publications

Volume 1, Number 7

De Thouars Family Gathering 2000

The yearly de Thouars Family Gathering is one of the great, yet relatively undiscovered, communal events of the country -- and perhaps soon of other countries. It is a martial event, but the building of family relationships is in fact what it is really about. "Players" and their families somehow get to Denver from all over the U.S. and many parts of the world (from as far away as Mexico and Sweden) to prove that this gathering to investigate human energy in a combative, but not competitive, format is perhaps the seminal martial arts event of its time.

This event is about testing principals of energy in theory and actual experience. Through the years of the gathering, these events have crystalized into a community of curious and open-minded players who, no matter what disciplines they come from, honor Uncle Bill's dictum that, with practice, energy will lead the open-hearted player. It doesn't matter whether this investigation is from Uncle's own discipline of Kun Tao Silat de Thouars or the various sister arts -- each seem to strive toward a liberating place of spontaneous movement.

Seminars of practical "banging," with the commonality of respect for Willem's guidance toward ultimate oneness with each person's own energy, gave an amazing profile of the martial ideas out there. Styles such as Pa Kua, Shaolin, Traditional Silat, Venezuelan stick fighting, Serak, Tai Chi, Ju Jitsu, free fighting, Vietnamese monkey boxing, Kun Tao Silat, dancing and any number of spontaneous gatherings investigated everything from vibrating palm to self-defense in small, enclosed spaces, such as a phone booth.

This gathering may yield more insights into human energy than any number of chi kung conferences. It also teaches the attending players to receive with a laugh the same power most believe can only be delivered or received in actual combat. The fun of this year's gathering seemed to prove that the investigation of high-level energetic martial principles need not always be a serious contest. Instead, many left this weekend of intense but enlightening training with a smile, as if it were a party.

If you want to go someplace "better" in your martial and energetic training, be sure to attend next year's gathering, wherever it will be.

For infornation about next year's gathering, please check out Uncle's website:

www.kuntaosilatdethouars.com