50 MARTIAL ARTS MYTHS

My 1st book on Martial Arts Myths is out on Amazon.com
Become a more informed martial arts enthusiast, teacher or student by discovering what really lies behind the legends of the world's different fighting systems. Comprehensively researched, carefully organized, and packed with fascinating details about the history, development and culture of martial arts, 50 Martial Arts Myths reveals the truth about martial arts and the stories they've generated.

* Discover where black belts come from and what they really mean!
* Learn why girls often make the best martial artists.
* Understand why soft martial arts can pack the hardest punches.
* You'll learn why practicing martial arts can actually reduce aggression
* the amazing truth behind top secret "dim mak" techniques

50 Martial Arts Myths is essential for anyone interested in martial arts-- whether experienced martial artist or a new student -- who wants to understand the real story behind the world's martial arts styles.
Go to: http://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Myths-Sulaiman-Sharif/dp/0967754623/

Book Back Cover Reviews

"As a student, fan, and now a professor of both martial arts as well as martial art movies, I'm pleased that Sulaiman Sharif has finally debunked the myths that many of my readers and students have long held dear. As I say to them: it's not win or lose, it's learn or not learn. Read this entertaining, fascinating book to truly win."

- Ric Meyers
Author, Editor, Professor
Martial Arts Movies book
Inside Kung Fu magazine
University of Bridgeport Martial Arts Degree Program

"Well Written, Informative and About Time"
- Sifu Guru Dan Donzella
Garuda Chuan-fa/Tjimande

"It's great to see a book that addresses so many martial arts myths. Hopefully, those thinking of getting involved in the martial arts will read this book so they will be able to discern what is real from what is not."
- Guru Sean Stark
Author of three martial arts books
Founder of Pencak Silat Pertempuran

"Thoughtful, Well Presented, and a Fun Read"

Sulaiman Sharif Exposes"50 Martial Arts Myths" in New Book for Martial Arts Teachers, Students and Enthusiasts

Aimen's book on Martial Arts Myths is now on sale on Amazon....for more information please click the link below:


Sulaiman Sharif Exposes"50 Martial Arts Myths" in New Book for Martial Arts Teachers, Students and Enthusiasts

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Junior Disciples of Gayong International

Gayong Bukit Mahkota Rocks !!

 

 

 

 

(12th July, 09)
The barefooted youngsters of The Bukit Mahkota Gayong Chapter nonchalantly shrug off the afternoon sun and put up an awesome and spirited performance. It was simply delightful to watch them execute their orchestrated moves. Congrats and thanks a gazillion to the instructors who prepared them for the show. So, prowlers who are bent on taking advantage of BM residents, BEWARE of these young warriors, they ROCK!!

TGA's version of the Shaolin Temple...

 

Taqwa Gayong Academy (TGA) was founded on three components that were crucial to aid the reformation of our wayward students.

First and foremost is Taqwa which is the Islamic concept of "God-consciousness" or higher consciousness. Having taqwa allows a person to be constantly aware of both God's all-encompassing knowledge and attributes and a reminder of their relationship and responsibility to God as his creation and servant. The scholars explain that the way to taqwa is through obedience of God, avoiding disobedience, and striving to stay away from doubtful matters. It is awareness of God as one moves through life.

When the students arrive at our doorstep, religion wasn't even in their vocabulary. Take Yusuf and Malik,(aged 6 and 8 respectively),for example, two brothers of Sudanese origin who were left to fend for themselves for two weeks in the thick of winter in front of a seven-eleven store. When they came to the school, the only thing Islamic about them were their names...

Then, there were also those who were fostered by Christian families, like Sharon and Amando, aged 5 and 7, who in return for their kindness, brought these unsuspecting foster families to the brink of nervous breakdowns. Sharon's mom and sister died of AIDS when he was 5 and although he wasn't infected at that time, the doctors didn't leave anything to chance and prescribed anything and everything under the sun to ensure that he wasn't infected with the disease. Dad, meanwhile was serving a 15 year sentence for rape...So, when Sharon came to us at 6, he brought with him his case file, which was about 6 inches thick and a whole x-large ziplock bag of pills to be taken everyday...By that time he was also taking Ritalin as he was diagnosed with ADHD. The first thing we did was send the bags of pills home with the foster mom and though it was difficult for him at first, as he had to quit, cold-turkey!! But he nevertheless persevered and was drug-free for the rest of the time he was with us.

