heartless monkey knife

Discussion in 'Silat' started by shootodog, Sep 10, 2007.

  1. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    anyone out there that does this?

    how does it compare to what papa bill does?
     
  2. Ular Sawa

    Ular Sawa Valued Member

    I don't do it but I think it's one of Uncle Bill's guys.
     
  3. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    thanks cousin.
     
  4. tellner

    tellner Valued Member

    Steve Gartin is one of Bill's guys and has been for quite a while. He certainly has skills. As for getting personally involved with him, well, do a web search on the man - particularly his longstanding legal issues - and use your own judgment.

    ...this for example
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2007
  5. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    i've seen that on the web.

    is the dvd a good watch? or i'd be better off spending the cash to just having a barung made? ;)
     
  6. Monyet Nakal

    Monyet Nakal Valued Member

    Steve Gartin is one hell of a martial artist and struck me as a very nice guy the few times we've met up and trained together, but I think it is safe to say he has his share of demons.

    I'm not sure who is handling the DVDs and such for that group currently. I have quite a few of their DVDs and I will say this: There is some very good stuff to be gleaned from them but it takes an awful lot of work on the viewer's part to do so. A lot of the segments are pretty much just "camera in the back of the room at a seminar" shots with all of the camera jostles and folks walking in the frame and such that come with that. They're not at all presented in a "step-by-step" hand holding way that most folks are used to from these kind of videos. They are called "Backyard Productions" for a reason and they make no apologies for that. All of that being said, if you are an experienced martial artist and have a developed eye for picking things up from just watching folks do their thing then there is tons of good stuff to see there. I do not at all regret spending my coin on their products but I would not blame those who do.

    However, not being sure of the current state of their business or distribution I would have to throw in a mighty "caveat emptor" until things improve over there.
     
  7. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

  8. Monyet Nakal

    Monyet Nakal Valued Member

    Hmmm. To the best of my knowledge, that webpage *is* the "book"
     
  9. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    oh?

    i thought the book would have many pretty pictures...:(
     
  10. Tuankaki

    Tuankaki Valued Member

    There's a KunTao Silat Yahoo group where you can get a hold of those guys. Guru Steve is active in the Colo. Springs area, and I believe they're going to have a couple of gatherings - one in Colorado, maybe another in Chicago where my old friend and student Joe teaches.

    Last time I hung with those guys it was 98% Willem stuff as codified by Mr. Gartin, who was his longest student, and possibly the most "like" Willem in terms of movement. If you were to learn it from Joe, you'd get a lot of secret Chinese stuff thrown in for good measure.

    They have isolated practice groups scattered around and the modality is to learn from the DVD's and periodically get together to see if it works or not :D .
     
  11. Monkey Paw

    Monkey Paw New Member

    What he said. ;) Very difficult to learn from and i'm not sure what one gets from it is worth the $ and time considering how dangerous anyone already becomes as soon as a knife is put in their hands without any instruction (and the number of quality alternative videos sources out there).

    But I do think he is talented with a knife (Just a lot of wierd psychological issues come out when you hear him talk about his legal problems).
     
  12. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    thanks for the heads up. i'm not looking to learn knife from a vid (i get proper instruction from my own teacher(s) on for that). i'm looking to imbibe other knife "cultures" other than fma.
     
  13. Steve Gartin

    Steve Gartin New Member

    Thank you GentlePeople for talking behind my back!

    This is a very erudite gathering and several good points have been raised.

    I've been in exile for seven years in the wilderness, so I've missed a lot ~ but it's a real kick catching up.

    A whole lot of improvements to KunTao Silat has happened in my absence and the dream I envisioned back in the 1980s is now on-line at www.kuntaosilat.com and www.kuntaosilat.guru where we can teach KunTao Silat by DVD or download and test and refine with Vimeo and it all comes together at KunTao Silat Central

    Now, I also want to talk a bit about what is being referred to as "some-how-slightly-off-center" or what ever you call the Legal Odyssey I've enjoyed.

    What??? You don't get it? Please tell me what you don't understand and I'll do my level best to bring you up to speed.

    And to those of you who acknowledge my skill, Thank You! I'm certain that I would appreciate your skills as well.

    I'll be available now for a while ~ so drop me a note.

    May Peace Favour Your Swords,
    Steve Gartin
     
  14. kuntaoer

    kuntaoer Valued Member

    Steve Gartin is good people.. He and Chas has been in the Kuntao silat and Malabar silat systems for a good long time.. I first heard of this group when I was teaching in denver back in the early 80s, but didn't know how to contact them.. Over the years, a lot of times the apple cart has been turned up on end with this organization, but I would most definitely would recommend the heartless monkey knife.. Good stuff and it goes into detail about the medical aspects of how a blade can inflict serious damage
     
  15. Dylan9d

    Dylan9d Valued Member

    They only thing i know about Willem deThouars is that he is a very rude person wich is calling Silat and Kuntao in Holland fake.

    He is disrespecting alot of dutch masters with this and i don't think it is a good person to learn any form of kuntao or silat from.

    I have been practising Silat for over 10 years now and never seen someone like Willem or Uncle Bill whatever you guys call him.
     
  16. taoizt

    taoizt Valued Member

    Yes Dylan you are right, he did certainly do that (disrespect Dutch silat masters). But after the many insults and threats he made on internet towards others, i take his comments with a laaaaaaaaarge grain of salt.

    Holland does (or did) have great silat masters that Willem could learn quite a lot of, but he chooses to stick to his own 'salad bowl' as he calls it.

    It's fine by me just not my cup of tea.
     

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