Martial Arts and #MeToo

I was one of the main instructors for Jan de Jong and did many, many private lessons with female students. They were conducted in private and with me being the 'attacker' where I would execute a 'bear hug' from behind that would come into contact with their breasts. I would sit on top of them holding their arms down. I would put my hand between their legs to demonstrate a 'scooping throw' and have them do likewise to me when learning the technique. A push on the chest often involved contact with their breasts. A bear hug from the front ... no more needs to be said.

The simplistic (ignorant) anti-PC crew would say that they knew what they signed up for. That it is just a part of training and they shouldn't make a fuss. I can guarantee you that those same people would be the first to object if a man put his hand between their legs, touching their 'package' ostensibly to teach/learn a technique. The simplistic, ignorant anti-PC crew are all 'you can't take a joke' until the joke is on them.

In the late 90s I came to appreciate that women might feel uncomfortable with this physical contact when engaging in lessons. Long before #MeToo, I changed my teaching such that I informed the female student about what physical contact was involved in the technique to be taught and training, and gave them the opportunity of say no. I asked their permission (legally consent).There was no judgment involved ... but it also provided the opportunity to discuss many other issues other than physical defence against a violent attack.

This was not a policy of the Jan de Jong Self Defence School. This was a policy that I developed and adopted on a unilateral basis. It was based on reflection and also because I listened to my female private lesson students.

Three of my female private lessons students were engaging in private lessons because they felt 'uncomfortable' in another male instructor's classes because of the 'attention' that he paid to them. It's so easy for the physical contact to be misconstrued, particularly with the passage of time, however the culture of the times also emboldened those who took advantage of their position of dominance. You only have to read the experiences of those who were abused in an power-imbalanced relationship to see that this is true. However, in these cases, the instructor in question had a reputation. A reputation that was ignored by management.

We had the whole Catholic thing going on in the school because when I reported this 'situation' to management (not Jan de Jong), I was attacked. How could I say such horrible things about the male instructor? Not once did the management person ask after the welfare of the three women involved. And of course the instructor in question continued teaching and still continues to teach today.

What is the lesson to be learned. Most martial arts teachers are amateurs. They have very little concept of occupational health and safety issues. They need to think about the physical contact between students, and between students and instructors. They need to develop, implicitly or explicitly, sexual harassment policies. Think about the student's feelings, from their perspective, and act accordingly.

For those martial arts schools that are attempting to go it alone. This is a marketing strategy that establishes a point of differentiation between your school and others. That you explicitly consider the welfare of students when teaching and training.

Martial Arts Instructors and Students Need to be Auditors

Mindlessly and unquestioningly following the teachings of an instructor is a common feature, if not a corner stone, of the martial arts.

The Jan de Jong school prided itself on not mindlessly and unquestioningly following the teachings of an instructor, including that of Jan de Jong.

De Jong taught principle in addition to tactics and techniques. He was a good teacher; I was a great student. During one black belt class he was teaching a defence that did not conform to the principles he taught. I questioned that inconsistency. I was taken aside by a senior instructor of the school (who now has his own school) and told never to question de Jong's teachings.

As it turns out, I was right. De Jong was focused on one aspect of the defence to the detriment of another which he was teaching in error. Against the senior instructor's 'advice,' I raised the issue with de Jong who acknowledged his error, explained it, and corrected it at the next black belt class.

Martial arts instructors and students need to adopt an auditor's attitude. Management teachings  often look to the martial arts for guidance, the martial arts can benefit from doing likewise.

Auditors must exercise professional judgment, which requires professional scepticism.

What is professional scepticism? It means having a questioning mind, being alert to anything that may indicate misstatement due to error or fraud, and critically assessing audit evidence.

What drives professional scepticism? Personal attitudes and ethical values; levels of education, training, and experience; the actions of the firm's leadership; and the culture of the firm.

It's easy to see why there is a distinct lack of professional scepticism exercised in the martial arts.

How can I boost professional scepticism? Have the self-confidence and strength of character to maintain an enquiring mind; suspend trust, rationally and logically consider all the likely options, not just the one that is put in front of you; resist the temptation to just accept the easy answer.

There are errors in de Jong's jujutsu grading system. Those errors are mostly being perpetuated by the instructors teaching de Jong's jujutsu grading system because they do not exercise professional scepticism for a variety of reasons.

To correct de Jong's errors or not? That is the question.

A GREAT deal can be learnt from these errors. If we lose those errors we lose those lessons.


The next post will explore what can be learned from de Jong's mistakes in his jujutsu grading system. Before the well-intentioned misguidedly leap to de Jong's defence, this exploration is in the best tradition of de Jong's teaching.

RIP Freddie Oversteegen

You will recall the tales shared about the 'girl with the red hair' and her two comrades. RIP Freddie.

http://schoolofjandejong.blogspot.com/2012/02/het-meisje-met-het-rode-haar-girl-with.html

http://schoolofjandejong.blogspot.com/search/label/WWII

Increasing the knowledge base of Saitos

You will recall that Shihan Jan de Jong OAM 9th Dan commenced his training with the Saito brothers in Semarang Indonesia pre-WWII. Not much is known of the Saito brothers.

In the Jan de Jong Pre-War Years post, I referred to a possible/probable reference to the Saito brothers in 50 Years of Silence:

When De Jong returned to Indonesia after WWII, he tried to locate his instructors but no trace of them was ever found. This could be explained because they may have been Japanese spies. De Jong would suggest they may have been in the Japanese Army pre-WWII. This story is given a little more suk pport when Jan Ruff-O'Hearne (50 Years of Silence) writes about her time growing up in pre-WWII Semarang: 'Our friendly Japanese photographer turned out to be a spy too. He was the most popular photographer in Semarang.' Given the time the Saitos spent in Semarang, it may be they were former military and were called upon, as islikely of all nationals living in a country which is at war with their homeland, by the Japanese military prior to their invasion.

