End of an era

Jan de Jong Martial Arts and Fitness (JDJMAF), the Jan de Jong (JDJ) Self Defence School (JDJSDS) offshoot run by Maggie de Jong and Paul Connolly (M&P), have closed their CBD premises. It is the end of an era.

JDJ has had a CBD presence since 1955. JDJ's school, then named Ju Jutsu Kan Perth, relocated to the Swan River Rowing Club, Riverside Drive, Perth in 1955. Five years later it relocated to 870 Hay Street, Perth, and then in 1963 it moved to 996 Hay Street, Perth. In 2003, after JDJ passed away, JDJMAF was established and opened at 168 St George's Terrace, Perth (the Atrium). The last class was held at that location on 20 June 2021. There is no longer a JDJ presence in the Perth CBD after 66 continuous years. It is the end of an era.

I can only speak to the 996 Hay Street dojo as that is the only JDJ CBD premises I trained and taught at. It was, by today's standards, 'dodgy as.' Tin roof, no ceiling, so in summer you couldn't stand in one place on the mats because the mats were too hot. When it rained there was a waterfall cascading over the exposed electrical power board in the bottom dojo. Under the floor boards in that dojo was a sump that when it filled up rendered the bottom dojo unusable due to the stench. The place was a fire trap and did not have fire extinguishers until I introduced them ... in the late 1990s.

When I started training in the third week of April, 1983 there was a mat area/dojo to the right of the above photograph. 

The mat area was bowed because the floorboards underneath were rotten. When you threw a heavy opponent, the mat area bounced along with the practitioners using it (obviously before this photo). A shout out to the late Ian Lloyd who conducted classes in that dojo every Wednesday for a record period that extended decades.

The dojo was located in the CBD so parking was a problem. I solved my parking problem by parking in the carpark at the back of the brothel, the Scarlet Garter, directly across the road. Nobody seemed to mind even though I was not a client of that business. I wasn't!

 When JDJ passed away, M&P formed JDJMAF and moved to the Atrium. The lease had expired on the 996 Hay Street and the owner or her estate had sold the property and the new owners were going to redevelop the property. A lot of fond memories were demolished when the 996 Hay Street property was demolished. 

The new JDJMAF premises by comparison lacked the same character as the predecessor 996 Hay Street premises possessed. In its former life it was a squash court and therefore conformed to the occupational and health safety standards, but it lacked the character of the dodgy 996 Hay Street premises.

At its height, the city block that the JDJSDS was located on was a martial arts hub. The JDJSDS was on the southern side, Brian Mackie's (BM) goju ryu school was on the east, Roger Smart's (RS) wing chung school was on the north side, and Malcolm Sue's (MS) kung fu school was on the west.

BM's school was on that block before and after RS's and MS's schools. His school was there when JDJ's school was there and they both benefited from the popularity of martial arts brought on by the Kung Fu TV series and Bruce Lee movies (even though neither taught Chinese martial arts. Martial arts was martial arts back then). See the following link for BM's explanation of how his school grew because of that relationship. The same is true of the JDJSDS. They both owe everything to the Kung Fu TV series and Bruce Lee movies.

None of  those schools are located within the CBD now. It is an end of an era for martial arts in the Perth CBD. The Perth CBD is now home only to suits and shoppers, and indigents.

The JDJMAF is now teaching at various rented locations, the main one apparently being LeisureFit Melville. I was the original instructor at that location after being invited by JDJ to teach at the original Melville branch in 1985, two years after I'd commenced training at the JDJSDS. In fact, I took over that branch from another instructor even though I was just an orange belt (orange, purple, black and white, black). The reason was quite simple; I trained more than anyone else. I don't know if I had natural talent or not, but I do know that I trained more than anyone else and therefore the rankings did not reflect my capabilities and understanding at that time. That is why I oppose time constraints on gradings. If you train more than anyone else you should advance faster than anyone else.

Daryl Cook took over from me at the new Melville branch. It appears, according to reports, that was some 20 years ago.

Daryl commenced training before I did, however, I advanced ahead of him in ranking simply because I trained more than anyone else. It's a simple equation. 'Dags' as he was known, is a very good practitioner. He broke my nose. Yes; at a Dutch festival in Perth, we were performing a demonstration and Dags was demonstrating the ensnaring/grappling capabilities of nunchaku. He ensnared my arm as I attacked with a punch and then brought the nunchaku back pasted my head to take me to the ground. On the way past he made contact with my nose, breaking it. We did, however, see the demonstration through without anyone realising that I'd had my nose broken because we were professionals. ... he still hasn't apologised :(

These are the stories that attend to 996 Hay Street. The training. The experiences. The friendships. These experiences, friendships, etc would not, I think, have been possible without a dedicated full-time dojo.

Having a dedicated full-time dojo means something. Not some place you rent for classes. Would Mochizuki's Yoseikan be what it is today if he had to rent space at the local YMCA? The JDJSDS and JDJMAF were able to have a dedicated full-time dojo in the Perth CBD due to 'sweet-heart deals' with the property owners. What will happen to JDJMAF now? What will happen, and what is happening, to the JDJ tradition now?