Category: Martial Arts

The Results of Rituals: Inside and Out

Published on by Angel Millar4 Comments

“The disciplines of physical exercise, meditation and study aren’t terribly esoteric. The means to attain a capability far beyond that of the so-called ordinary person are within the reach of everyone, if their desire and their will are strong enough,” Alan Moore once said. “I have studied science, art, religion and a hundred different philosophies. Anyone could do as much. By applying what you learn and ordering your thoughts in an intelligent manner it is possible to accomplish almost anything. Possible for an ‘ordinary person.’ There’s a notion I’d like to see buried: the ordinary person. Ridiculous. There is no ordinary person.”

Maybe one day I will measure my magical progress by how many fat sacks of cash I can manifest or by bending the universe towards whatever momentary fancy that takes up space in my head. Perhaps on another day I will evaluate myself by the frequency of flashes of blinding white light that envelop me while standing at my altar of worship. Wait, maybe when I hex all my enemies and they come to great pain for crossing me, that’s when I’ll know I’m serious about magic. Or maybe none of those things will ever happen and I’ll have merely lived a more interesting life than if I had never allowed myself to think magically. Continue reading “The Results of Rituals: Inside and Out” →

An Introduction to the Martial Arts of Pentjak Silat Serak and Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara

Published on by Angel Millar5 Comments

The tribes of the jungles of the Indo-Malay archipelago have produced some of the most devastating systems of combat and self – defense based on hundreds of years of tribal warfare. Collectively known as Silat, these martial arts systems are generally characterized by both armed and un-armed tactics and concepts. Although in modern times some have been watered down into sports, many have kept their edge as forms of combat and self – preservation whose instructors refuse to teach them as sports.

When the term Pencak Silat is used, it refers specifically to the Indonesian systems of Silat. Likewise, the alternative spelling of Pentjak Silat refers to the Dutch-Indonesian lineages of Silat. There are literally dozens of these systems, with hundreds of sub-systems. The term Pencak Silat was first used officially on the 18th of May in 1948 at the foundation of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI – Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia). The term pencak was more common among the Javanese, whereas silat was the common term for martial practice in Sumatra, as well as Borneo. Continue reading “An Introduction to the Martial Arts of Pentjak Silat Serak and Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara” →

Return of The True Nobles

Published on by Angel Millar2 Comments

There is an infographic making the rounds that goes like this: “Bad times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make bad times.” Anyone with an interest in history can hear the truth in that. Decadence and debauchery, when made cultural norms invariably leads to a weakening of society. This makes society then ripe for a group of “Strong Men” to take it for their own.

But who are these “Strong Men”? Who are these noble folk who conquered territory and set the roots for powerful, world stretching civilizations? How can we become like them? To get to that point I feel it’s important for us to examine the word “Noble”. Continue reading “Return of The True Nobles” →