 One of the unintended and unexpected outcomes of creating this blog is that others who used to be associated with De Jong have contacted me to share relevant things with me. That brings me to the subject of this post; that a past student of Sensei Darryl Cook who contacted me with some references associated with the Saitos, in particular photographer-Saito.

Before we come to those references, de Jong shared with me a book he'd discovered that included a photograph of a street in Semarang taken by a photographer of the town/city named Saito. De Jong and myself visited that streets when we toured Java, Indonesia together. Apparently his brother used to ride his bike down the hill at full tilt and on one occasion ended up demolishing a flower stall.

'The photos in this report were shot by Saito, a famous Japanese photographer in Semarang at that time.'

'This is a brown and white photo made in the 20s. So it is about 85 years OLD . It shows a beautiful view of a Chinese Wedding Couple. This photo was probably taken by Saito & Co, Semarang , Java in Indonesia .'

Not much is known about De Jong's first jujutsu instructors, the Saito brothers. If anyone else comes across any other information, please contact me and I'll share with the readers of The School of Jan de Jong and add to the knowledge base thereof.

Shihan Jan de Jong's Legacy

It's 15 years to the day that Shihan Jan de Jong OAM 9th Dan pasted away. Many tributes are being posted on Facebook in honour of de Jong and his impact on people. This gave me pause to reflect on de Jong's legacy.

I have studied de Jong's jujutsu grading system. Not just engaged in it but really studied it. I used 'the core of all learning' to study his grading system. The core of all learning, as I explain in my The Science Behind Fighting Techniques manuscript that I have just submitted to a publisher, is the identification of similarities and differences. It was by comparing what we do with what others do that I gained enormous insights. I learnt more about what we teach by studying what others teach than I could have simply by studying what we teach.

His grading system is a remarkable achievement. It is one of the most comprehensive grading systems in the world. It is all the more remarkable in that he developed it from what I believe to be scratch.

In Jan de Jong's Unique Grading System, I explain how he uniquely included gradings in his grading system that examine a candidates knowledge of why a technique works and their teaching abilities. His grading system uniquely develops black belts who are qualified teachers who know why a technique works in addition to knowing how to perform the technique (a la Gracie and Gracie, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique).

The grading system is unique in using the shinken shobu no kata method to examine student's technical abilities. The term was taken from judo, however, the shinken shobu no kata used by de Jong is different to that taught by judo. Judo's shinken shobu no kata is a true kata in terms of choreographed attacks and defences. De Jong's is a kata in the sense that there are prescribed attacks and defences, however, those attacks are delivered in a random order thus simulating a fighting environment.

This method is used at the end of each class with various variations. Attacks are initiated based on the instructor's signalling which the defender cannot see. The defender can defend with any technique or they can defend using only the technique prescribed by the instructor which the attacks vary.

This method is in between true kata and free fighting. It instills a 'one punch, one kill' mindset; a committed defence that is designed to finish the fight there and then which free fighting often does not. The closest I've seen to it is Kyokushin karate's one-step sparring.

What is de Jong's legacy? Kaizen - continuous improvement. Those who are teaching can teach what de Jong taught, but, is that living up to de Jong's legacy? De Jong's grading system was a first effort, a remarkable achievement but still a first effort. There are errors in both technique and theory inherent in that grading system, which are the result of the lack of information that existed at the time he was developing it. In the spirit of kaizen we can address those errors. We can refine his grading system; grading system 2.0. I think this is what he would have wanted. For us to adopt the spirit of kaizen which was how he lived his budo life.

I think that to honour de Jong is to 'see further than he did.' As Newton said, 'If I can see further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.' He was a giant; we need to study and learn what he built, and then build upon that.

Jan de Jong's Unique Why Gradings

I'm finalising my first book on the science behind fighting techniques and am working on the front end (preface and introduction) and the back end (conclusion). I've found that a citation from Gracie and Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Practice expresses the mission of the book:

In virtually all the martial arts, black belt denotes the highest level of achievement. ... By the time the student attains a black belt his knowledge and skill are of the highest class. In addition, his depth of knowledge makes him a fully qualified teacher. Rather than merely knowing how to perform the moves, the black belt is expected to know why a given move works. That is, he understands the biomechanical principles that underlie the move. The principles of leverage, of body control and mechanics. This deeper knowledge makes him a far better teacher than someone who merely recounts a series of moves. Moreover, such knowledge allows him to invent new moves and combination and so develop a more personalised jiu-jitsu. (Gracie and Gracie 2001, 17) (emphasis in original)

While the expectation that black belts are fully qualified teachers that know why a technique works in addition to knowing how to perform it is laudable, it is definitely not realised in practice or the martial arts literature.

This is another unique feature of the teachings of Shihan Jan de Jong OAM 9th Dan. He uniquely attempted to operationalise Gracie and Gracie's expectations of black belts by including gradings in Ikkyu (1st Kyu; assistant instructor) and yudansha (black belt) gradings that examine the candidates knowledge of why a technique works. This included theory grades where candidates are quizzed on the theory of techniques. There are grades where candidates are required to demonstrate specified techniques and answer theory questions pertaining to those techniques and their variations; thus fulfilling both of Gracie and Gracie's requirements of a black belt. There is also teaching examinations where the candidate is assessed on, among other things, their knowledge of the theory of techniques.

The problem with these gradings, and why de Jong's goal is not realised in these gradings, is that the body of knowledge associated with why techniques work does not currently exist. My book sets out to start to fill the void that is that body of knowledge.

Having said that, it takes nothing away from de Jong's unique fledgling efforts in realising Gracie and Gracie's expectations of black belts.