JDJ Jujutsu Yudansha Register

You will recall from the previous post that a commentor to that post referred to a register of Jan de Jong (JDJ) senior grades. That inspired me to develop such a register.

My intention is to develop a register of JDJ jujutsu yudansha, ikkyu holders, and instructors. Ultimately, the register will be a permanent feature of this blog located on the right border (if I can remember how to do that again).

Greg Palmer developed a register of JDJ jujutsu yudansha which is presented below with comments:

Shodan

Robert Hymas (1981)

Peter Clarke (1981)

John Copley (1981)

Ian Lloyd

Tony Chiffings

Debbie Clarke

Paul Connolly

Greg Palmer

Hans de Jong

Steve Moller

John Martyr

Jim Downing

Bob Bruscher

John Coles

Darryl Cook

Justin Palandri

Janet Lake

Peter Templeman

Maggie de Jong

Cyril Boutis

Jamie Francis

Only the dates of the first to be awarded shodan have been included in the above list.

If we take as a beginning date when JDJ commenced teaching in Perth, 1952, JDJ awarded 21 shodans in 51 years of teaching before his passing in 2003. The first, 29 years after he started teaching in Perth.

Males: 18; Females: 3.

Nidan

Peter Clarke (1991)

Robert Hymas (1992)

Paul Connolly (1992)

Greg Palmer (1996)

John Coles (1999)

Males: 5; Females: 0.

Time between shodan and nidan: Clarke 10yrs, Hymas 11yrs, Connolly 10yrs, Palmer 12yrs, Coles 7yrs.

This puts the available nidan gradings in the late 1980s.

Given the above, is my 7yrs more indicative of the average time to successfully complete the nidan gradings? The answer to that question is compromised in that I was working full-time as an instructor at the Jan de Jong Self Defence School from 1995 to 2000 inclusive.

Sandan

Peter Clarke (1999)

Robert Hymas (1999)

Paul Connolly (1999)

Greg Palmer (2000)

John Coles (2000)

Males 5; Females 0.

Time between nidan and sandan: Clarke 8yrs, Hymas and Connolly 7yrs, Palmer 4yrs, Coles 1yr.

The timing for the first four may have been impacted in that JDJ was developing the sandan grades, however, my 1yr from nidan to sandan ... 12 parts to the sandan grading as we've seen in previous posts to this blog on the development of the JDJ jujutsu grading system. And Greg and I were not training all that intensively. A couple of nights a week at his home dojo at best. The gradings are not easy (see previous blog posts) and no standards were compromised.

Yondan

Peter Clarke (1999)

Greg Palmer (2002)

Clarke was promoted to yondan immediately upon completion of sandan.

Robert Hymas and Paul Connolly were promoted directly to godan from sandan.

Godan

Peter Clarke (Nov 2002)

Robert Hymas (Nov 2002)

Paul Connolly (Nov 2002)

Time between yondan or sandan as applicable: Clarke 3yrs, Hymas and Connolly 3yrs.

Rokudan

Peter Clarke (Mar 2003)

Robert Hymas (Mar 2003)

Paul Connolly (Mar 2003)

Time between godan and rokudan: five months.

JDJ passed away 5th April 2003.

PS: Why did JDJ stop at rokudan? Why did he rush to rokudan for Clarke, Hymas, and Connolly? Is it because he had learned post the development of his grading system to ikkyu and shodan that many/most other Japanese martial arts grading systems complete their 'technical' grades at rokudan and then honorary grades are only issued after rokudan? This and other related propositions will be explored in future posts.

PPS: Added to the shodan list is Micheal Rendell thanks to a reader. That makes 22 shodans in 51 years, and 19 males, 3 females.

JDJ Registries: Yudansha, Ikkyu holders, and Instructors

A comment from Anonymous was published on the previous blog post: 'Is there a registry of senior grades awarded by JDJ? There are people around claiming they were awarded 4th dans by him (https://amahof.asn.au/members/2022-inductees/tom-bellamy-2022/).'

