Shopping in KL and Cebu?

[VVV]

8 days, but I will mostly be on the islands outside the city training FMA.

Mike

[moose]

Mike,
That's too cool!
What style or who will you be training with?

I'm hoping to hook up with GM Cacoy Canete in April. Here in the States.

Would love to make it to the Phillipines some day.

moose

[VVV]

I am training Pekiti-Tirsia Kali with Grand Tuhon Gaje.
Training early in the morning, 5 AM, for 4 h followed by breakfast and cultural sightseeing (and this time - also shopping old blades).
Then late afternoon or evening training for a couple of hours is the usual schedule.
Need some advice because Grand Tuhon himself prefers new blades.

Mike

[Spunjer]

i'm assuming you're going to negros (bacolod)?

[Brian Biegler]

Interesting that i should come across this thread, as I was in in KL exactly one month ago, and I just missed a GT Gaje brief seminar here in Dallas on Wednesday. Had I not worked late that day this would really have been coincedental.

As far as blades in KL, I didn't have any inside info so I just went with what I could figure out. I went to the central market...get off the light rail at Pasar Seni station (hoping thats right) that will put you in china town. down off the platform and across the street you'll find central market, a large indoor market.

when you walk in the front door there that faces the pasar seni station, take a hard left and you'll find a stall selling lots of kris. there were a few other odd blades i picked up a bugis badik there...to your right is another little place with a few kris and a few sewar.

the mother lode is upstairs along the left side of the building theres two places one smallish and one big and stuffed so full of crap you can't even move in there, all the girls that work there are muslim so look for the head scarves. They had TONS of blades, most were rusty though, but you can spend an hour just going through the inventory. Theres a definate difference in price between antique and new....I got the feeling that, once I found the head toad of the sales girls, and I spoke about the blades using correct names and whatnot that she was a little more straight with me on price and age of the pieces. It was kinda cool too, how many ladies know what an Aceh Rentjong is.

hmm, so for the most part kris and sewar, no suprise you're going to find mostly Malay and Sumatran stuff, I did find the odd pieces of other type, but scant few long blades ( a few mandau ). One Kris sword, and thats about the only fillipino piece i saw. it wasn't cheap either.

lemme know if i can be of any other help.. i was in KL, Cambodia and Thailand over the whole 2 week Xmas holiday. was supposed to be in phuket. but after i got on the plane the captain got on the mic and said the airport was under water.