Hi everybody, I'm writing from Bandung, Indonesia. I was invited to come out here with a small group to train privately with Bambeng Suwanda, the younger brother of the late Pendekar Herman Suwanda. We have been training every day for two weeks now, and the atmosphere is exactly like that of the old training camps Pa Herman used to conduct. The training has been excellent, and we have been covering many of the base styles that make up Mande Muda silat, although the term we are using is actually "Sundanese Silat". Pa Bambeng is an EXCELLENT teacher, and very fluid in his technique. he can alter his style to different energies & body types in a blink, no problems. He was Pa Hermans' personal workout partner (read that one as "personal punching bag"), and learned the system firsthand from him. We are training in Pa Herman's famous Padepokan, the Mande Muda academy in Lembang. There are hundreds of photos on the wall of old times & former students, as well as the graves of Pa Herman & Ibu Shannon less than 20 feet away. With this in mind, we train really hard!! The last few days have focused on kembangan, the famous "flower dance" of Pencak Silat, using single machete, double machete & empty hands. While we are out here, we filmed his next videotape, focusing on Pamonyet, the "Father Monkey" style. The tape is great, and illustrates some unique techniques, rarely seen elsewhere. I will be launching a website soon that features Pak Bambeng & his tapes, & training opportunities, more on that later. We leave in a few days, and I will be back in Seattle in about a week. I'll write a longer article about the trip when I get back. Train hard, Bobbe Edmonds
It sounds like a great experience. Hopefully, you took lots of pictures too. I can't wait to hear more about it.
I am a current mande muda student and would be interested in checking out your site when it goes up on the net. Keep us imformed on the progress please.
Hello, My understanding is that one the 18 styles of Mande Muda is Sera/Serak. Could you describe for us the similarities or diffrences in between how it is practiced in Mande Muda and VDT Pentjak Silat Serak or Bukti Negara. Thank you.