Amando, meanwhile had been suspended from kindergarten 6 times!! The first thing we did for these kids was to make them Muslims. At this point their foster parents didn't care if they were Jews or Muslims..."Make them something!!" they pleaded with us. I remember one weekend Sharon's foster mom took him home and a few hours later, we received a frantic phone call from her, begging to send him back. "If you don't allow me to send him back, I'm gonna shoot him, Brother Sulaiman!!" she begged hysterically on the phone...

With cases like this, the first treatment was to inject them with high doses of taqwa. They were taught to purify themselves physically first by ablution and taught to perform solat. Each morning, I'd wake them up through the intercom and we'd perform Solatul-Fajr together and after that sit for an hour reciting the muamalat which is a compilation of Surahs from the Quran, salawat nabi (which was about 17 pages long...), Dua jamilah, Ganzal Arsh and Dua Akasah. After this session, they would recite Muqaddam and Quran, and learn Quranic Vocabulary for Juz Amma. In the evening, after Solatul Isha, we'd read them stories from "Irshad" or Tales of the Prophet. They loved these stories and could be heard re-telling them to newcomers.

Their accomplishment in this particular component was truly amazing. Some of the senior students were not only able to memorize the entire Juz Amma in a matter of three months but the meaning of each word in English as well. For their tests, I would mix words from all the surahs in Juz Amma and they were able to translate them word for word. And if one were to recite a long surah like Surah Balad, for example, another could be heard translating it in English...

By instilling Taqwa in these kids, I, myself found the beauty of Islam as I was able to witness their transformations through my teary eyes. When they first came, all we heard was "f this and f that" and rap songs which were riddled with profanities but three months into their stay, they were singing songs from Raihan and reciting Asma-ul-Husna. Unbelievable!!

The next element in the academy was of course the gayong component which was an extremely grueling and physical form of Silat. This was done after school. Class was over at 3 pm and at for three solid hours they'd be subjected to exercises, drills and warrior arts skills. The students really enjoy these sessions with Aimen and their spirit reverberated through the entire tiny town of Paulsboro. There were times the neighbours would call the cops on us because the students would sometimes train after Fajr (which in New Jersey could be as early as 4am in the morning!!) Amando was the most resilient of them all. He was only 6 at that time and could leap over 9 adults!!

Next came the third component which is academic. Since most of our students were expelled or suspended from public schools, we had to homeschool them. So even if technically they were, for example, supposed to be in 5th grade, we'd probably have to pull them two grades back so they could recover whatever they missed in school. With only the two of us as teachers, Aimen and I would split the kids into two groups and teach them everything ourselves from English to Social Studies. It is also worth noting that when Sharon left our school we pulled him back to third grade but because of his excellent scores, he was able to enter the fifth grade.

So, TGA became like a Shaolin Temple for these kids. They got to live with their teachers, eat with their teachers, pray with their teachers and train with their teachers. Prior to this, most of them would be roaming the streets till 2-3am in the morning and at times cops had to be summoned to round them up. At TGA however, they couldn't even make it past Isha for I remember one night, as soon as we gave salams at the end of the prayer, a few of them didn't even make it pass the first sujud as they were already sound asleep!!

At one point they got rather big-headed. We treated them to the greatest Shaolin show called "The Wheels of Life" that was held in Atlantic City and guess what they said after watching that show, "We can dust them anytime, Sister Liza!!"...

A Rose Among The Many Thorns...

Even before Steve embraced Islam and become Lateef in the late nineties, he was already an integral part of not only the Gayong America family but ours as well. So were the rest of the students, especially the non-Muslims. They camped out on our floors on weekends and holidays and spent their summers with us. So, while we missed our respective families at home, Aimen and I were always surrounded by students who are so trustworthy, caring and extremely diligent in their pursuit of learning silat. They lived, ate and drank silat and while they did that, inevitably they were also immersing themselves in Islamic lifestyles. But even with that, we were clueless when we got a call from Steve one day saying he is ready, we asked, "Ready for what, Steve?" "For Islam," came the answer...

So, with that, he pursued Islam with such furious vigor and vitality that puts most Muslims to shame. He embraced Islam not only in name but also adapted himself quickly to the demands and rigors of Islam. Before our teary and watchful eyes, he transformed and bloomed into a beautiful Muslim. I wish I had documented his inspirational journey for all to witness as he is certainly exemplary in this regard.

