K. Saito

 This is a photo that was recently posted on the Facebook page of a school that was founded by a student of an instructor of Jan de Jong's who founded his own school after JDJ passed away.

The caption to the above photo posted on the abovementioned Facebook page read: 'Possibly K.Saito, in this Photo. Instructor of Master Jan de Jong.'

Oral history tells us that JDJ was originally instructed by 'the Saito brothers' - S. Saito (8th dan) and K. Saito (7th Dan). 

Why is the K. Saito in the photo possibly the instructor of JDJ? Is it because he's Japanese and is in a martial arts outfit?

Saito is apparently the 20th most common name in Japan!

I understand that the martial arts is a bastion of anti-intellectualism, but please, at least apply a modicum of intellectual effort.

The person who posted this photo would not appear to have the faintest idea where the photo came from or even what era it came from. Thank God there was a Western person in the photo to possibly narrow the era down to, what, late 1800s-early 1900s. If he wasn't there, would this still possibly be K. Saito, the instructor of JDJ?

The photo is included in Jiu-Jitsu Tricks: The Secret Science of the Japanese Against Which Weight and Strength Does Not Count, K. Saito, New York: R.F. Fox, 1905. There is no information in that book about the author - K. Saito. In fact, given the time and that R.F. Fox published a number of articles and books about jujutsu at that time, one could question the 'authorship' of K. Saito.

I tried to inform the abovementioned Facebook party that the K. Saito they were referring to was not JDJ's instructor. How do I know for certain? Because JDJ told me so himself. He had a copy of the abovementioned book and when I raised it with him, he brought it out of his library and told me that that K. Saito was not his instructor. The aforementioned Facebook party deleted that comment as it would not appear to support their efforts of establishing credibility through dubious means. They were also the ones misappropriating images from this blog to promote themselves and their school. A subject of a post that I have subsequently deleted when they 'saw sense' and deleted their misappropriated images. No need to continue to beat someone when they appear to have learned the lesson.

By the way, the Western gentleman in the photo is not the legendary E.J. Harrison as he explains in a letter to Robert W. Smith in a letter on October 20, 1957. It may have been the gentleman that went on to introduce jujutsu to President Theodore Roosevelt.

While we can learn very little from the lazy and ignorant directly, we can learn from them by investigating their unfounded assertions.

Did JDJ learn jujutsu from the Saito brothers? Firstly, why would he credit them with his early training if nobody knows anything about them? He could have picked any number of Japanese names if he needed a Japanese origin to gain credibility.

We do know for a fact that there were Japanese brothers living in Semarang at that time, one of which was a photographer and the other a florist, which is how JDJ described the Saito brothers. That independent source is provided in Jan Ruff-O'Herne's harrowing 50 Years of Silence. Shortly before JDJ passed away, JDJ also showed me a photographic book with a photo in Semarang taken by a K. Saito. The photo was of a market place at the bottom of a hill which JDJ said they used to ride either their bikes or go-carts down and crash into market stalls. JDJ said that that photo was taken by his K. Saito.

And now for something ENTIRELY new that God forbid someone might follow up on:

Kōji Saitō (斎藤 鵠児, Saitō Kōji, born 1893, date of death unknown) was a Japanese photographer.[1]

  (in Japanese) Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, editor. 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers (『日本写真家事典』, Nihon shashinka jiten). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8 

Is this the FIRST time we have a name for the 'K' in name of the K. Saito that was one of JDJ's jujutsu instructors?

The Quandry of Advanced Adolescent Students

The following is another couple of photos in the series of photos that Sensei Dan Newcombe, founder of Self Defence Central Dojo and Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu International, generously contributed to this blog for those interested in the Jan de Jong story.

If I remember correctly, the front row from right to left is, Jan de Jong, Dan's father, and Dan's uncle. I could be wrong (not about JDJ of course) and I expect Dan to correct me if I am. Can anyone identify any of the students in the back line? You will of course notice that the badges on the uniforms are not so uniform.

The photo was taken at the Swan River Rowing Club dojo so the photo was taken mid to late 1950s.

Tori in the above photo is Dan's father from the previous photo and uke is a teenage Margaret Kellond who would go on to become Margaret de Jong.

When I look at that photo, I see a kid executing a good throw on an older and larger opponent. This reminded me of an issue we had at the Jan de Jong Self Defence School. How do you retain advanced adolescent students?

I remember training in Saturday afternoon classes under Sensei Peter Clarke and one of the advanced students was a young lad that resembles Dan's father above. He was orange belt as we all were but he was half our size and a lot younger. His straight punch would hit me, literally, just above my groin he was that short. He ended up leaving the club after becoming frustrated training with adults.

How does an advanced adolescent student continue to advance? Or is it expected that they 'stay put' until their bodies catch up with their advanced grading standing?

I know some schools have a 'kids' system even right up to black belt, but is that the way? Only those in that school would understand a junior black belt is different to a senior black belt.

I taught the only teenager's class in the JDJSDS. It was conducted late on Saturday mornings and had the most consistent and longest serving body of students in the school. They were all small teenagers, male and female (in truth the females were better technically and in terms of fighting attitude), and all were advancing. I didn't just teach them, I trained them. We had good teachers in the school but very few who could train students. The last grading I trained them for, as a class, was blue or green belt. Unheard of in the school, the entire class graded together and excelled together. Jan de Jong was mightly impressed.

