Misrepresentations of Silat: the Wetzel Patricide...

[Ranggalana]

Salam Silat everyone,

When I try and study to understand why the USA silat schools tend to be bombastic I end up here: in the patricide that shock America in many years ago. I understand that Willy Wetzel was one of the pioneers of silat in the USA and that he was revered a lot like Chinese Masters are. However, reading through the internet it becomes obvious that he was not a master. A formidable fighter maybe yes, but not a master.

This might be the reason why USA silat is so bombastic and refuses to listen to the mother-source but often uses the mother-country in manipulative ways. Below is a link to a long discussion on an other martial arts forum that is particularly interesting to those interested in the Wetzel legacy because an attorney representing the son who killed his father posts there, illuminating much of the characters of the people involved. If this was the first silat seed planted in the USA then it must have been a bad seed. The whole thread can be read at http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-9236.html and a particularly interesting posting I copy paste below:

My name is Rex Downie and I co-defended with George E. James, Roy E.Wetzel in a murder charge made regarding the death of Willie Wetzel in Roy's residence in Monaca Pa in the mid seventies. The area I speak of is 32 mi. north of Pittsburgh on the Beaver River. There is a lot of stupid/misinformed stuff about this floating around so I'll give a brief review here...if there's a Marial Arts magazine around that someone can refer me to, I'll write an article for it. At the time of the fight Roy lived in Monaca with his wife Tatha and his 3 yr old Daughter, Rochelle. Roy had served with the Marines at Khe Sanh and had been blown up by a 60 mm morter and needed numerous reconstructive operations to his left hip, which he quite successfully protected in full contact fighting. I watched him spar and fight many times - after the trial. At the time in question, Roy was teaching in a school on 7th street in Beaver Falls along with Willie.

Willie had divorce Roy's mother, married again, divorced or deserted #2 and taken up with a young girl from Zelienople, Pa. Willie was a bully and tried to teach by intimidation. Several of students around here will tell you that, including my next door neighbor. Willie had developed a mystique, however telling students that he was part of a Master's association that met every ten years in Idonesia and one had to have one fight to the death to continue a member. The steel mill workers around here ate it up. Willie WAS very gifted. He could jump up and touch an 8ft ceiling with is toe. He made a lot of money betting people at Westinghous that he could jump out of a 50 gal drum, straight up.

Roy was very gifted in numbers, so he did Willie's income tax and got him a approx. 700$ return. Roy was an excellent teacher and drew many more students to the school, and there very soon developed a competition between "Roy's Students" and "Willies Students", and, hence a lot of jealosy developed. Willie came to Roy's house in Monaca one evening to sign the tax return for the Karate school. He was very angry because he was paying support to his two prior wives. When he signed the return, he just shot the pen across the paper, knocking it to the floor. He went to the front door, beside which was a Hawaiian Ceremonial sword. He grabbed it, began to unsheath it, and screamed out a Keeya. Roy was behind him to say something, and got to the sheath in time to bend it, preventing Willie from drawing it. The fight ensued, which I will not detail at this time. It did involve a shorter suppuku sword, a riggers knife and oak nunchucks. And Willie died of asphyxiation because Roy had gotten the nunchucks on is neck like a nutcracker. Willie had used his riggers knife and had sliced Roys chest and biceps numerous time with shallow cuts. I visited the house the next day and it looked like a pig had been slaughtered in there. The trial lasted a week, the Chief of Police testified that he thought Roy had acted in self-defense, and Roy was acquitted. Willie apparantly was a Satanist, or at least practice voodoo, because the police found voodoo dolls in his apt with pins stuck through them. The dolls were of Roy, Wim, Jim and Jane and his two x wives. Roy died of heart valve failure about 8 or ten years ago. He is survived by three children, Christian, Kaylen, and Rochelle. Willie had 5 children. By his first wife, Roy, Jim, Wim and Jane.
After the trial, Roy and I became close friends, and we spent a lot of ti me kicking things around. I went to two or three tournaments and started on lessons twice, both interrupted by badly sprained ankles gotten in long distance running 20-40 mi per week. I took Roy into the Canadian bush at least 3 times up near Nakina Ont. and we spent many hours going over quetions about Christianity, for he bacame a Christian the night of the fight. HE always told me it was a ":spiritual fight". His favourite book in the Bible was Isaiah. There is much more I could relate, but won't here on a public site. I have a considerable file on the matter, with all the relavant dates, but cannot locate it at this moment; but the above is truth as best as I know it. Rex Downie Jr.

This posting by a guy who defended the son who killed his father gives a picture of what happened in court, and the character of the father comes across as less-than-wholesome not to say nasty. Maybe this is why a lot of American schools are the way they are...

Warm salaams,
Bram

[Bram2]

Rex Downie doesn't sleep well these days.  You know Roy was well until he murder his father and then he not sleep well so his heart has problems due to his bad conscience.   who writes of Wetzel does not sleep well either.

Bram2

[Rebo Paing]

Rex Downie doesn't sleep well these days.  You know Roy was well until he murder his father and then he not sleep well so his heart has problems due to his bad conscience.   who writes of Wetzel does not sleep well either.

Bram2

Really ... how could you know that? There is no point to your comment my friend.

I will also add my opinion, which is that the supposed effect of this tragic incident on "why USA silat schools tend to be bombastic" (quote from Majapahit) is also supposition and unsupported opinion!

If we are all to build bridges, everyone must learn to forgive, try to understand each other's culture and weltangschaung,  to compromise on some things  and try to move ahead. That is the only way.

