An apt title to Uncle's book, "A Journey Through Time." Probably the last of the "old school" masters from a time that has been long gone in history to the present day, this book is a first-hand account of the trials and tribulations of a living legend. Yep, I said it. It is not hyperbole. Stories of training with kuntao and silat masters as a young child using ancient methods of practice with ancient expectations of the students. Students of any martial art should purchase a copy, but especially those who practice kuntao, silat and kuntao silat, so that they may see the roots of their practice. (Note: it has been well established that karate has roots in the kuntao of southern China and the
te of Okinawa.) There's an excellent description of the book on Eureka Productions web page that reads as follows:
"
Written in the unmistakable voice of Kun Tao Silat master Willem de Thouars, A Journey Through Time is an autobiographical reflection of de Thouars’s combined lifetime passion for martial arts, history and philosophy. The great grandson of a Dutch tea plantation owner and his African American wife, Willem de Thouars inherited a complex cultural legacy. As the grandson of a skilled Silat practitioner, he was also uniquely positioned to partake in the rigorous martial arts training found in Indonesia. A Journey Through Time chronicles De Thouars’s over six decades of studies and observations of both eastern and western martial disciplines.
De Thouars, like a Kendang dancer or circling Bagua practitioner, weaves his personal odyssey into the larger theater of human migration, trade, and conquest in the island nations of Indonesia. The reader is taken though de Thouars’s boyhood in the Dutch East Indies, internment during Japanese occupation (1942-1946), displacement upon Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch, relocation to the Netherlands, and subsequent immigration to the United States in 1960.
The reader comes away with a richer understanding of the origins of Willem de Thouars’s style of Kun Tao Silat.A Journey Through Time represents the bounty of what life has taught de Thouars, including his devotion to the natural world, which is joyfully depicted in his animal illustrations found throughout the book.
About the Author
Willem de Thouars’s skills as Kun Tao Silat master and teacher have made him a sought after instructor at international martial arts seminars. Originally from Indonesia, he has lived in the United States since 1960. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado, with his wife Joyce.
Product Details
Paperback: 191 pages
Publisher: Eureka Productions
Price: $14.99 U.S.
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0615710743
ISBN-13: 978-0615710747"
