Original Post Redacted.
I've said it before, politics in the Martial Arts world is closely related ot going home late at night on the public transit system here in Seattle: We always let the crazy fucker sit wherever he wants.
I have gotten, literally, dozens of emails regarding the demise of silat.tv, ranging from "Dude, are you high? This place is a sewer." to "How do you feel knowing your predictions have come true?"
How do I feel? I feel like a man who thought he was hearing the voice of God, only to realize later it was a tumor growing in his head. An inoperable tumor.
It is unfortunate, but I can no longer endorse Silat.tv with a clear conscience. Like every other public, un-moderated web forum, it has fallen to petty arguments, backbiting and overall childishness form those we consider "seniors" in the community. Those who were looked to for leadership have proven to be children dressed in clothes far, far too large for them - especially the shoes. Further investigation on the internet reveals that such expectations may have been a bit high, considering past behavior.
I feel ashamed that I ever supported such a site, and I have learned a valuable lesson: Nothing is worth my integrity, and anyone saying one thing but doing another is NEVER worth my patience.
The best thing I can say about Silat.tv right now is...I'm no longer a member.
3 comments:
I wore out the T-shirt:" Pentjak Silat: It's not something you eat with peanut sauce ..."
When I had the Miata, it wore the bumper sticker:
Pentjak Silat -- If you have to ask, you don't need to know ..."
People ask, it depends on who and how they bring it up. If they know anything about MA, I offer similes, "It's Indonesian, from Java. Looks kind of like a cross between wing chun and aikido, sort of."
When they'd yell at the bumper sticker -- "Hey, what is it?" I'd usually say, "It's Indonesian knife-fighting." That almost always brought the conversation to a halt ...
Hi Bobbe,
Thanks for your positive review of Silat.TV. Like you, I've been so frustrated with Silat discussion groups in the past that I've refused to participate. Many of the discussion sites are usually populated by the misinformed who are busy screaming at the ignorant.
I hope that Silat.TV will be different for three reasons.
The first reason - that you noted - is that the site has many, many members who are Silat practitioners who live in Indonesia and Malaysia. The expertise is there and all of the Silat.TV members (East and West) respect that. There aren't many people who live outside of SE Asia who are willing to go on record in a discussion group and tell a Guru in West Java that he doesn't know what he's talking about!
The second reason I think that Silat.TV will be different is because it is focused on Silat and just Silat. Everyone there already loves Silat and is interested in learning more. There is no MMA, no BJJ, no TKD on Silat.TV. So the inter-MA rivalries are already diminished.
The third reason is that Silat.TV emphasizes and enforces Adab (good manners, courtesy, respect, and appropriateness). I've already had to delete a couple potentially inflammatory posts and photos. It doesn't take more than a few drops of poison to ruin a well, so the editorial policy of Silat.TV will be one of enforcing respectful behavior. People can and should argue and disagree, but insulting individuals, styles, nationalities or religions won't be tolerated.
Thanks again for your positive review of Silat.TV and for your generous contributions to Silat.TV's content! I look forward to seeing you online!
Best Regards,
Omar Hakim
Hi Omar - I hope one day you will read this response.
All of your points - every damn one - have proven to be false. You have allowed everything you swore would be a guiding principle in your leadership of silat.tv to become perverted into a distorted reflection of Pencak Silat. I can no longer allow my original article to stand, in light of the "new direction" you seem to be taking things.
I can forgive others for being childish and petty, small and self-serving. That is the nature of most people, and certainly the current ringleaders of your site.
I cannot forgive you for inviting me into your house, and then subjecting me to the garden-variety bullshit that has become the hallmark of silat.tv.
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