TRANSFORMATION
THROUGH
PATIENCE
I spent most of my primary school years searching
for something that would keep my mind busy when I
was away from school. It was a challenge since I also
had to convince my parents to allow me to participate
in any sport away from and out of schooling hours.
Fortunately, my parents were at a Pencak Silat
demonstration in Bosmont, and they were amazed by
what the participants could do. In 2009, I became a
student of the Indonesian Martial Arts, Pencak Silat.
It has been 10 years since I joined and it is one of the
greatest decisions I have ever made. I have visited
Indonesia 3 times and each time my experience was
different. My last visit was in 2015 and it was the
most beneficial in all aspects. I learned more than I
thought was possible. I was given the responsibility
of training in Indonesia, not only to benefit myself
but to benefit the class back home in South Africa. I
am now a senior trainer and I continue to learn and
benefit from the training. The lessons I learn during
training can be applied to life itself. I realised this
when an instructor constantly repeated "Maajida,
don't be angry, be patient". Patience, this is one of
the greatest lessons Pencak Silat has taught me. We
are taught not to rush our movements, to practice
them slowly at first, to be patient. This has taught me
to be patient not only with those around me or in
situations I find myself in, but to be patient with
myself. Whether it be with studying or when
attempting something new.
We are taught to complete our movements, not to
skip anything and to do the movements to the best of
our ability. I found that I can apply this in life as well.
Everything I do, I try to do completely and whole
heartedly. During my studies I reached a stage where
I thought about giving up, but I remembered that I
needed to do this and I needed to complete it.
Everything in life should be done with the intention
of doing it correctly and to give it your best, fully and
completely. By joining this class in 2009, I have
become part of an amazing new family.
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We have grown and showed strength by the mere fact that
we still exist and we're willing to strive together in order to
grow together. Persaudaraan Pencak Silat Salamun
Alaikum is the formal name of our Pencak Silat School.
Persaudaraan translates to "Brotherhood", which is very
important as this is what we try to teach the students as
well as ourselves. Islamically, brotherhood is also very
important and we learn this from history. Brotherhood is a
forever bond and we hope that this brotherhood will
continue prosper and grow with the years to come.
WRITTEN BY: Maajida Matthews
Photography by Zana Caster