March 2007 FMA Picnic / Gathering Options

[dyak_stone]

Alright... Now I'm really regretting not being able to go to this month's gathering...

[RedBagani]

I think the videos & pics will have to wait. Meanwhile, there are people out there who want to be updated......

Ok then. The demos started promptly with Filipino time, that is precisely an hour after it was supposed to start. The gathering was one of the best-attended I have seen, the largest contingents being the Silat Kuntaw group and Rapido Realismo group. Aside from the natives, there was a German and a few Koreans. Attracting almost 30 people, including passers-by, we must have been quite a crowd.

After the usual round of introductions, the demo began with the Abenir Kali group. Bong Abenir trained with the Indonesian coach & one of the founders of Nusantara, Hadjimulyo (I'm sorry I can't spell that right) & O'ong Maryono. By the way, Hadjimulyo (sorry again) passed away last December, according to Bong.

Bong started with some basic techniques with Lordrommel, then moved on to more advanced techniques then demo'd in a free-flow manner to light sparring. Bong explained that in knife-fighting, he concentrated more in striking rather than disarming because in a real fight, disarming is hard to do. Bong's empty-hands & some knife techniques showed the Silat flavor. His stick techniques looked quite like his teacher's, Tony Diego of Illustrisimo. I commend Bong's demo because he showed was not afraid to show his sparring skills in front of a group of strangers. Many 'masters' don't like to risk being hit in public. Bong is a not stranger to that. Bong has fought in public tournaments. He teaches at Don Bosco Mandaluyong.

Salip Harun Ladja's group was the next to demonstrate the rare Tausug art of Silat Lanswang Sepring. The master demonstrated combat techniques against his students. The Silat he showed was characterized by direct & powerful attacks while using subtle evasions that were hard to detect. There were a lot of low, crouching attacks/counter-attacks that went straight to business - groin, throat, etc. The students also put on their own demos - attack & defend sequences, shadow-fighting, bare-hand vs bare-hand, barong vs barong. While the demos were conducted informally, there was an amount of realism to it. The techniques were unrehearsed/unchoreographed so some of them were not done in real-time for safety purposes.

An interesting feature was the "Tauhid". The religious meaning of tauhid is "Unity with Allah". In our martial art context, it aligning the warrior's spirit with, well, the Higher Being. In Silat, tauhid is done by praying over the person & letting that 'Spirit' release & guide the warrior spirit within.

I kept an open-mind about that thing. With due respect to my brother Muslims, I think there are also other ways to explain that thing without rejecting their explanation. For a non-Muslim, that Higher Being can be a higher consciousness, the universal Tao, the Collective Mind, God........

One nice thing about the sharing was the cross-cultural exchange. When asked if non-Muslims can learn Silat, the answer was a definite "Yes". The sharing dispelled the wrong idea many people have that there is no such a thing as Filipino Muslim martial art. Nastron Minaullah is an FMA brotherhood that share a common interest in life.

[soulguru]

nice one, Red... also, just to add, we also did some freeflowing knife vs knife sequences...

[Black Kamagong]

Nice seeing you guys as usual Hope to see you guys again next month Great demo by the way sayang medyo late lang ako nakarating

[guro_abon]

What i really do like and wanted to try myself hopefully in the future is the Tauhid or the mystical one. Great demo Soulguro and to Bong both of you are great and tom Sir Red tinkot mo ko sa reaction i really wanted to try pero nung makita kita woooh! i don't want it to happen to me unless with my Opponent hahaha! anyway great to see you Guys hopefully this year i can come so often. See you in next gathering.


Gumagalang,

Isagani

[Mestiso]

Hello All,

I was asked by some students from the Tabimina Balintawak Salinas training group to report that a few of us from the forum here got together last night. There are a few of us on the forum from the group representing multiple systems residing in northern California. As of last night I am very happy to state that I am also training with the Tabimina Balintawak group.

