I've finally found the art I've been looking for, Silat Cimande any advice for a beginner? Had my first two lessons over the past two weeks the class is only once a week, I want more but in a way it works out better for me because my schedule is very busy with college, work and religous studies, it also will help me become consistant in something seeing as it's only one day a week at an easy time. Any advice on training for a beginner would be appreciated.
Attend class regularly, pay attention to your teacher, and practice on your own. After class, take notes on what you learned. Ask questions. And when you do, remember that "I don't understand how x works" usually gets much better results than "I don't think x works."
^^Everything E-rocker said! Additionally, time your questions; saying 'I don't understand' as something is being explained to the class is rude, asking during practise or after training is generally not. Don't just watch the hands/weapons; often the really important key is in what the feet are doing. But mostly, train hard, practise lots, have fun, and remember that once you have learned something, you don't know it, you will need to keep learning and relearning it as you get better and discover more in the art.
What those other guys said but also you will want to do a lot of stretching in order to be flexible. This may not seem important now but trust me when you get to be an older Cimande practitioner, it will. Also, just keep training and never get caught up with politics as Silat in the western world has lots. Congratulations by the way. Someone said once that you don't choose Silat, Silat chooses you. Cimande is a great art. May your Silat journey be long and illuminating.