That got me thinking.

I have a registry of jujutsu dan grades awarded by Jan de Jong (JDJ) that was prepared by Greg Palmer. I would like to develop a registry of jujutsu ikkyu grades and JDJ jujutsu instructors, two separate registries.

The ikkyu grade registry would include those who were awarded ikkyu by JDJ but did not go on to grade shodan. The instructor registry would be those that instructed for JDJ as instructors and not assistant instructors. I will eventually publish all three registries. I'll start.

Before I start, I have come to realise that I have been remiss in my, what I now realise is an incomplete understanding of the 'JDJ tradition.' I have been focused on the JDJ jujutsu tradition, however, there is also the JDJ aikido tradition and the JDJ pencak silat tradition. They are also relevant and significant, and just as innovative, and just as controversial, as his jujutsu tradition. 

Even though I was graded shodan in aikido by JDJ and assisted him in redeveloping his aikido grading system, and I graded highly in his pencak silat and was included in his pencak silat instructor's class after introducing JDJ to a new 'type' of pencak silat that he then went on to teach and include in his grading system, it is jujutsu where I was most highly graded and experienced. If anyone wants to start off a JDJ aikido or pencak silat tradition series, I'll be more than happy to post it on this blog. In the meantime, JDJ's jujutsu tradition: 

JDJ Ikkyu Holders:

Margaret de Jong

Vass D'Esterre

Robert Kirby

Peter Canavan

Rodney Miller

Dennis Dunn

Warwick 'Zak' Jaggard

John Poulton

David Palmer

David Green

Michael Boland

Heidi Romundt

Steve Moller

David Green

Gerald Woods

Adrienne Barlow

Alan Robson

Ross Allanson

JDJ Jujutsu Instructors

Peter Clarke

Robert Hymas

Paul Connolly

Greg Palmer

Ian Lloyd

Robert Kirby

Hans de Jong

Debbie Clarke

John Copley

John Coles

Peter Templeman

Maggie de Jong

Vass D'Esterre

Warwick 'Zak' Jaggard

Heidi Romundt

Darryl Cook

David Green

Joe Fantasia

Manfred (?)

Tony Chiffings

Rodney Miller

Please, dear readers, contribute to these lists if you can. 

Btw, this gathering of names is an attempt at preserving and strengthening the JDJ culture which will enhance the prospects of that culture and the current JDJ ryuha surviving. This idea of 'JDJ culture' will be the subject of a future blog post.

How Long Does It Take to Complete the Jan de Jong Jujutsu Grading System to Sandan?

The recent series of posts have explored the development of the Jan de Jong (JDJ) jujutsu grading system.

JDJ had three grading systems at his school, the Jan de Jong Self Defence School (JDJSDS): jujutsu, aikido, and pencak silat. For the sake of not repeating for the sake of technical specificity, the following will refer to JDJ's jujutsu grading system as JDJ's grading system.

Within those posts, we saw that the technical grades within the JDJ grading system finish at sandan (3rd dan). All higher grades are honorary. 

The idea that the technical grades in JDJ's grading system finish at sandan is based on JDJ's reported experience with his original instructors, the Saito brothers. The narrative is that the technical grades finish at sandan in the Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu grading system that the Saito brothers taught, and that JDJ completed them and was awarded sandan by the Saito brothers in 1939 (Jan de Jong: the man, his school and his ju jitsu system, Jan de Jong Self Defence School, 1997 (JDJ book)).

The adult technical grades in JDJ's final grading system commence with 9th kyu (of the mon system) and finish with sandan. From nikyu (2nd kyu) to sandan, there are multiple parts to the gradings, as the recent series of posts explain and explore.

The total number of gradings and their individual parts from 9th kyu to sandan is 46. Forty-six gradings for an adult to complete the technical grades in JDJ's grading system. 

