Just as an observation from one who has been following this thread for a while and seen it drift off on tangents as opposed to its original intent. I think that what Infinite Beginner does not have a handle on is how , American martial artists percieve the "sing song ", vague , esoteric, indirect language used in his posts. ( I can't speak for other cultures).That is why he sometimes gets the reactions that he does. Here in the USA ,back in the 70s when the TV show "Kung Fu" was popular, the star portrayed by David Carradine spoke in vague, esoteric mystical language seasoned with broken /pidgeon English. Before you knew it,you had martial arts instructors who seemed to adopt that style of speech when talking to students and others about their art....talking in Zen Koans, Asian parables,pidgeon English ,etc, ....often mediocre teachers trying to come off as having some sort of deep, far reaching ,mystic insight to these "exotic" fighting arts , that ,at that time, were fairly unfamiliar to the American public. It has become more of a joke....something that is repeatedly PARODIED in comedy routines and even members of our more wise-cracking martial artists. So here in the USA , serious martial artists who have "been around the block " tend to find such language corny , unnecessary or tedious if used ad. nauseum..."constantly and to the extreme". Certainly the points made can still be insightful and valid , but often time direct ,concrete statements are more respected and appreciated. One who talks like this in America is often suspected of trying to "put on over on others" by trying to sounds as if they have secret , deep, superior insights into an art. The novice may hang on every syllable of the sing song poetry but if used too much , many other folks will just think "Give it a rest, get to the point and stop beating around the bush " and quickly tire of what that person has to say. This is just my assessment of why people react to Infinite Beginner as they do. I've seen a mixed response ,but those who have a lot of training years under their belts are the ones who seem to react the most negatively. Subjects touched on are quite nice as ,myself being a pesilat, I know what he refers to. However, the "language" the subjects are wrapped in often caused the point to be lost because this method of communication is being overused as it was overused by the old "Kung Fu" fan/ martial arts instructor of the 1970s. We all can get a bit philosophic on our arts but we try not to "over do it". Again as this thread started out as "Why did you choose silat?" , people are interested in specifics relative to that. Those people are also wanting to know what is studied, with whom , where , how long ,etc. and what attracted you to the art as opposed to philosophic musings on ever minute detail of the art.
Just my observations on the direction and flavor the thread has had at times . Since so many react to Infinite Beginner as they do I thought I'd explain why I percieve that to be happening. I still think interactions would be less inflammatory at times if Infinite Beginner really introduced himself by way of style, back ground , location, and some specifics rather than only throwing out esoteric, philosophical statements continuously. It would help to have folks understand and connect with you more as a fellow martial artist and silat enthusiast.
With Respect,
Doc