Last night I met sticks of death, MacJ, lakanpopot, and many others not on the forum (yet!). Despite last night's large turnout (about 10-15 people) were also a handful of people not present! There are men and women in the group, all very nice, all training very hard. To note, the others have been training with Guro Jojo / Tabimina Balintawak for I don't know how long.

We talked about the system, some guys shared their backgrounds, I shared mine, we ate, trained, and a good time was had by all.

The training group is very diverse, and most of the students have extensive FMA as well as other ma backgrounds. Off the top of my head I can say Cinco Terros, Ilustrisimo, Modern Arnis, Kombatan, Doce Pares, Garimot, and Serrada Eskrima as well as so many other systems that I forget or am unfamiliar with were represented in the Balintawak training group. It is amazing to see all of these people under one roof training together. It makes me wonder- has anything like this ever happened before?? It also says so much about Balintawak.

Peace and blessings from northern Cali,

~John

[RedBagani]

...Cinco Teros, Ilustrisimo, Modern Arnis, Kombatan, Doce Pares, Garimot, and Serrada Eskrima as well as so many other systems that I forget or am unfamiliar with were represented in the Balintawak training group. It is amazing to see all of these people under one roof training together. It makes me wonder- has anything like this ever happened before?? It also says so much about Balintawak. 

Well, in the old days, some of these groups couldn't see eye to eye after a fall-out between the old-timers, waaaaay before my time.

I, too, would like to know if such open sharing has been done before when there was no money involved.

Anyway, guys, it is always nice to hear from others.

[Mestiso]

That's whats great about this group in particular is that they choose not to get involved in the politics but instead focus on the training, which I greatly appreciate. It adds a level of trust and comeraderie.

Oh and come to think of it, why did I put down Doce Pares

actually I'm not sure about that one. sorry I didn't get but maybe 2 hours of sleep last night cuz the late session

[lakanpopot]

Who is your guest for April? May line up na ba?

[Matawguro]

...so many other systems... were represented in the Balintawak training group. It is amazing to see all of these people under one roof training together. It makes me wonder- has anything like this ever happened before??

During the National FMA Festival last May 2006, participants were segregated into four groups and each received training from different styles / systems. This was done round robin style so each group could have a taste of various systems. Off the top of my head, the participating systems were (in no particular order):

Dekiti Tersia Serradas
Modern Arnis
WEDO
Lightning Scientific Arnis
Liping Maharlikha
Bakbakan (Tulisan)
Telebanco System (I forget the official name)
Cruzada System
Tres Puntas

[Matawguro]

Who is your guest for April? May line up na ba?

April is under discussion since the 2nd Sunday is Easter. We might move it to 3rd Sunday instead. Nothing final though.

[soulguru]

...I kept an open-mind about that thing. With due respect to my brother Muslims, I think there are also other ways to explain that thing without rejecting their explanation. For a non-Muslim, that Higher Being can be a higher consciousness, the universal Tao, the Collective Mind, God........

Hmmm.. Was thinkng al0ng the lines 0f warri0r grps similarly synchr0nizing the mental,spiritual,physcal aspects 0f their c0mbatives. the Japs hav Shinto & Zen as espoused by their Samurai; you have Buddhism,Ta0ism,Hinduism, etc. Though I yet hav 2 see an individual/grps of individuals d0ing s0methng similar we do with TAuhid, outside 0ur Islamic/Tausug Silat experience. well, dreams/visi0ns are inherently similar in l0ts of internal/spiritual practices, but being able 2 'kindle' the warri0r spirit, being able to share Tauhid to an0ther pers0n & make him feel a certain energy within as well as outside one's being, is an0ther thing. this goes w/ a certain discipline, a certain outlook in life. we deal w/ the unseen, cl0sely aligned w/ the spiritual/metaphyscal... In most, if not all, tradti0nal Silat circles, being able to do Tauhid to a pers0n is one's graduation rite from physical training, c0mpleting/readying a warri0r for an0thr j0urney of self-optimization & self-realization, n0t just in battle, but in life... Pendekars/real Gurus are supp0sed to understand & know h0w to do/control this. Now, Others may argue that there will always be similar curricula/training from other systems outside Silat, etc.- well and good- yet for the benefit of others "not in the know", it has too be underst0od (again & again) that we do NOT d0 Tauhid based in a 'trancelike' state- in everythng we do, we're LUCID- not like "Sinasaniban" (being possessed) or "Nagwawala"; quite farfetched frOm wat Tauhid esp0uses- oneness/undrstanding of the so-calld 'unity' of mind, b0dy, spirit (within and outside): very positive, if i may say so- you actually get to analyse your movements, to the point of testing them for real...