JDJ recognised that his grading system was far more extensive and comprehensive than any other going around and wanted to acknowledge the efforts of his successful students by including a list of the parts of the gradings on their certificates. I pointed out that the list would only be included on the back of the certificate, which nobody would see, and that in and out of the martial arts, a black belt is perceived as being a black belt no matter the grading system from which it came from. 

A relatively common question that is asked is: how long does it take to get a black belt in JDJ's grading system? The commonly conceived wisdom is 10 years. Where did that number come from?

This post explores the question of, how long does it take to complete the technical grades in JDJ's grading system and to subsequently be awarded sandan?

There are five people who have completed the technical grades in JDJ's grading system and been awarded sandan by JDJ (and those five are also the only ones to have completed nidan (2nd dan) under JDJ): Peter Clarke, Robert Hymas, Paul Connolly, Greg Palmer, and myself, however, there is also JDJ under the Saito brothers.

According to the JDJ book, JDJ commenced training in 1928 and was awarded sandan in 1939 = 12 years. He started training at the age of seven, which makes him 18-19 when he was awarded sandan under the Saito brothers. That timeline raises many questions, which thankfully are beyond the scope of this post.

The following training commencement dates are taken from the JDJ book. The date of the awarding of sandan is taken from Greg Palmer's records:

What can be made of those numbers?

You will recall from a previous post that the original JDJ grading system was the kyu system. The shodan grading was developed so that JDJ could have some black belt instructors accompany him to Europe to advance his European teaching ambitions. I don't know the date of the introduction of the shodan grading(s), but it has to have been in the very late 70s.

Clarke and Hymas were awarded shodan in 1981, Connolly in 1982, and Palmer in 1984. The latter two's numbers are distorted because there was no shodan to grade during their earlier years. Hymas' numbers are distorted because he was working full-time as an instructor at the JDJSDS at that time.

Clarke's numbers would probably be the most representative of the first four given that he commenced training not long before the shodan gradings were introduced and he didn't work full-time at the JDJSDS. What makes his achievement even more remarkable is the fact that he was a partner in a leading law firm in the city at the time, and as such was time poor, however, he and Hymas (and possibly Connolly) did the shodan shinken shobu no kata as a demonstration whereas all those that followed had to perform it in true reflex fashion (see this post regarding this issue).

In addition, none of the first four had to go through the mon grades as those grades were introduced when they were instructors (who then went on to teach the mon grades that they had not undertaken). 

So, I might be the most indicative of the five sandans that were graded under JDJ given that I went through the mon system and shodan shinken no kata reflex style, and the nidan and sandan gradings were developed before I was a qualifying candidate. 

My Shodan

I commenced training on the third Wednesday in April 1983 in Ian Lloyd's class and was awarded shodan in February 1993 - a little shy of 10 years. That would appear to support the commonly conceived wisdom of a minimum of 10 years to be awarded shodan. Or does it?

When I commenced training, I started off by attending two lessons a day, six days a week, and engaging in a lot of extra training (see this post). That is 12+ hours a week, 48+ hours a month, and based on a 45-week year, 540+ hours a year. Most people start off, and often continue with, one or two lessons a week and maybe a little extra training. That is 1-2+ hours a week, 4-8+ hours a month, and based on a 45-week year, 45-90+ hours a year. 

A ludicrous calculation based on the above, but if we say that it takes 540 hours training a year to be awarded shodan in 10 years, then the average person training 90 hours a year can expect to be awarded shodan in 60 years. :)

There were other factors in my 10-year shodan qualification. 

During that time, I engaged in what was then an Australian rite of passage in backpacking in Europe for a year. I also completed the Chartered Accountants 'professional year,' which was actually 18 months, where candidates do not see the light of day for that period of time, and completed the Securities Institute of Australia graduate diploma in which I was awarded State Dux, which was another 18-month commitment. That had to have slowed down my progress to shodan.

What is obvious is that I, along with the other four sandans, am not an indicative example of the time it takes to be awarded shodan in the JDJ jujutsu grading system.

My Nidan

I was awarded nidan in December 1998, five years after I was awarded shodan. I had to reflect on those years as training and undergoing the nidan grades does not stand out in my memory. As it turns out, I was a little busy at the time.