Whilst learning silat, the students were also immersing themselves into the Malay culture. They would kiss the hands of their elders upon entry and exit, eat with their hands, sit on the floor when their elders sat on chairs, wear kain pelikat, watch silat movies and eat Malay food. We'd spend hours and hours sitting and laughing at the dinner table over dunkin' donuts' coffee and bagels, talking about everything under the spectrum and at the same time share our experiences, religion and culture.

Lateef's penchant for all things Malaysian at that time included his intention of finding a Malaysian as his life companion. His best bet was the internet as the tiny one horsetown of Paulsboro had very little to offer by way of prospective brides...One weekend, he asked if he could bring someone...our eyes lit up and of course he was bombarded with questions after questions! Excitement permeated the household when it was time to meet this 'person'. I was exceptionally pleased at the prospect of having someone to share my kitchen with, as for the last 10 years or so, I was the only female in the silat household!!

Latifah was a Post Graduate student from Cornell, upstate New York. Originally from Pahang, she had been in the United States for a few years. At that time also Radzi, one of the malay students who was studying silat with us infected us with the 'Kuch-kuch hota hei' bug and got everyone, even the usually reserved Hussain, who was our oldest student and a highly regarded leader in his community humming and dancing to the tune. I was thrilled as, at last, there is someone to speak malay to and share 'girlie stories' with. She was not only a great companion in the kitchen but her delicious currypuffs and kuah kacang were definitely a refreshing change from my boring repertoire of dishes. Four months into the courtship accompanied by the virulent humming and group dancing of 'Kuch-kuch hota hei' by TGA boys and elder-lies alike, came the phone call again, "I'm ready, Cikgu," said Lateef sheepishly, and being clueless yet again, we asked, "Ready for what?" "For marriage..." came the answer.

So, with that, on Aimen's birthday in June, they wedded TGA style...we did everything ourselves, the pelamin, the bunga manggar, the wedding cake, cooked and performed silat for about 100 guests. In the words of the iconic Obama, "...it was a day of smiles and thanks, of decorum and pageantry...". We even flew my mom in to help with the decorations and cooking.

Tipah's presence certainly brought joy and bliss to the traditionally all-male 'fart'-inity...I loved and cherished the weekends the most as they'd spend theirs with us cooking outside, barbequing and babysitting the kids while we went out grocery shopping.

When Tipah graduated and it was time for them to head home to Malaysia, I desperately fought back the tears and swallowed the lumps in my throat when we bade them farewell at Newark Airport, not knowing when we'll see them again. I missed them dreadfully. It was the sort of drubbing that awakens you to the fact that life is not obliged to work out as you'd planned. The barbeques, the cook outs, the weekends were never the same again without them. Then came the dreadful 9-11 which devastated not only the lives of innocent Americans but also took with it the blood, sweat, tears that went into building TGA. It was certainly an incident that forever changed the landscape of TGA. Forced to 'cease and desist' as we were an Islamic establishment, we decided to return to our homeland, Malaysia. The only consolation in going home, of course, is reuniting with our families and friends and of course be closer to Lateef and Tipah in Malaysia. We chose Penang as our residence as we had about 8 of our students and thought that Penang would be idyllic as a setting for TGA Penang Chapter.

After spending six long years in Penang and establishing a tuition center, we decided to move to Lateef's neighbourhood and closer to my aunts and uncles in Bangi. Maryam, who is Lateef and Tipah's oldest daughter was the first to enrol into our new establishment in Bukit mahkota. Now, we live within five minutes of each other. It's amusing as it used to take them four to five hours to drive to Penang for lunch, now they're at the door before we can put the phone down!! I still can't get over the fact that we now have them as our neighbours! Allah SWT is certainly the best of planners and never in a million years would I imagine that we'd be playing the role as Maryam's care-giver, given the tumultuous years preceding 9-11 and the difficulty of re-setting up TGA and adjusting to Malaysian idiosyncrasies after being away for far too long.

Nevertheless, as I held Maryam's hand after picking her up from school on her first day of school, I was beaming with pride and overwhelmed with joy to see her growing into such a pretty little girl. Looking so smart in her pinafore, she took her responsibility as a first grader in stride, shrugged her shoulders and nonchalantly passed off the first day of school as 'no biggie'. Both Lateef and Tipah have definitely raised her wonderfully, making our job such a pleasure when we have a student like her.

