Wow! We just had another great seminar with Pendekar William Sanders on September 9th and 10th. We had a very good turnout and an abundance of new information on the original art of Mas Jud. We covered the Sera Depok 2 Man Juru applications and the first Ular Juru from Mas Jud. Pendekar's new book is now available on the history of Mas Jud and the Sera Depok Jurus. It also contains some great pictures of Mas Jud's sons and senior students and a lineage chart with all of the different influences that formulate this venerable art of Pukulan Cimande Pusaka. Go to www.cimande.com for more information.

We also had some promotions at the seminar. After some intense 3 on 1 sparring matches, both Laura White and Bryan Jacobs were promoted to the rank of Guru. Gerald Shadow Morgan was promoted to the rank of Guru Baharu after a brutal 2 on 1 sparring match. They all did a great job in passing their tests and showed a tremendous amount of fighting ferocity, courage and will power. I am very confident they will all make outstanding teachers and uphold the integrity and moral conduct of the art and respect all of the traditions handed down from the ancestors.

I will be teaching a seminar at the school in Port Huron on Saturday, October 14, 2006. I will be covering snake and crane, along with the fire and air elements and their relationships to each other, and also the sarong. You can find out more info on the Seminar page. From now on I will try to teach a seminar every month on different aspects of the art so that distant students can make it up to train more often. Videos and DVDs are great, but like I said before it is a must to train in person to be able to advance in rank and truly understand the art and what you are learning. I think many times students seem to forget, but my school in Port Huron, Michigan is the only full time Pukulan Cimande Pusaka school in the United States. Teaching Pukulan Cimande Pusaka is my full time job. It's what I do for a living. We have many great teachers throughout the U.S. who are doing a fabulous job spreading the art but the King Tiger Academy is the premiere Pukulan Cimande Pusaka training facility in the United States. I'm hoping that more students and teachers start to take advantage of this, so that the art will flourish here in the United States as it has and is flourishing in Europe due to all of the efforts and hard work of Guru Besar Liam McDonald.

One final point on training! There is a moral code of conduct and ethics that go along with any martial arts tradition. In Pencak Silat they are normally referred to as Adat and Hormat meaning: Respecting Customs and Traditions of a people or society that have existed for centuries. There is a chain of command, just as in the military or a police force. Anyone of higher rank than you should be respected. Anyone that has been training longer than you is your senior and should be respected. Anyone that is older than you should also be respected. A student should never question their senior or their teacher, but they may ask questions! Remember, to be a good student you must:
Have total faith in your teacher.
Have total faith in your art.

All of the secrets to life and the universe can be found through this art if you just put in the time and stay on the path. If you keep straying from the path or pausing to look at other things it will only take you longer to arrive. Hopefully if you are reading this you are already on the path and we will see you in class or at the next seminar.

Selamat,
Guru Besar Jerry Jacobs