Did I train for nidan for those five years with the same intensity as described above?  No, however, I was working full-time as an instructor at the JDJSDS from mid-90s to 2000. 

To counter that, I also engaged in the UWA (University of Western Australia) Master of Business Administration (MBA), an elite, time-intensive, business course, in the mid-90s. I worked full-time while studying the MBA full-time (nobody does that), and at that time it was an 18-month course rather than the 12-month course as most MBAs are these days. And now that I remember it, I also lived and worked in London for between nine months and a year shortly after grading shodan.

Completing the nine parts of the nidan grading would probably have taken me more like two years or more likely less. 

I had to go back over the nidan gradings to remember them as I said above, they do not stand out in my memory. In doing so, I remember that I did those grades with Greg Palmer. 

Greg had a long-held ambition/dream to complete JDJ's grading system. He initially started training with Clarke, Hymas, and Connolly, however, they quickly left him behind because they were in a race to the finish line. Greg approached me to help him realise his ambition/dream. I had no ambition to be awarded shodan, let alone nidan and sandan, but Greg being Greg would not allow me to help him in realising his ambition/dream unless I graded too. 

Looking back on the records, Greg had already graded nidan by the time we started working on my nidan. I had to be graded nidan before Greg would consider training for sandan, in Greg's eyes. In all honesty, I was happy to remain shodan but would still train with Greg for him to realise his ambition/dream, and I said/argued as much. Nonetheless, Greg taught me what needed to be taught to be awarded nidan before we started preparing for sandan.

The nidan grading and its component parts are discussed in this linked post. The following are comments on some of those parts.

Part 2 Ju Jitsu no Jitsuen: 'Arrange a demonstration using up to eight lower grades to show some aspect of jujutsu. Twenty minutes of explanation type demonstration and ten minutes of fast action are required to be shown.' Given that this grading is intended to examine a candidate's knowledge and ability to arrange a demonstration that informs the public what jujutsu is and in particular what Jan de Jong jujutsu is, I convinced JDJ to judge me on a 'real' demonstration that I had arranged for an open day at Wesley College.

How long did it take to prepare? Not long. If you know your stuff, know your students, and choose skilled and trained students, it doesn't require much training at all. By that stage, I had been part of and organised more demonstrations locally, nationally, and internationally than I can remember.

Part 3 Shinken Shobu no Kata: 'Reflex grading.' You will recall from the above 'nine parts' link that the number of attack-defence combination in nidan was reduced from 140 in shodan to 52 in nidan. Given that I was highly trained and highly proficient, and the attack-defence combinations are all just variations on a theme from previous gradings, not a lot of training was required to master the attack-defence combinations in this grading. 

Part 7 Shiai: 'Free fight with tanto vs tanto.' A group of us attempted this grading together. If I recall, the group included myself, Debbie Clarke, Ian Lloyd, and Hans de Jong. Maybe John Martyr.

How long does it take to train this grading? Given that knife fighting was not taught at the JDJSDS and given that no instructions were provided as to what is sought and graded in this grading, as long or as short as the candidate wants. My training consisted of a little training with the fellow candidates in order to determine their abilities and tactics, and then to devise tactics to defeat them. I didn't train those tactics, however, I successfully employed them.

Part 8 Jutsuri no Kata: 'Oral examination conducted with at least two other candidates, discussing the technical aspects on any technique selected by Shihan Jan de Jong.' No 'training' necessary in order to attempt this grading. No 'training' necessary in my case given that my mentor was Greg Palmer, who JDJ acknowledged as having the best technical knowledge of the techniques and tactics taught at the JDJSDS, and because of my natural and learned analytical nature and capabilities.

Part 9 Ju Jitsu Rekishi: 'Candidates are required to submit an essay with no less than 3000 words on a topic to be approved by Shihan Jan de Jong.' JDJ credited me with this part of the grading based on the international franchise proposal that I had prepared for him after accompanying him to Jakarta, Indonesia to meet with a Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur who was prepared to fully fund the start-up. A lost opportunity if ever there was one.