Happy, happy birthday, dear neighbour Tipah. You've certainly been blessed with an exemplary husband and two beautiful children. May the light of Islam continue to illuminate your life and may all your dreams and wishes come true...

Caretaker of many, mother of none...

 

This blog is in response to Anedra's (read her blog via my blog roll) naming me as mother of the year. Thanks, sweetie, I'm really flattered. It brought me back of course to the days in Paulsboro. At that time, almost 10 years of being childless, I would, without fail, routinely make doa after solat "Oh, Allah, grant me a progeny..." but, this one particular day, before I could 'Amin' my dua, Aimen came in with a big smirk on his face, saying, 'Allah has already answered your dua!' 'What?', I asked. 'Look out the window', he said, trying to muffle a laugh. 'OH NOOO!!, I shrieked, 'send them back, tell them nobody's home!!' Such was the case everytime I make doa for a child, Allah would send one or two at the door, sometimes with a trash bag in hand, carrying all they had...

Anyway, when I looked out the window, I see these overgrown men with bee-hive hair and gold medallions around their necks. 'But these are grown men', I gasped, 'They can't stay with us,' I pleaded. But of course, Aimen was already up to the challenge and before I could plead some more, he gave me their background. What looked like grown men were actually two brothers, aged 16 and 18, whose meal came from snacks or whatever they can steal from grocery stores.

Playing mom to these kids was not easy. Imagine a 16 year-old, bigger than my husband, complaining he has a wart on his 'thingy' and wanted me to put something on it!! Then there were those between 6-17 who still wet their beds. So, I was preoccupied with making sure they pee before going to bed, then around 3am, make sure they go again...Some of them were so traumatised that they literally had to bang their heads against the wall before falling asleep.

Needless to say that their hygiene left much to be desired...So once a week when we hose the 'Little Muslim Bus' we would round all of them up and hose them down as well...

Now, of course I enjoy playing mom to Syajie. He's so adorable and sweet. I thank Allah for allowing me to care for these children as it certainly justified my existence on this earth...

Now, these below are whom I believe should bag the Mom Of The Year award...

1. My Mak Ngah - Anedra's mom who supported me during my darkest, bleakest days...I remember when I was registering as a freshman in UKM, all the new students came with an entourage whilst I had to fend for myself. I sat down at the stairs and balked my eyes off and when I called her, she told me to stop crying, be strong and do what I had to do. Or during the times when I had 50 cents left to my name, she would make me a meal fit for a king with all my favourite dishes...

2. My mom - who has been through so much. She's truly a steel magnolia.

3. My grandma - who raised such wonderful aunts and uncles. Can't imagine life without them...

The Little Muslim Bus

 

In America, school buses exceeding thirteen years of service are condemned and no longer allowed for public school use. But, as a private entity, we are allowed to use the bus but had to change the colour. A few minutes from where we lived in Paulsboro, was a yard where these condemned buses awaits prospective buyers. At that time, all we had was a seven seater van and about twenty students, so out of necessity, we went to the yard and before long were the proud owners of a mini school bus for a mere USD 500. Changing the colour of the bus proved to be a financial challenge at that time, so off to my favourite haunt "Walmart" to look for solutions. Armed with a spray paint nozzle, masks and cans of "army green" paint, Aimen went to work and single-handedly spray painted the entire bus. The kids loved the bus. Since it was green, they nicknamed it "The Little Muslim Bus".

The stalwart bus certainly did its part in reforming our kids. It bussed them to different masjids crossing numerous state lines for Friday prayers, it took them to faraway places like Connecticut, Catskill-upstate New York, Atlantic City, Virginia, Pennsylvania and fun places like Six Flags Theme Park and the beach. Apart from that, it also dutifully ferried them to silat demos to prestigious universities like John Hopkins and George Washington.

The bus hardly gave us any problems but one weekend, we came out of "Walmart" really late and the bus stalled and won't budge. Aqil, one of the kid's dad came in his little beady car to bail us out but ohhhhhhh, it would take him all night to ferry all 15 of us back and forth to Paulsboro. The kids were getting restless, so we did what we always do in times like that - zikir...a few kick starts later, the bus came alive, much to all our delight, and took us all the way home.

I missed that bus. It certainly outdid itself, given its age. Sadly, when we decided to go home for good, we had to sell it. I hope that the new owner would appreciate and take care our beloved little Muslim Bus...