D
dscott
Guest
I'm hoping to attend a seminar on June 18th with him and was wondering what peoples views were of him. I went to one of his seminars (or family gatherings) last year and thought it was wonderful.
An impressive martial artist with a great deal of material. In my experience, how good his seminars on vary by where he's teaching them; though I can imagaine good reason why that might be so. When I went to a seminar he was giving at a non-Silat school, I found the material he taught less interesting than the several times I've seminared under him at gatherings / silat schools.
I like the guy a good deal.
I like the guy a good deal.
dscott said:
I have been training with Uncle Bill as often as possible since '98. Since he lives in Colorado and I've lived in Ohio, Texas, and Kentucky while I've known Uncle I don't get to spend as much time with him as I might like. But I have enjoyed what time I've had and he's had quite a bit of influence on me.
He's an excellent martial artist and a really good guy with a large heart of pure gold. He's generous and caring and loves sharing - whether it's his martial arts or his painting. He works with neighborhood kids and helps them learn about drawing and painting. He sells his paintings at seminars and donates the money to various wildlife funds to help endangered species (which are, incidentally, the subject of many of his paintings). His life so far has been incredible and he's always sharing stories from his youth in Indonesia, his teen years in the Netherlands, his time in the Merchant Marines, and about his experiences in general both in and out of the martial arts.
Excellent in martial arts, kind and generous as a person, experienced and wise, and yet humble. He epitomizes the warrior spirit in many ways and has lived a warrior's life.
He accepts people as they are and tries - sometimes to his detriment - to find the good in all people.
One of the things I liked about him when I first met him in '98 was that he didn't put other people or their MA down. He said, "You all are good martial artists. You all have good skills. I'm not asking you to throw those away or to change them. You've already got a good stew. Just try my spices and see if you like them in your stew. If you do, use them. If not, throw them out."
That attitude - and his sincerity about it - really impressed me. When I later went to his "Family Gathering" in '98 I was even more impressed to discover that when he says "Family Gathering," that's really what he means. He considers the people who train with him to be family. The event was so incredible that I determined to never miss a Family Gathering again - and I haven't.
I'd say that any time you get a chance to train with Uncle Bill, take it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Mike