Of course there are some issues where it could be difficult to compromise, but please read the FP2STI statement from the moderator at http://sahabatsilat.com/forum/index.php?topic=140.0, where the gist on the rights to defend one's own historical culture is also explained in some detail. I notice at the time of this posting it has only been read 14 times ... which begs the question, how many English speaking posters are there on this forum?

Anyway ... to end this lecture  , If we can fix our vision on an enduring future for the building of true friendship through silat, we will have achieved something worthwhile and humanly decent.

Ultimately, I have a lot of faith in man's attraction to the voice of their own conscience.

Salam hangat to everyone and peace be with you all,

Krisno Pryosusilo

[Ranggalana]

.........

I will also add my opinion, which is that the supposed effect of this tragic incident on "why USA silat schools tend to be bombastic" (quote from Majapahit) is also supposition and unsupported opinion!

.....Anyway ... to end this lecture  , If we can fix our vision on an enduring future for the building of true friendship through silat, we will have achieved something worthwhile and humanly decent.

Ultimately, I have a lot of faith in man's attraction to the voice of their own conscience.

Salam hangat to everyone and peace be with you all,

Krisno Pryosusilo

In silat culture, silsilah is important, especially in Islamic alirans like traditional Cimande, but also in kuntao silats from the Indo-Chinese communities. A good silsilah is believed to hold barokah.

There is still time to have friendship and understanding amongst silat groups all over the world. Silat groups that unintentionally misrepresent silat culture, like using a title Mas Majikan, for example, can now easily correct their understanding. And they should be open and grateful if a site like sahabatsilat can help them. Silat groups that intentionally manipulate the truth might always be there, and the truth will make them uncomfortable.

Maybe, dunia persilatan will always be like the in comics, with pendekars as heroes and also as villains.

Warm salaams to all,
Bram.

[Rebo Paing]

In silat culture, silsilah is important, especially in Islamic alirans like traditional Cimande, but also in kuntao silats from the Indo-Chinese communities. A good silsilah is believed to hold barokah.

I believe that is true, and what we have here is certainly a situation that truly requires help in healing.

There is still time to have friendship and understanding amongst silat groups all over the world. Silat groups that unintentionally misrepresent silat culture, like using a title Mas Majikan, for example, can now easily correct their understanding. And they should be open and grateful if a site like sahabatsilat can help them. Silat groups that intentionally manipulate the truth might always be there, and the truth will make them uncomfortable.

Maybe, dunia persilatan will always be like the in comics, with pendekars as heroes and also as villains.

Warm salaams to all,
Bram.

Very well said Bram, I agree without reserve. 

Hehe ... sometimes real-life (TM) is more like fiction than fiction itself. Fiction should always begin with the caption ... "based on a true story"  .

Sahabat Silat Forums and site is the most beneficial panacea to aid in the development pangs in the world of pencak silat Indonesia internationally. It has very good barokah indeed!

Our friends at FP2STI are far-sighted to initiate the effort, and for what it's worth they have my thanks too.

Salam,
Krisno

P.S. Talking about comics, remember "Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu"? We had quite a few of those ... they were the best . I wonder if they're still around?

[baruklinting]

In silat culture, silsilah is important, especially in Islamic alirans like traditional Cimande, but also in kuntao silats from the Indo-Chinese communities. A good silsilah is believed to hold barokah.

Warm salaams to all,
Bram.

Talking about silsilah, particularly silsilah silat is 100% agree Mas Bram. it's expressing our gratitude to the Guru's who was establish many kind of silat styles. Ignoring the silat's mother source is realy unpolite. It is a kind of our obligation in tracking up, if we felling a missing link between curent condition to the mother source.
logically the pesilats should know root / silsilah silat style, if ignoring it seem as leaning silat without spirit or no soul.

Wassalam
Baruklintng

[Rebo Paing]

Talking about silsilah, particularly silsilah silat is 100% agree Mas Bram. it's expressing our gratitude to the Guru's who was establish many kind of silat styles. Ignoring the silat's mother source is realy unpolite. It is a kind of our obligation in tracking up, if we felling a missing link between curent condition to the mother source.
logically the pesilats should know root / silsilah silat style, if ignoring it seem as leaning silat without spirit or no soul.

Wassalam
Baruklintng

Sisilah important agree 100% too. But that is not my contention.

What I'm trying to highlight is the use being made of the link between the patricide and the "ignoring silat's mother source".

There is no logical link there from my view. 

It is important to acknowledge the mother source, but that is because it is impolite to not do so ... not because of the action resulting in patricide. The following quote from Bram is a gross generalisation  .

Quote Bram: "This might be the reason why USA silat is so bombastic and refuses to listen to the mother-source but often uses the mother-country in manipulative ways.

To be honest, from my point of view ... if we genuinely want to heal rifts and build bridges, it is also impolite to make the actions of patricide apply as the problem affecting the entire US silat ... which was the implication of the original statement as I read it and we all know that is just not true.

Salam hormat,
Krisno

[Rebo Paing]

Just in case that there is any misunderstanding ... in principle I support Bram's fight and that of FP2STI TOTALLY 100%.  .

However, my journalistic radar picks up on generalisations  ... hehe, and yes we all do it  ... and sometimes the battle is better served with diplomacy as well.

Salam,
Krisno

[dsbasuki]

P.S. Talking about comics, remember "Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu"? We had quite a few of those ... they were the best . I wonder if they're still around?

Salam Pak Krisno,
Yes, Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu series are in fact reprinted again, and you can find it (mostly) in Gramedia. I have all the originals and the new prints. Not only that, also "Gundala Putera Petir" and "Tjimande" (one of tetralogy Tuan Tanah Kedawung of Ganes TH).

Salam...

p.s. I apologize for this OOT posting.