I imagine that JDJ would have likewise credited Clarke with this part of the grading given his many contributions to JDJ's efforts over the years, including developing the AJJA dan grading system and their competition format, and providing a comprehensive explanation of both for AJJA consumption. Greg could have been credited with this part of the grading for his development ken no michi grading that was introduced by JDJ into his ikkyu grading. It would be interesting to know what Hymas and Connolly did to satisfy the requirements of this part of the nidan grading.

My Sandan

I completed nidan in December 1998 and sandan in May 2000, approximately 16 months to successfully complete 12 gradings - the fastest ever (Clarke 8yrs, Hymas and Connolly 7yrs, Palmer 4yrs).

The above linked '12 gradings' post explores and discusses the parts that make up the sandan grading. The following are some comments on some of those parts.

Part 1 Kime no Kata: 'Explain the theory and answer questions on demonstrated techniques.' The demonstrated techniques are simply variations on a theme, so no real training is required, and if anyone is going to successfully answer theory questions raised on those techniques, it was Greg and myself. In fact, I explained in the sandan post that Greg was disappointed when JDJ didn't ask us any questions and confronted him about it. JDJ said he knew that we knew the theory about the techniques.

Part 2 Ju Jitsu no Jitsuen: 'Arrange a ten-minute demonstration on a topic given by Shihan Jan de Jong using only yudansha. Twenty minutes preparation time will be allowed.' No training possible for this grading.

I cannot remember what my topic was, however, I do remember that JDJ and some others being kind enough to suggest that my demonstration was the best presented out of all five sandans. If memory serves, Connolly's subject was 'ground techniques.' I would suggest that JDJ was taking the opportunity to explore 'ground techniques' at the time as this was about the time of the emergence of so-called Brazilian jiu-jitsu and their emphasis on 'ground techniques.' We have techniques to defend while on the ground, however, it cannot be said that we teach 'ground techniques' as it came to be understood.

Even though I had the likes of Clarke, Hymas, and Greg included in my demonstration, Connolly was not included, the difficult part was in catering for their limitations as they were not the most athletic of jujutsuka.

Part 3 Taisabaki no Kata: 'Prepare a kata to show the different variations of the body movements.' In reality, no training is required. It should be expected at this level that the required kata could be developed on the spot let alone using a similar/the same format as the previous grading.

Part 4 Sutemi no Kata and Taoshiwaza no Kata: demonstrate 20 sacrifice throws and 20 takedown techniques and answer theory questions thereon. The training for the sacrifice throws only needed to be brushed up because they had been taught and trained throughout the grading/training experience, beginning with tomoe nage in 6th kyu, yellow belt.

There were new takedown techniques included in the grading, although technically 25 percent are throws based on my biomechanical distinction between throws and takedowns in my as yet unpublished The Science Behind All Fighting Techniques, but again, most are simply variations on a theme. It is interesting that a JDJ ryuha has omitted this part of this part of this part of their syllabus, probably because the head of that ryuha did not grade beyond shodan and was unfamiliar with the techniques and their variations.

Part 5 Kodachi no Kata: 'Demonstration of kodachi (wakizashi) techniques against katana.' The techniques are relatively simple so not a lot of training is required to be grading-ready.

Part 6 Hojo Jutsu: 'Demonstrate use of rope to tie up an opponent.' As explained in a previous post, the demonstration is not from an attack but simply tying up (gift wrapping) a compliant uke. Greg had studied and taught these techniques to Clarke, Hymas, and Connolly before they graded this part of the sandan grading without him, however, I too was a beneficiary of Greg's knowledge and expertise in this regard. Much to Greg's and my surprise, I quickly mastered the techniques. I'm not the most 'handy' of people.

Part 7 Taiho Jutsu: 'Demonstrate various arresting techniques from standing and sitting positions.' The techniques are variations on a theme and there are only six of them. Enough said.

