So, I got the DVDs for the Sera(k) vids Joe Daggy shot a while back. For those of you who have the first two on VHS tape, I & II are identical -- they run an hour and some each. Volume III, covers Djuru 3, some drills, like 4-count and tiga stepping, but is only half an hour long, and all of it from the second two-day shoot.
For students of this art, especially this branch (tjabang) these are a must, and the DVD format is worth having because you can watch it on your computer and do step-frame a lot easier than you can on tape.
For silat students in general, there are some things you might find interesting, but without a foundation on the ground, what you can learn will be limited.
For civilians, you might enjoy watching the basics of the art explained, but don't expect to watch these and come away a trained killer. Ain't gonna happen.
For fellow students up here in the rainy north woods who were in the vids, re-watching them again will be a ... um ... mixed experience. On the one hand, every one of us who is still training is in better shape -- we've all lost weight, gained muscle, and are fitter. Among the weight losers, we could probably claim enough dropped pounds to make a fair-sized sumo wrestler. Cotten probably picked up twenty, twenty-five pounds of muscle. So that's to the good.
On the other hand, we moved like -- being kind here -- crippled walruses ...
At the time of the second shoot, I can recall thinking, hey, we were pretty sharp, we had some smooth moves, and --
Wrong. We didn't.
It is to cringe to compare then to now. Especially the first tape. Yeah, we weren't totally inept, but it does make you realize that we've all come a long way. And that however good we think we are now? We ain't ...
Damn. I hate that.
Amazing what a difference a few years makes.
What's maybe even more amazing is that Guru was either pre-op or post-op major back surgery for that ruptured disk when those were shot, and maybe 60% functioning on those vids, which makes me feel even worse. We didn't have that excuse. Once his back healed, it was downright scary how good he got. Even with a bad knee, his groundwork exercises are ever so much better than ours ...
Oh, well. Live and -- I hope -- learn ...
So did you move like pregnant yaks or Baboon with club feet?
ReplyDeleteFor Christmas I got the Plinck tape on DVD from waaaaay back in the day (15 odd yrs?)including a fellow with a long gray ponytail.
Seen that one?
Oh, yeah, I got that one. The set-up for the opening sequence was, "Okay, Guru comes into the alley, and everybody jumps him, and let's see what happens, okay?"
ReplyDeleteSave for the kick at at the end, which was cut in to show a kick, the rest of it was done on the first take, and unrehearsed. That fellow with the long, gray pony-tail, whose hair has since gone white, he *bounced* off the alley floor, still hurts me to watch that opening.
Not pretty, any of it, but if you want pretty, take up ballet ...
I got the first Serak tape about six years ago, before I even knew most of you guys. Nowadays it's great to pull out and say "Look, there's Ellner! And Barnes! Man, they really hit the floor hard back then.
ReplyDelete...Dunno who the tall lanky dude with the crooked sarong is, but he seems a bit old to be doing this..."
That's an angled sarong, not crooked ...
ReplyDelete"Angled Sarong"??!? Oh yeah, right! What the Hell Tanner is that? A secret handshake? Is that indicative of the Serak system? What, you actually expect me to believe that you guys have some secret Sarong use in your style, and you wear it "Angled" for a reason??
ReplyDelete...Seriously though, do you guys have some secret Sarong use in your style, and do you wear it angled for a reason? Just wondering.
I can't tell you. You already know too much to be safe.
ReplyDeleteSo worth picking up? I was wondering if it wouldn't just be kinda confusing given that Guru Plinck's kinda changed how he shows things over time.
ReplyDeleteTody --
ReplyDeleteWhich part of "it's a must" was unclear ... ?
The principles haven't changed, and I still find the vids useful.
Of course, I'm a slow learner ...