...just my 5 centavos worth of gibberish...

[Sitbatan]

Sayang wish i was there.

[soulguru]

...What i really do like and wanted to try myself hopefully in the future is the Tauhid or the mystical one. Great demo Soulguro and to Bong both of you are great and tom Sir Red tinkot mo ko sa reaction i really wanted to try pero nung makita kita woooh! i don't want it to happen to me unless with my Opponent hahaha! anyway great to see you Guys hopefully this year i can come so often. See you in next gathering....

thnx much, guru abon- it was great seeing you with your group and engaging everyone in lively banter; it was all in the spirit of sharing, since as it is, this may be the last time for Salip Harun to visit Manila... now, just to add: as for 'mishaps', i'd like to say that in my almost 10yrs of training/doing this stuff, i haven't experienced any pain/discomfort, rage, etc., aside from the usual heavy breathing associated to physical exertion (together w/ the normal bodyaches/pains associated w/ hard practice...). initially, we've smashed the ground, we've scratched at trees, yet we've been unscathed so far...

this holds true w/ trustworthy friends close to us, our students, the select few who wanted to "feel" what it is like. we always tell those who want to feel Tauhid, to just 'let go'- not to fight it, nor to doubt/belittle it, or to simply just laugh at it... thus, even a small 'incident' that occurs will be very rare- yet if it does, it can only mean a sign- or a message, to everyone. what it is, its food for thought- though i can already surmise wats in store... again, my 5centavos worth of gibberish...

[Mestiso]

...so many other systems... were represented in the Balintawak training group. It is amazing to see all of these people under one roof training together. It makes me wonder- has anything like this ever happened before??

During the National FMA Festival last May 2006, participants were segregated into four groups and each received training from different styles / systems. This was done round robin style so each group could have a taste of various systems. Off the top of my head, the participating systems were (in no particular order):

Dekiti Tersia Serradas
Modern Arnis
WEDO
Lightning Scientific Arnis
Liping Maharlikha
Bakbakan (Tulisan)
Telebanco System (I forget the official name)
Cruzada System
Tres Puntas

Sounds awesome! The festival seems like something every fma'er should try at least once!

[RedBagani]

... thus, even a small 'incident' that occurs will be very rare- yet if it does, it can only mean a sign- or a message, to everyone. 

Err... about that 'mishap'. Piecing together what friends from different backgrounds told me, it was a message to be less arrogant and to develop my...ahem... softer side. That is why my right was "disabled", to allow my left (feminine?) side to develop. This seems to be a recurring theme lately.

Ahahaaaay!!!! Such queer happenings, no?!

[labsica64]

Hi redbagani,

brokebackan na ba? Ahay!!!!

Hi soulguru,

Long time no hear no see. Sayang, I wasn't able to go to the gathering, redbagani texted me about your Guro's visit. I wish I was there to watch and learn from his demonstration. It's good to hear that your brotherhood is growing. Some of the other teachers I know wanted to go but they had another commitment at the time - a group interview with a visiting journalist from the US.

As a matter of fact, hindi nga ako nakakapunta sa gathering at all Sunday afternoon kasi....

Ah well. It would have been nice to see you again as well.

