau
Langkah
Takedowns
Destructions
Neck Breaks
Strangles
Knife (pisau)
Machete (Golok)
a special section on kerambit
and a special section on gun

Hopefully there is something for everyone. HOWEVER if you haven't picked up the first book yet, you should, this book will expand on Volume One but it won't replace it.

Check out the new cover:


Thanks for your attention!

Hormat saya,
Sean Stark
Pencak Silat Pertempuran
http://www.combat-silat.net/

Pencak Silat Book Volume 2

I haven't been writing much lately... at least not on the blog. I've been really working hard to try and finish the second volume of pencak silat pertempuran books. Well, it's done!!! I'm frickin' thrilled because this book is huge and has lots and lots of good quality photos. The book is almost 500 pages long and I don't know how many photos it has, but it has a lot.

The book will have photos and explanations of pencak silat pertempuran jurus-jurus Tangan, Monyet-Harimau, and Pisau. As well, it will have more Masukan, more Tangkapan, more Timbilan, more Penjebakan, Latihan Berpasangan, and Pembasmian, etc.

The book is broken up into three sections: Tinggi, Monyet-Harimau, and Senjata.

Section 1: Gives the rest of the tinggi portion of psp is also included, like the jurus-jurus and the eradication methods, neck breaks, bone breaking, strangles, etc. I don't detail everything because who knows who is reading it, but I do give enough for someone who is actually studying to figure the things out and for those with some knowledge of silat already.

Section 2: covers the entire Monyet and Harimau curriculum of pencak silat pertempuran from a basic level, which includes Ales, Masukan Tangan, Masukan Kaki, Masukan Siku, Tangkapan, Timbilan, Totokan, and Latihan Berpasangan.

Section 3: covers some of the Senjata material. It shows all of the pisau material for training, and re-publishes an article I wrote for silatnow! of the kerambit (yes, Hugo you are finally in one of my books). Additionally, I cover some ideas about gun Defense. I really like this section of the book. Hopefully it will spur people on to seriously consider the best methods for gun defense. I know from my own experience, that sometimes the thing that seems the obvious does not always work the best. In addition, I also start to touch on the subject of Golok, Clurit, and Pedang, showing basic Masukan Golok. There's also a brief section on the use of two weapons and various other things.

Of course, I have a small Glossary in the back of about 6 or 8 pages of key terms for this book. There could be some that are missing but I tried to give the readers a break on the heavy terminology by using it in conjunction with English explanations whenever I felt it was necessary.

I've ordered my proofing/editing copies already and I'll get to that soon....

To be honest, there were other things I wanted to put into the book that I've shot photos for and intended to use, but the book was just getting too big. I even thought about breaking this one up into to but decided to just run with it as is and when I do volume 3 I'll put in the rest hopefully.... It would be nice to say that I'm done and not do any more books, but I really want to create a good resource for those interested in pencak silat within the U.S., and I suppose internationally as well but that's less of a concern because there are others already doing that elsewhere.

When you start a project like this you have high hopes. As the project evolves, you realize the difficulty of putting an art that is so simple and yet so complex in words. Even the use of photos does not really capture the essence of pencak silat, since that essence is really about movement. Just getting the basic elements on paper or on DVD is a challenge. Those who study with me aside, you can only hope that one in 100 people who read and watch are able to put it together and see the potential of the material using both sources. In fact, you can have times of serious reflection about your own input and output too...

For those who have already purchased the first volume, you can expect to see a new version of that on shelves sometime after the first of the year. There will be nothing new in it. It's basically just a new cover but I'm going to republish it because of some changes with the company I work with. It will give me greater control over my book for the future. So, you don't need to buy it UNLESS you just want to collect the new cover for it :-) because they are going to be different looking. The title of the book will be officially changed but that's about it.

I'm Out,
Sean

Pencak Silat - www.combat-silat.net

Selamat All

Ezine:
I am thinking about moving the ezine over to a blog. What does everyone think about that? I'm thinking that it would be easier to maintain. I've been working at figuring out ways of making other systems that are in place do the work for me rather than create work for myself. This is another one of those thoughts on that train...

Forum:
Ultimately I would like for the forum to move totally over to a blog and cut that out of the website too. Especially since there is no primary difference between the two. Of course, it seems that having it be an open blog would have some limitations and issues but it could be more collaborative if people were interested.

US Silat Association:
Nick, one of my silat students from Tampa is trying to start a US silat organization. He's already hot into it. It basically looks like the organization I tried creating, that everyone gave lip service to but no one actually took part in. The Silat Union has ended up being more of a connection amongst people but nothing formal. Largely because people didn't seem to see the value in community.

Nick is pumped and idealistic about this however, and since he's in college he's got the time, so I think his energy will be good. I'm glad there is someone out there willing and interested to do it. Nick hopes to be able to get IPSI to sponsor silat masters from Indonesia to come over and teach, etc. and to get them to recognize silat in the U.S.

I like the idea and I hope it works since it might really help get some much needed exposure for silat in the U.S. and it might finally change some perspectives about the pencak silat that has been here since the beginning. There is definately a need since the thing most entrenched isn't necessarily the best or even good - though it has been a start.

More to follow...

Sean

Rumor has it that next year a few high level Sumatran stylists will be touring the U.S. and that would be good.

New Pencak Silat Domain Names

Hi all

Just wanted to let you know that you can now get to the site via a few different URL's

http://www.combat-silat.net
http://www.combat-silat.com
http://www.combatsilat.us
http://www.silat.us

Nothing too big, but maybe a little bit easier for some.

Hormat saya,
Sean