Part 8 Toshu Kakuto Jutsu: 'Demonstrate searching and hand cuffing techniques.' As explained in the previous post on the nidan grading, these techniques are taken straight from Col. Rex Applegate's Kill or Get Killed, and they are not complicated.

Part 11 Shiai: 'Free fight with tanbo vs tanto.' As with all the shiai gradings in the JDJ jujutsu grading system, there is no training of fighting with the weapons used, very little training re tactics, and no information provided as to what is being graded. Consequently, no real training is required to successfully complete this part of the grading. 

Part 12 Ju Jitsu Keikaku: 'Candidates are assigned a project by Shihan Jan de Jong which will be of benefit for the students of the dojo, ryu or ju jitsu.' JDJ credited me with this part with the writing of the JDJ book. There are numerous contributions that Clarke and Palmer could be credited with to satisfy the requirements of this part of the grading (see above), and again, it would be interesting to know what Hymas and Connolly did to satisfy the requirements of this part of the grading.

Historical Records

With regards to the comments for nidan part 9 and sandan part 12, all of the essays and projects required in the dan grades (including shodan) would have been included in JDJ's records. Those records were inherited by Margaret de Jong (JDJ's wife), Maggie de Jong (JDJ's daughter), and presumably Paul Connolly (Maggie's eventual husband). It would appear that no use has been made of those records to date, not publicly at least. Have those efforts and records been consigned to oblivion? If so, that would be a shame.

Comments

How long does it take to complete the technical grades of the Jan de Jong grading system? I have been asked that question and this post explored the issue in order to provide an answer. 

It would be interesting to ask the same question of the other three living graduates who graded sandan under JDJ and who now are responsible for technical aspect of separate JDJ ryuha (in two out of the three cases, not necessarily being the principal of the school). What would their answer be? What is their answer in their modified/changed grading systems of their JDJ ryuha?

The above exploration suggests that it is difficult, if not impossible, to provide an authoritative answer to the question as to how long it takes to get sandan in the JDJ grading system. What I can say, based on the above exploration, and a great deal of resultant reflection, is that most of the work to undertake nidan and sandan is done in grading shodan in the JDJ jujutsu grading system. The work to complete shodan commences in ikkyu, which is the original instructor's grading.

The above graph has been used in a number of previous posts. It shows the number of attack-defence combinations in the shinken shobu no kata gradings from rokkyu to sandan. It could also be representative of the degree of difficulty for each grading level, which is reflected in the amount of time required to successfully complete those grades. In such a case, the ikkyu level would rise significantly as it was the original instructor's grade. What this illustrates is that ikkyu and shodan are the top of the mountain in JDJ's grading system, and it's all downhill after that. This then begs the question: why were there not more nidans and sandans in JDJ's school?

There is another aspect of the above exploration with regards to what is required to grade sandan, if not ikkyu and  shodan itself, in the JDJ grading system, and that is intelligence. Proficiency alone is not enough.

This exploration also makes me think: is shodan reflective of the 'level' of the likes of John Copley, Ian Lloyd, Tony Chiffings, Debbie Clarke, Hans de Jong, Darryl Cook, Justin Palandri, Steve Moller? Is ikkyu reflective of the 'level' of the likes of Robert Kirby, Vass D'Esterre (deceased), Peter Canavan, Warwick 'Zak' Jaggard, John Polton, Emma Glasson (nee Wouts), Gerald Wouts, Keith 'Keef' Hickey, Dave Palmer, Rodney Miller? All were instructors for JDJ at one time or another. Technically, under the JDJ grading system, yes, but is that an accurate reflection of their abilities, knowledge, and understanding, in particular when you consider what the nidan and sandan grades contribute to the yudansha's abilities, knowledge, understanding, and teaching abilities, and of course when the JDJ grading system is compared to that of many/most other martial arts grading systems.