[joemar]

Who is your guest for April? May line up na ba?

April is under discussion since the 2nd Sunday is Easter. We might move it to 3rd Sunday instead. Nothing final though.

sige sir lipat nyo on 3rd sunday kasi nga on 2nd sunday we have a seminar in las,piñas tamang-tama

ang mga na invite ko for april is

MAMFMA- Master pet nicolas
Kamphuis Machado
the Pentjak silat philippine team
AKETS- Telebanco system

medyo aayusin daw nila ang sched nila, pero tentative pa naman raw sila

[soulguru]

wow- suddenly ur alive; as per Salip Harun's "demo", it was actually the whole group that showed some stuff. he only showed some basic low-level drop-downs/takedowns...

sayang nga di nkapunta yun ibang 'teachers'- it would have been eye-opening vis a vis "exchange of ideas, stuff, etc."... well, they can catch him in Subah Datu Resort of the Abubakar's- its in Sulu, right smack near Patikul...

...
Hi soulguru,

Long time no hear no see. Sayang, I wasn't able to go to the gathering, redbagani texted me about your Guro's visit. I wish I was there to watch and learn from his demonstration. It's good to hear that your brotherhood is growing. Some of the other teachers I know wanted to go but they had another commitment at the time - a group interview with a visiting journalist from the US.

As a matter of fact, hindi nga ako nakakapunta sa gathering at all  Sunday afternoon kasi....

Ah well. It would have been nice to see you again as well.

[labsica64]

Hey soulguru:

Always been alive and kicking I'd like to meet up with you sometime if you're free that is

[Sitbatan]

Soul guro do you have any clips on you.tube?

[soulguru]

well...i been quite busy lately. i'd rather sleep- or have raunchy, sweaty sex in my spare time (normally on weekends...!)

Hey soulguru:

Always been alive and kicking  I'd like to meet up with you sometime if you're free that is 

[soulguru]

Master, wla e- zero. ok na yun ganon- pangit nman ako eh... ...di ako bagay dun! isa pa, di ako karapatdapat sa you tube- shy ako... sna nkapunta ka- kaw pa nman yun isa sa mga inaabangang mga panauhin.

dibale, marami pa nman ibang araw... more power sayo- Salaam!

Soul guro do you have any clips on you.tube?

[Matawguro]

Soul guro do you have any clips on you.tube?

I'll get some out. Been very busy with work lately and I'm swamped until Holy Week. I can't wait for the 5-day weekend.

[armaspinoy]

well...i been quite busy lately.  i'd rather sleep- or have raunchy, sweaty sex in my spare time (normally on weekends...!) 

[littlebadboy]

Soul guro do you have any clips on you.tube?

wala sa you tube siguro, pero meron dito: http://fma.rtrinidad.com/files/justin_vill...kuntaw.divx.avi

[Sitbatan]

I want to go, but would it be ok if i don't bring the entire school. i might just go alone or with two at the most. Mahal kasi pamasahe.... at tsaka baka gusto nila ako pa mag babayad.

BTW thanks for the clip LBB.... nice demo SoulGuro, hindi tayo magkalayo brod. Buti nga hindi mo nilabas magick.

[soulguru]

err... this was a clip taken almost 2yrs ago; the stuff we did last Sunday was more 'entertaining', not to mention "fresh"...

...BTW thanks for the clip LBB.... nice demo SoulGuro, hindi tayo magkalayo brod.  Buti nga hindi mo nilabas magick.

[lordrommel]

ahem! ei guys seems everyone is so busy. happy easter by the way! hmmm i think we will gonna be having a regular visit at quezon memorial circle every sunday...can i ask kung sino po nag vvisit sa circle? oh btw can i ask kung na release na po mga picture and videos nung picnic?

[Matawguro]

I have it ready for upload, but PLDT isn't cooperating.

If you'll be in QC Circle this Sunday, I can pass by and give you a DVD copy. Where in QC Circle will you be?