On Saturday, March 3, my teacher Guru Daniel Prasetya will be leading a Pencak Silat seminar at our Westminster school. The proceeds of this seminar will be used to help a dear friend of our martial arts family, Guru Bahati Mershant, pay for cancer treatments for his wife Cathleen.
For those of you who do not know Guru Bahati, he is not only an impressive practitioner of Sundanese Silat (see footage here), he is also the kind of person whose presence instantly brings a smile to all around him. This charm bridges all cultures and has enabled him to become kind of a video ethnographer of Indonesia and Indonesian martial arts.
While I was living in Indonesia, he came to Yogyakarta to meet my teacher Ki Poleng Sudamala, and I had the honor of serving as his translator. Over those few days, I experienced a variety of ceremonies and witnessed a wealth of silat knowledge that I would not have otherwise have seen, and for that I am eternally grateful to Guru Bahati. This video, provides a glimpse into those few days.
If you are available, I encourage you to attend. In addition to helping out a great person, this is an opportunity to learn something new.