This series continues with either an exploration of how to improve JDJ's grading system, which would involve significantly reducing the time to grade dan grades and become instructors without sacrificing standards, in fact, while increasing standards, or, comparing historic grading sheets that have come into my possessionto the final grading sheets within the JDJ grading system. 

  

Who Was The Best Teacher at the JDJSDS Revisited

The first post in this series has garnered a lot of interest. There have been some defensive comments, which is only to be expected, but there have also been some supportive comments, for which I am grateful and encouraged.

I do appreciate receiving comments as they make me think about what I'm sharing. As this post shows, I'm not above going back and clarifying issues, nor am I above changing my views if evidence is presented that indicates an error in those views. In fact, writing and receiving comments is a big part of my learning experience.

Some of the comments that I received in response to my first post caused me to revisit that post. To make it clear, the intention of this series of posts is to identify and explore certain 'faults' in the teachings of the Jan de Jong (JDJ) tradition in order to learn from them and improve on the impressive body of work that JDJ put together over his lifetime.

Kaizen

Why do I focus on 'faults'? That was a question that I came to ask myself when engaged in the project described in the first post and which precipitated this series of posts. Upon reflection, it is because I have a kaizen mindset.

Kaizen is a Japanese word that literally means 'change for the better.' It is the philosophy behind the continuous improvement ideology.

The 'dark side' of a kaizen mindset is a focus on things that can be changed for the better in order to continuously improve, aka faults. This focus is sometimes not appreciated, even when it is intended to improve things for the better, as I have found.

When I have discussed the kaizen concept with certain members of the JDJ tradition, they endorsed the concept. Kaizen is good. Changing for the better is good. Continuously improving is good. However, when faults are pointed out in what they are doing, the response is often not so good.

One of the reasons why they respond negatively can be found in the work of Wilfed Bion. I came across his work when engaged in a group project during my MBA. Long story short, Bion is a WWI tank commander who went on to become one of the most influential figures in psychoanalysis. In his work on group dynamics, he suggested that there are two groups: the 'work group' and the 'basic assumption group' (the 'as if' group).

The work group is the group that works to accomplish the task that the group was formed to accomplish. The basic assumption group act 'as if' they are working to accomplish the task that the group was formed to accomplish, and they believe they are doing so, but their priority is something else, e.g., maintaining the status quo. There are examples of this that I have encountered in the JDJ tradition.

I have a kaizen mindset and am most definitely part of the work group (at least in certain areas of my life).

  

Insight and Understanding

The learning from 'faults' in the teachings of the JDJ tradition is also about gaining insights that lead to a new and better understanding. This is consistent with cognitive psychologist Gary Klein's views on the subject in Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights.

The five triggers for gaining insights that Klein identifies are: connections, coincidences, curiosity, contradictions, and creative desperation. Klein also identifies obstacles to gaining insights: stupidity, forgetfulness, lack of alertness, delusion, flawed beliefs, inexperience, passivity, over-confidence, and rigid reasoning styles. Many of those triggers and obstacles will be seen in action in this series of posts that in essence is about gaining insights that lead to a new and better understanding of the techniques in the JDJ jujutsu grading system and the grading system itself.

What I can say at this stage is, first, teaching and doing what is taught unquestioningly is an obstacle to gaining insight and understanding (and it is not kaizen). Second, insights that can lead to a new and better understanding can only be gained if one goes looking for answers to questions. An example of that will be clearly demonstrated in a future post that focuses on Ken Tai Ichi no Kata which is part of the shodan gradings.

Instructors

As I said above, the intention of this series of posts is to identify and explore certain faults in the teachings of the JDJ tradition for the purposes of kaizen, insight, and understanding. I seem to have been sidetracked in the first post by my discussion regarding Greg Palmer being the best teacher in the Jan de Jong Self Defence School (JDJSDS). An assertion that I stand by, but which is not intended to diminish the teaching efforts of the other instructors in the school. 

My focus on Greg for that post came about through the project that I was engaged in where I was identifying faults in certain teachings. In order to support my assertions, I referred to the fact that I had trained extensively under JDJ's 'senior instructors' and JDJ himself.

