SERAK'S INTEND IS TO LIVE IN PEACE. By the magus of Denver.

   My main intend is to share my feeling with my most distinguished martial followers, and well trained disciple - instructors - are my true lineage holders and true finished practitioners. To assume that I have not one finished student is all a pack of lies from old ex students, and others who like to make a claim on the art Serak. Unfortunate and really not to my dismay that I had to remove, and "booted" out some two hundred ex students and ex martial associated friends. Their names not even recorded by me has no significance in meaning to me - we are finished, and I, and my loyal devoted followers are moving forward to a higher ground level. Why as a main topic to start my this morning's article is also my way of thinking - in how I see the art of Pencak silat Srak as a total peaceful art - and should be looked upon in a more constructive  way in  relationship to living an art of the living. Why my main topic I wrote it  as -SERAK'S INTEND TO LIVE IN PEACE - and please do not interfere by correcting me - as my first post to start intended article to write.. After all I am writing my point in viewing in how to construct my editorial for my sharing. It is also the beginning of the first post, mind you not in an insulting way.
  I actually paint better than I write, often was forced to write to defend my own stamping ground - in being aggressive and never let down. As long as I am being understood is all I care for; for a reality check are there many well acknowledged and quite well educated people, my students who had no problem understanding me. For sure one can always find a stick to hit a dog.
  My main object for writing is the art Serak, and how I feel and consider myself the luckiest teacher who have no problems with my legacy in followers are also everywhere and anywhere.  Many teachers in Serak, and also in various another martial systems always try to dominate their students. My brothers made that mistake, and many others from what I knew were making the same mistakes after mistakes that they live forever and their students are enslaved by their thinking. There was never a Board of Directors like in the PDT Academy for instance only by my example trying to make the art they are practicing a secretive martial practice. In what was created by their teachers is the worse of down fall leading to a tragedy.
  I had been practicing and training Serak for as long, as I could remember for at least over 60 years. And despite trying to harmonize by sharing the art together in the family, was always a hysterical drama  brought in a disastrous disharmony by my own brothers; mainly Paul and Victor always trying to dominate the art for owning the art. No one really knew my practice or accumulated years of training my many various forms in martial practice - that I kept the silence, and they kept pushing me aside by underrating my knowledge for claiming to know something. Insecurity in men can have some bad affect with students and family. It never had mattered to me, because I knew in what I knew - they never did, and I also knew their background and also knew all their training with their greater flaws to impact Serak in the later years. All out of a set position.
  The biggest problem regarding the art Serak - that over the years are many self devised forms of Serak in the system Serak. At one time or another, in going back in time were quite a few training under the founder pak Serak, was during the 19th century, and others Like Mas Djoet who left Pak Serak - wend on their own and made up their own Serak. They found training further under pak Serak was inadequate because of his club foot and lame arm, and not a club arm.  They learned only enough to go their own ways to prosper. But the ones who stayed began teaching the Pak Serak system,- some in the 19 century but mostly was in the 20th century when they actually introduced the art to just a chosen few.  I was very fortunate  to started to learn the real Serak from the two native teachers, in Bandung in 1948, and later found another guru of the same system, in Deli City in Northern California. The three I studied under were all training partners (students) under Pak Serak - they knew each other - and I concluded my training under the German- Dutch native teacher here in America. All three teachers are now long gone -but their spirit will always remain to be treasured on the palm of my hands. From what I had received the training under uncle John de Vries. in the 1950's will always be treasured by me, and also feel freely to comment that I knew the Serak Bandung of the Mas Djoet lineage - and will always prefer to train the Pak Serak art of Serak. But I honor uncle John as the best disciple under Mas Djoet. I still also do practice his combination djurus.
  No body ever hurt of them - I am glad and happy and can only be a remarkable showing the difference between me, and all my two brothers and all their students in how I had learned my serak. nothing meant as an insult. Their practice is all good, I only favor my own knowledge in Serak.
  The main reason why the difference between others, my own brothers and my own self - that I always had run my legacy as a family orientated system - while others try to possess and own the souls of students under their dictatorship. God bless them - I sleep better.
  There is no problem or any argumentative behaviorism among my group of finished and well trained practitioners - even when I needed to remove all in one day some two hundred others of the worthless and big bragging ex students out my family circles and  sorry was unable to use an old German Para trooper's boot to do it with. But in America with all our law in regulations did it in a nice way - instead of swift kicking their a**** did it by just nicely removing them.  Keeps me better to sleep.
  My Serak training centers to honor and respect the founder Pak Serak, and only honoring him is steadily and vastly growing stronger with more and better folks are my martial family.  I can only honor one master - and impossible for me to cow town to others in the Serak community of the world.
  Live like a family where rank has no place of business in the true tradition of Serak.
By Oom Willem de Thouars, the magus of Denver.