Sometimes problems have a spooky way of solving themselves Well, my problem has been solved. I just went to the Silat studio tonight.... and as I was taking my shoes off, the head student says he wants to talk to me. He said that he didn't think Silat was the right fit for me, and that I'd be better off training elsewhere. These were my thoughts exactly, and I told him that I had been wanting to talk about the very same issue. I have four hypotheses as to how he came to his conclusion: 1. He or some other member of the studio are an active member on MAP, read this very thread, and figured out who I was (not terribly hard to do). 2. As I had gone to one lesson with this CMA group to check it out, someone at the Silat studio may have found out that I had an inkling to switch styles. 3. I had committed some imperceptable cultural fopa (however that word is spelled) and offended the people at Silat. He made an enigmatic comment about being conscious of one's mannerisms and the way one presents oneself, and I couldn't tell if this was a hint or just general advice (it seemed like the type of thing he would say anyways). I can't think of anything I've said or done that would be particularly offensive... I mentioned that I was concerned about the price of the school once, and I missed a couple of classes due to a severely frozen bicycle. 4. He sensed my doubts via Jedi Mind Powers. In any case, it spared me the awkwardness of having to raise the subject myself. I feel somewhat saddened, as I did technically get kicked out of a martial arts school, but all in all it went very smoothly. I was also refunded the 125 dollars for the membership dues, which I thought was a very gentlemanly gesture of them. By the way, the CMA school is under Michael G-something (Grabeski, maybe? something along those lines, everyone calls him "Mr. G"). I don't know the name of the organization (it's quite informal), but I hope it's what I'm looking for.
We did forget to mention the development of Jedi mind powers in answer to your original question. Glad it worked out for you. Good luck with the new class and your studies. Cheers.
Glad you found something you're happy with. If you ever do want to investigate the Dark Side Chuck and Mushtaq are close by and well worth a visit.
so what school and who is the teacher ???? This would help others from encountering the same issues if you mentioned the teacher's name.
I dont see the need for that. Just because one person didnt suit it, doesnt mean anyone else wouldnt. No need for naming names
Seems like it is not a question of suiting or not suiting but the manner or impression one gets. In this instance it could lead one to think that all silat schools are like that in terms of their fees, charges, hence how this topic came up in the first place. In any case there is only 1 silat school at the U of M so it is not difficult to figure it out.
eXPENSIVE i SAY Well I think it is expensive well the uniform. Masjudt has stated something very interesting and thinking about it I agree with him. If someone of the likes of the de Thouars were teaching me I wouldn't mind paying that or with some of their top students either. I know that I will be getting quality and a lot of knowledge and experience.
In some schools identity is a cornerstone feature. To that end, a pair of sweats and a T-shirt will get one through one practice. So maybe a person needs two pair. And for traditional schools, a sarong is required. So, maybe $50 for a couple pair of sweats, and $30 for a couple of T's, and then $40 or so for a good sarong, and you're good to go. You want a pair of fancy dojo shoes? Pony up!
IMHO, to single out one silat teacher for how much he charged his class is not fair. But life is not fair in general, so be it. First of all, a student have a choices to whom he/she want to learn. They were many schools around with different system, different prices, and different uniform. You must clearly define your objective. Why you are here, why you what you do. If your objective is other than to learn the silat art, than you don't have a clear objective, fuzzy goals will not get you anywhere. As far as uniform, some teacher demanded and some teacher don't. Honestly, in my years of learning silat, I have never worn sarung at all, I worn it to pray but never worn it to practice. Currently we practice with loose pants and t-shirt and we practice in my living room. If we have a nice day we play in the backyard like the olddays. And no one wore belts either, no ranks and no tittles in our class. I think only just recently, especially in Europe and America, silat players worn sarung when they are practice. Times changes, indeed Tristan
