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Shaolin Training is like a gymnastic performance compared to this.
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Most people who practise malay fighting arts that I meet in my seminars tend to inform me that REAL silat is very difficult to find. And thet when they travel to Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei, they wonder why the silat organizations try to promote sport or competative silat.
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It is because of this once common training that parents forbid thier children to study silat. To stop Silat being extinct and promote Silat to the world, the governing body tries to promote the competative and physical aspects of it. That is why now adays, when you see silat, its either sport silat (kickboxing-ish) or the cultural (dances-like movements).
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The best and most frequent question I get in my emails and in my seminars is "How long does it take to become an Instructor?"; I usually answer "Well, It differs from one person to another, it depends on the individual, some faster then others". Well thats how I answer it... very diplomatic isnt it.
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In true honesty, "real" silat or any real-life practical skill for that matter, is not just technical know-hows, how many techniques that you know or how many blackbelt certificates that you have hanging on your walls. It is the method of conveying correct instructions, correct body-mechanics and correct mentality. This skills cannot be taught through long distance correspondence, online lessons or from instructional DVDs. Instructional DVDs are there only as references, its not meant to qualify you to become an instructor. If there are any instructor that tells you otherwise, then his credibility should be questioned. Does he understand his responsibility as a "teacher" or is it just for money and fame. Like any reputable Institution, College or University, true real life applicable knowledge can only be obtained through correct instructions directly from a tutor, studying hard and physical training. When have you ever heard Harvard (in USA) or Oxford University (in UK) offered a 100% online engineering course with online correspondance exams?
Silat is closely interlinked to the culture and religion of its region where the specific silat system came from.
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There will always be someone that will say to you that silat is bullshit and that it wont work in the UFC. Put them in the environment where these children train, in thier village, the "cage" is where they keep chickens and ducks, real fighting is done outside of them. If you think this video is shocking, you should see what they dont want you to see.
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I train my seminars differently from how I train my instructor candidates. To my training groups, if you think im being hard on you, compare my training to this. Burning thighs and bruised forearms doesnt seem so bad now doesnt it :)
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Thank you for reading.