I then had to have surgery on both shoulders, separately because I agreed with the surgeon that I did not have any friends who would be prepared to wipe my backside after going to the toilet if I had both shoulders operated on at the same time. Maggie de Jong disbanded the class. Her reasoning was that at that level they should be training in the advanced adult classes ... but their bodies were not ready for it. They would have to have made adjustments to most if not all techniques if they were to train with adults. Within three months, none of the students remained with the school.

It is a dilemma. How do you retain advanced adolescent students?

The Infamous Ear Throw

This was a photo of the infamous ear throw that Shihan Jan de Jong shared with me for inclusion in the Jan de Jong: The man, his school and his ju jitsu system book that I wrote for him.

Well, this was not an isolated incident, as the photos generously shared by Sensei Dan Newcombe, founder of Self Defence Central Dojo and Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu International, shows.

First, the challenge, as is so popular of Facebook these days. Who from the Jan de Jong tradition is prepared to attempt such a throw and share photos of that throw on this blog? :)

Second, why is the uke in the second photo wearing a stencil or badge on the back of the right shoulder of his gi?

Misappropriation - dishonestly or unfairly take for one's own use

'Misappropriate' - dishonestly or unfairly take for one's own use (Oxford Dictionary)

It has been brought to my attention that an individual has misappropriated numerous images from posts in this blog in order to promote himself and his school.

This blog was initiated in response to enormous interest in the Jan de Jong story, particularly from those that were/are a part of that story. Based on feedback received, the material posted on this blog has been well received.

As has been stated in previous posts, this blog has become a lighting rod for others to share their memories about their time with Jan de Jong and some have kindly shared photographs of those times and given me permission to share those with the larger Jan de Jong community through this blog.

The abovementioned individual went to a great deal of effort to misappropriate those photographs in order to post them on his school's Facebook page without acknowledging their source. He copied numerous photographs and images from numerous posts on this blog in order to then post them on his Facebook page and in some instances comment on them, all without acknowledging their source or gaining permission to reproduce those photographs.

J.H.G. Smits based a lot of his chapter on Jan de Jong in his Naverteld verleden: Jiujitsu in het verzet in Nederland 1940-1945 on the material from this blog. Before doing so, the author requested permission and acknowledged the source of that material in his book. I nor any of the contributors to this blog have any problems with being associated with the greater Jan de Jong story, however, we do have a problem with material being misappropriated by an individual in order to promote himself and his school.

Others have shared the posts from this blog on their Facebook page and webpages. I have no problem with that and neither do the contributors to this blog. Those same people are not happy that this individual is misappropriating their photographs in order to promote himself and his school.

This misappropriation of photographs and images is all the more disappointing because the perpetrator is associated with Jan de Jong, albeit very remotely. This individual had very little contact with Jan de Jong when he was alive and was awarded all of his senior grades through an offshoot school after Jan de Jong had passed away. This misappropriation and misrepresentation is disappointing because it is definitely not in the tradition of Jan de Jong.

Technically this would not appear to be a breach of copyright law, however, it definitely infringes upon the spirit of that law. The legal advice is to initially contact the offender and provide them with an opportunity of amending their error.

I have contacted this individual on numerous occasions to point out this 'mistake' and eventually to request those images be removed because he did not attempt to address the issue. I informed said individual that he could, as others have done, share the blog posts in their entirety on his Facebook page. The individual has not bothered to respond to those messages nor to address the issue.

I apologise to the contributors to this blog whose photographs and images have been misappropriated by this individual. I have not named this individual at this point in time as would be Jan de Jong's process, however, I will do so if he continues in this manner. I urge this individual to refrain from this type of behaviour, attempting to profit of my work and the generosity of former members, as it is unbefitting for someone who purports to be a part of the Jan de Jong tradition.

Jan de Jong Side-Drive Kick

You will recall from my last post that Sensei Dan Newcombe, founder of Self Defence Central Dojo and Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu International, forwarded a number of photographs taken in the 1950s when his father and uncle trained under JDJ to me. This is the latest installment.

JDJ executing a side-drive kick. JDJ was never keen on the knife-edge for the foot, preferring instead to use the heel with the body weight behind the kick.

The other person's posture is interesting. It appears to be silat-like, however, JDJ had not formally begun to teach silat at that time. It may be a flowing bodymovement (nagashi) with a brushing block but JDJ had not traveled to Japan to train under Mochizuki where the taisabaki taught in his system originated.

The dojo is the Swan River Rowing Club. The mat is handmade by JDJ's first wife, as were the gis, as no martial arts products were available for purchase at that time.

JDJ often told the story of how when he first started teaching at the SRRC, they trained on floorboards and that after the first session or two, and when a student put both feet through the floorboards when executing a bridge fall, the class shrank to a few people. Obviously this mat was then brought out to encourage students to continue with their jujutsu.

Harry Hartman trained at this dojo and he informed me that the mat was rolled up and stored in a storeroom at the SRRC.

This is a photo for comparison over the years. The first photo was taken in the 1950s while the above photo was taken in the late 1980s. JDJ was in his 30s in the first photo and in his 60s in the second. The person executing the defence is JDJ's Indonesian pencak silat guru, Soehadi. This photo is taken in JDJ's home dojo with his silat senior students in the background, including Peter Clarke, fourth from the right.