Thursday, January 31, 2008

I Got Your Silat Right Here ...


There is a discussion going on on Bobbe's blog about pentjak (pencak) silat, and more specifically, the variant from west Java, Sera.

The discussion is somewhat contentious.

I used to engage a fair amount in the silat word-wars -- I got megabytes of files, ranging from online debates that have been fairly civil, to some that contain outright libel, and a number of published print articles and statements on web pages. Buncha martial artists get together and a fight breaks out -- what a surprise ...

I used to take these things seriously, but these days, I am inclined to allow the folks with whom I disagree to stew in their own juices. Karma comes round, and I've got enough to pay off; let them deal with their own.

But it's kind of like being a retired boxer watching a match -- you know the game, and it's always more fun to watch if you have that knowledge.

4 comments:

Bobbe Edmonds said...

Yeah, but this whippersnapper is considering retirement. After I wrote that & posted it, I could only think "What's the use? Who are these people I'm getting so worked up about?"

I'm sick of writing about it, it's boring. Oh look, another web spat between Silat guys. How novel.

Most of the people who comment on my stuff are great, even the ones who disagree with it. I probably just need to accept that there is a kind of bile-generator in California and write it off. This kind of thing con only serve to drag you down, and you never get intelligent discourse from it, only screaming.

Dan Gambiera said...

Bobbe, it will all be better when you get treatment for the PDTTSD - Post de Thouars Traumatic Stress Disorder - like the rest of us have.

Silatyogi said...

Haha you are right Todd. I too have suffered from the BS... Steve you area wise man. I think better to let them drown in their own karmic waste pool.

Anonymous said...

I always thought the American Kenpo wars were bad...until I started reading the Silat Wars!