Last night my school had an awards banquet, something that we hope will be an annual occurance moving forwards. Guro May did all the cooking...and not only was the food fabulous, she put a tremendous amount of heart and effort in to it all. After my private lesson on Thursday morning, she mentioned how she needed to go out shopping so she could start cooking for everyone for Saturday evening. There were trays and trays and trays of Filipino food to go around, as well as a good compliment of students/instructors, family members, and friends.
After everyone had a chance to say hello to one another and eat a plate of chow (or two...), the mats cleared for some impromptu demos. How I WISH I had my camera with me...a few of the guys teamed up for some empty hand Silat demonstrations that set the place on fire! A few of the ladies did some blade work, one of our students did a silat dance with fixed blades, Guro May did one using two balisongs. A few of the kids stepped forwards and did their forms working in pairs.
Guro Mike stressed how they taught Kali and Silat as principle-based arts; once the student learns the principles, many applications can be developed. He stressed how everything that was done (except for the children) was all impromptu, all made up on the spot. The fluidity and the fire in everyone was just incredible.
After the demos, Mike and May stepped forwards to give out awards. They stressed how the school is recognized in the Philippines and in Indonesia and how they take everyone's training very seriously. They awarded membership certificates to new students and recognized some of the veteran students for training to an assistant instructor or instructor level. They offer a special notification for MA teachers that have their own program and teach Filipino/Indonesian arts along with their own curriculum
Mike then got very quiet and said he was going to do something that he hasn't done before, and that was to name a few of his instructors as Guros. He said that is the highest "rank" that he will bestow upon someone and that most of these students had already been promoted to/recognized as Guros by our grandmasters in the Philippines and in Indonesia. He described how the title also comes with responsibility...since our school is well-known abroad, they would be expected to perform in a way that does justice to the art and the school.
After these awards, Mike and May offered appreciation awards to folks that were key in helping out the school over the last year or so. We thought the ceremony would be coming to a close...but we were wrong. Guro John Savage asked everyone to wait for just a moment.
He brought an athletic bag to the front of the table. What happened after that was quite unexpected.
He announced that Guro May had earned her Shodan in Kyu Shin Ryu Kenpo Jiujitsu, and presented her with her certificate and black belt...her first notable rank in a Japanese art. He then gave a certificate of recognition to Mike for all that he has done for all of Martial Arts.
And finally, Guro Wes Tasker stepped forwards, and talked about the root of Guro/Guru....explaining how it was a Sansrkit word that means "heavy". Why heavy? Because...when one becomes a teacher, one has heavy responsibility. He then talked about the ranks in Pukulan Pentjak Kendang, Wes explained how this meant that Mike was now fully ensconced in the Pukulan Pentjak Kendang lineage, and recognized mike as Guro Tuhan, the highest rank in the system. By this point, most of us were both happy and misty-eyed at the same time.
All in all it was an incredible night all around. Congrats to Guros Mike and May Williams and everyone else at the event!
After everyone had a chance to say hello to one another and eat a plate of chow (or two...), the mats cleared for some impromptu demos. How I WISH I had my camera with me...a few of the guys teamed up for some empty hand Silat demonstrations that set the place on fire! A few of the ladies did some blade work, one of our students did a silat dance with fixed blades, Guro May did one using two balisongs. A few of the kids stepped forwards and did their forms working in pairs.
Guro Mike stressed how they taught Kali and Silat as principle-based arts; once the student learns the principles, many applications can be developed. He stressed how everything that was done (except for the children) was all impromptu, all made up on the spot. The fluidity and the fire in everyone was just incredible.
After the demos, Mike and May stepped forwards to give out awards. They stressed how the school is recognized in the Philippines and in Indonesia and how they take everyone's training very seriously. They awarded membership certificates to new students and recognized some of the veteran students for training to an assistant instructor or instructor level. They offer a special notification for MA teachers that have their own program and teach Filipino/Indonesian arts along with their own curriculum
Mike then got very quiet and said he was going to do something that he hasn't done before, and that was to name a few of his instructors as Guros. He said that is the highest "rank" that he will bestow upon someone and that most of these students had already been promoted to/recognized as Guros by our grandmasters in the Philippines and in Indonesia. He described how the title also comes with responsibility...since our school is well-known abroad, they would be expected to perform in a way that does justice to the art and the school.
After these awards, Mike and May offered appreciation awards to folks that were key in helping out the school over the last year or so. We thought the ceremony would be coming to a close...but we were wrong. Guro John Savage asked everyone to wait for just a moment.
He brought an athletic bag to the front of the table. What happened after that was quite unexpected.
He announced that Guro May had earned her Shodan in Kyu Shin Ryu Kenpo Jiujitsu, and presented her with her certificate and black belt...her first notable rank in a Japanese art. He then gave a certificate of recognition to Mike for all that he has done for all of Martial Arts.
And finally, Guro Wes Tasker stepped forwards, and talked about the root of Guro/Guru....explaining how it was a Sansrkit word that means "heavy". Why heavy? Because...when one becomes a teacher, one has heavy responsibility. He then talked about the ranks in Pukulan Pentjak Kendang, Wes explained how this meant that Mike was now fully ensconced in the Pukulan Pentjak Kendang lineage, and recognized mike as Guro Tuhan, the highest rank in the system. By this point, most of us were both happy and misty-eyed at the same time.
All in all it was an incredible night all around. Congrats to Guros Mike and May Williams and everyone else at the event!
