Last Class of Fall Semester'09

Saturday is the last class of the '09 Fall Semester. We are trying to get space for the break. Hopefully they will let me know by next week.

Breakfast after class to celebrate a successful semester, the holidays and new year's. See you all there!

Silat.Tv USGF Group

We have a United States Gayong Federation Group on Silat.tv! We will help spread gayong and the happenings of USGF on this social networking site!

http://www.silat.tv/group/unitedstatesgayongfederation

COD Club

We are officially a club at College of Dupage! You can be a member of the USGF club without being a student of the Silat class. This club affords us many benefits at COD and beyond. More details to come!

http://www.cod.edu/dept/stud_act/rec_club.htm#usgf

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at USGF!

Cikgu Kahar Redza

Thinking about some of the Cikgu we have trained with and met in Malaysia over the years. Cikgu Kahar Redza comes to mind. We were fortunate to train with Cikgu Kahar and learn from him.

Cikgu Kahar reminds me of my uncle, he's always putzing in the garden or walking around and checking everything out, but he always is watching you. He is watching your progress, making sure you are staying out of trouble, and laughing at you as you attempt new things. He at first had few words for us, the students. We got messages through other people. He would occasionally give us a nod if we got something right, but we didn't interact with him at first. When we finally trained with him, I was intimidated, I admit.

We definately have language barriers, but we got the message. Daniel in particular can attest to Cikgu Kahar's strength in his hands, as Daniel really got the brunt of the beatings. When we did something wrong, he'd waive his hand and utter "agh!" When we finally got it right, we'd get the nod maybe with an affirmative "ah."

I don't know if Cikgu Kahar's hands are strong and because of this he does Urut, or he does Urut and that's why his hands are strong. Cikgu Kahar helped me with my shoulder pain by performing Urut massage techniques on my feet and hands. If I could have crawled out of my skin, I would have. If you've ever gotten a deep tissue massage, and the tech finds a knot and really tries to get the knot out you begin to understand Urut pain. When you twitch because a spot on your foot or hand is painful, he will stay at that same point until he feels he can move on. Each spot means something else, but when he found the spot and told you what ailment it coencided with, you understood why it hurt. My feet were pretty numb when he finished, and he told me they would be itchy in a few minutes, as the blood flow returned. It was painful but relaxing afterwards, as my shoulder finally relxed after the long plane trip and carrying camera equiptment, luggage, and gifts around.

Cikgu Kahar has that thousand yard stare that will intimidate you when you first meet him. He will beat the tar out of you and jump around you until you are dizzy. If you pay attention, you can learn a lot, even if you don't train with him and just get to be around him.

Terima Kasih Cikgu Kahar!

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

This saying makes me think about my own teachers in Silat Seni Gayong. I was taught first by Gene Scott, a senior student of Cikgu Sam, then taught by Joel Champ and finally Cikgu Sam took me as a student. At each point in training, someone new "appeared" to continue my journey. From my teachers in the United States, I have been able to learn from Cikgu Jaz, Cikgu Malik, Cikgu Kahar and many other Cikgu in Malaysia. Some of the teaching is not crossing hands but talking and explaining. This is also training.

Sometimes I ask questions that I am not ready to know the answers yet. Sometimes I am. Sometimes I get asked questions that students aren't ready to know the answers to.

All you can do is trust yourself and trust your Cikgus. Train hard and the teachers will appear, just don't forget to look for them!

Blogs of Note!

Here are two other blogs of note. One is Cikgu Jazwan Kahar's blog from Malaysia and the other is Cikgu Shaiful Hakim's blog from France. Both have lots of information on Gayong in English. They are reputable speakers for Gayong!

Cikgu Jazwan's Blog- www.jazwankahar.blogspot.com

Cikgu Hakim's Blog- www.narapatinantaboga.blogspot.com

I recommend you become of follower of their respective blogs so you'll be updated when new posts are published.

Hey while you're at it, follow our blog too!

www.unitedstatesgayongfederation.blogspot.com