PAK SERAK WAS NEVER HONORED. By the magus of Denver.

   It often had brought some dismay to the nature of my soul by considering how Pak Serak, the founder and creator of his own system was never strongly being mentioned by many practicing Serak. Even in Indonesia was Pak Serak hardly being mentioned that the original system of Serak became in divisions very apart from each other.  The reason I mention divisions can easy be explained by those who were better informed on Serak's history. Many who came to study under Pak Serak, in the later part of the 19th century, were leaving Pak Serak and had gone their own way - also revising for them selves from the little they knew had  reconstructed their art of Serak to make it suitable for them to shield their newer formatted system they were designing. A greater example known to the de Thouars was Mas Djoet and Marun were the main functioning teachers to uncle John and uncle Ventje de Vries. The history told through them was that Mas Djoet, primarily had to redesign the system of Pak Serak to make it suitable for him to teach.  Why many were leaving the founder for the same reason, and became their own founders with the same story telling in backgrounds that Pak Serak could not teach his own created system. Serak became then a very segregated system in various platforms, and even quite the opposite in structure from each other. Pak Serak became many who claim their own successors, and the real founder himself faded in history and left to rust. It had taken me many long years, when I really out of disgust began to assemble my thoughts in writing by daring to share the history of Serak and also start teaching the old Cheribon or Tjirebon Serak.  Since I knew Serak, in the de Thouars since the beginning as good, as excellent and as better informed than any of my brothers who had nothing to go on and only could explain the history in what was told to them by our uncles and family at home. Students of the de Thouars (majorly) for a deeper understanding came through the sources of Paul, and Victor and wend deeper to fabricate bigger stories as their own written history. The greatest example was the Nunez character to write about the Serak from the Badui people. How wrongly written by disregarding the true history and background of Pak Serak. The three tribes of the Badui were never involved with any martial arts. Some who learn some siilat outside their cultural environment studied some silat from outside the Badui tribes. Later on, in the later part of the 20th century were some Serak exponents who came to live with the outer circle of the tribesmen and shared Serak with members of the tribe. Our uncles and family trained and studied Serak and silat and kun tao in the 20th century .(Our American civil war, the Napoleonic wars, and other battles fought at the time were of the 19th century and also considered the modern war eras. Nelson against Napoleon's navy at the Nile, in Egypt was battling each other, in the 19th century. So most of the Serak taught in America, Europe and even Indonesia was the beginning of the 21 st century only separated with the course of our modern era to express its time period.
  Let observe our history and the founder himself for being hampered with a physical disability through birth, and also consider many others of the the battle hardened field commanders of all time, that several were suffering the same physical recession in physical incapability. they had to train harder, and striven harder than others with better physical capabilities. Overcame their setbacks and were stronger in battle and made our military history.
  Students who stayed to learn from the founder himself were also better informed, and also more concise in practice and also more fluid and more precise in movement and in moving in. From my memories of Pak Atjo and Mas Sardjono, who were in 1948, and in Bandung well in their 60's taught me the very first set was the langka enam as a long set. It toke me three months to learn. The langka enam or langka number six was practiced and taught as a straight line foot placement's longer set. The langka enam in the Serak Cheribon is the most important langka that was designed by pak Serak for the understanding that the straight line can be constructive for the creation of various angles as a format in practice. All the pantjars, seliwas and djurus are well organized as a complete system in the long formatted set as a long form. There are also many basic combination sets as formatted practice. Out of a long straight line or center line's practice can easy be detected of being comprehensive the nature for the straight line in finding circular movements and also uncountable angular movements.   Serak has also a large combination in set with weaponry from blades to staffs. It is a basic a old hand kun tao orientated system. Is by any means not external but more designed as an internal art because of the founder's physical handicap.
  According to the direct disciples of Pak Serak that he had trained himself by moving faster and could. be in quicker than most other teachers even in kun tao with his lame arm and club foot.  He was strong in business, and was the hardest in training his people, and lived in a village in the forest. He was faced with difficult times between other natives and under the condition of an colonized environment. From all my studies in Serak by my own preference made my choice to have chosen the Serak Cheribon over all the other Srak systems, even though we share some similar qualities together in physical positioning.  We differ from other Serak systems is in our quick motion in movements with faster reaction and more with an  adoption to situations. Why also our Golden spider juru is a longer set apart from the other systems. All my family I teach, are not just regular students they are family members training under me.
  In closing: " Drifting clouds in a shrouded sun lost in rays. Is nowhere in sight,
                     but a touch in a ray to grief. In a grief and in a joy, is the sun at distance shore.
                      To see is believing - but not in feeling is the shrouded sun in the ray to glister.
                      Seeking the ray to viper, is the feeling of a whispering wind that blows.
                     Everything passes in nature's twist"
 By Oom Willem de Thouars, the magus of Denver,