Through my training at the Magda Institute (MI), I've had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and make lifelong friendships. This year was the first time that our Italian affiliate school, the Kali Escrima Silat Association ( K.E.S.A.) sponsored its own MI association summer camp. The instructor of K.E.S.A.—Serifino Fontana, a.k.a. "El Maestro"—and his staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and at home.
One of my concerns traveling to Italy was the language barrier. Would we be able to understand one another? And if not, how would we be able to learn from each other? Much to my surprise many of the Italian students spoke English. The next test would prove how well we could communicate through our training.
Over the course of the five-day camp my appreciation for the art grew deeper. It was fascinating to discover that thousands of miles away, MI students are doing the same exact thing we do here in Reseda. Although Michele Cali was able to translate English instructions into Italian, Sifu Cass’ passion for the art and in-depth knowledge of the body movements translated even without words.
The highlight of the training was when Sifu Cass taught Kambangan “the flower dance,” which is a high level self-expression of the art. Because Kambangan is a form of self-expression it is regarded as one of the most difficult aspects of Silat training. The movements in Kambangan incorporate the various techniques and short forms known as “Djurus.”
To show their appreciation of what they learned from Sifu Cass, the Italians took their new knowledge and applied it to their Kambangan. As a result, we were able to watch an eclectic demonstration of Kambangan performed by all the instructors. This is when I realized that even though we speak different languages, we are all part of the same martial arts family. Nothing is lost in translation…we truly speak the same language
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