This is a review of the Mande Muda Silat seminar that occured on Oct. 11 and 12 of 2003 in Ft. Worth, TX with Ibu Rita Suwanda.
First off, I would like to thank Guru Kelly Smith for hosting the event and for putting my party and I up for the duration of the trip. I was personally able to spend a little extra time with Ibu Rita as a surrogate host due to an unfortunate and tragic accident that precipitated a funeral that called Guru Smith away for the first half of the first day. We were also fortunate enough to have three jagabya at the seminar and I would like to thank them for their extra guidance and knowledge.
For those who don't know Mande Muda is a system of roughly 25 styles of silat and 3-5 at the core from all over Indonesia, but based in west Java. The system was compiled by the late Herman Suwanda from family styles and styles learned during his travels and quest for new silat. Upon his untimely death the mantle of leadership in Mande Muda was passed to the eldest of his three silat trained siblings, Rita Suwanda who continues to spread the art of Mande Muda and the culture of Indonesia.
The early session of the day began with a warm-up that included stretching and mixture of Hari Mau and Cikalong jurus. This continued and turned into application of said jurus. The second session of the day was a group of weapons work that included the trisela, golok and karambit. This was quite a treat! The session concluded with a Q & A session.
The second day started with a few sets of Hari Mau langkas (ouch!) and continued on to application and other techniques from Hari Mau. The second session included a kembongen with application. The day ended with presentation of certificates and pictures with Ibu Rita.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Ibu Rita for coming to spread the art to America and continue on the path of Pak Herman. Her grace in movement, politness in character and knowledge of the art are assets to the world.
First off, I would like to thank Guru Kelly Smith for hosting the event and for putting my party and I up for the duration of the trip. I was personally able to spend a little extra time with Ibu Rita as a surrogate host due to an unfortunate and tragic accident that precipitated a funeral that called Guru Smith away for the first half of the first day. We were also fortunate enough to have three jagabya at the seminar and I would like to thank them for their extra guidance and knowledge.
For those who don't know Mande Muda is a system of roughly 25 styles of silat and 3-5 at the core from all over Indonesia, but based in west Java. The system was compiled by the late Herman Suwanda from family styles and styles learned during his travels and quest for new silat. Upon his untimely death the mantle of leadership in Mande Muda was passed to the eldest of his three silat trained siblings, Rita Suwanda who continues to spread the art of Mande Muda and the culture of Indonesia.
The early session of the day began with a warm-up that included stretching and mixture of Hari Mau and Cikalong jurus. This continued and turned into application of said jurus. The second session of the day was a group of weapons work that included the trisela, golok and karambit. This was quite a treat! The session concluded with a Q & A session.
The second day started with a few sets of Hari Mau langkas (ouch!) and continued on to application and other techniques from Hari Mau. The second session included a kembongen with application. The day ended with presentation of certificates and pictures with Ibu Rita.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Ibu Rita for coming to spread the art to America and continue on the path of Pak Herman. Her grace in movement, politness in character and knowledge of the art are assets to the world.