I identified the 'senior instructors' in the first post as Peter Clarke, Robert Hymas, and Paul Connolly because they are the only ones to be awarded rokudan by JDJ. I was focused on them because they are instrumental to the story about the development of the JDJ jujutsu grading system which I was working on because it explained some of the faults that I was discussing (see next post).

The instructor I was working with responded to my training experience with the fact that they too had trained under the 'senior instructors' and JDJ. Fair point.

It was around this time that I was questioning who was I to find fault in the teachings of my instructors and JDJ? In order to explore and answer that question, I developed a martial arts-related curriculum vitae (CV) for myself. 

The difference between 'trained extensively under' and 'trained under' came to be a point of differentiation (see below). I also came to realise another point of differentiation was that I trained also extensively under Greg Palmer, in fact, he was probably the biggest influence on my knowledge and understanding.

Greg was a professionally trained teacher and thus his approach to teaching came from a professionally trained teacher's perspective. That enhanced the learning experience not only for his students but also for himself. His technical understanding was so well regarded that when he and I went to do the theory gradings in nidan and sandan, JDJ would say that there was no need to examine our theory knowledge and understanding because he knew that it was there.

An email from a respected source reminded me that all of the instructors had an input into my knowledge and understanding. And when I say 'all', I do mean all as I trained under all of them. It was remiss of me not to acknowledge them in the first post and my only defence is that I was locked into tunnel vision as explained above.

In addition to the 'senior instructors' and Greg, I trained extensively under Ian 'Lloydo' Lloyd and Robert 'Rob' Kirby, and to a lesser extent under Debbie 'Deb' Clarke, Hans de Jong, and John Copley.

The abovementioned respected source accurately described Lloydo as 'a very practical bloke who [was] not as dynamic as others, had a good understanding of the mechanics of [techniques].' That is a fair assessment. The not being dynamic means that he was very compact in his movements. His unique method of punching caused me to question how it was so effective and I have included the findings of that question in my book on the science behind all fighting techniques.

Apparently 'lol' is outdated these days, but I did smile when I demonstrated this form of punching on a couple of highly graded students this year, 40 years after being taught it by Lloydo, and they were surprised at the force applied from such a compact movement. :)

The 'core of all learning' is the identification of similarities and differences. The four proven highly effective means of identifying similarities and differences are classification, comparison, creating analogies, and creating metaphors. Greg obviously used these strategies to teach, however, so did Lloydo. He was a master at using the creating metaphors strategy to teach techniques. Forty years on and I'm still using his 'bear claw' metaphor to teach yoko tekubi hishigi.

Rob was unique to the JDJ instructor pool in having trained and graded highly in another martial art (taekwondo). He also had police training under his belt which is regimented and informed by teaching theory. JDJ would later go on to explain that this approach, informed by his involvement with the SAS, produced superior results and was the impetus for his introduction of the mon grades into his grading system (see later posts). Rob was also unique within the JDJ instructor pool in knowing how to train students rather than just teach them. This is one of the things that I took from him to produce some of the best performances by students in gradings according to JDJ.

Herein lies a valuable lesson - the difference between teaching and training. For the most part, training was left up to the individual student at the JDJSDS, with the exception of Rob's classes, and then later mine.

Deb's greatest influence on me was probably when I was assisting her teaching the women's self defence (WSD) course that she developed. The course is ingeniously put together and is not just another WSD course taught by a martial artist. This involvement caused me to study and research WSD for a chapter in my second book on a new and better understanding of our natural and learned responses to a threat. 

CV Extract

I explained above that when I was questioning whether I was qualified to find fault in the teachings of the JDJ 'senior instructors' and JDJ himself, I wrote a martial arts-related CV for myself. I also referred to a differentiating factor being the difference between 'extensively trained under' and 'trained under.' When I started writing that CV, I started with my training, and I was quite surprised by the results even though I lived those results.

Most people start training by attending one or two classes a week and maybe doing a bit of extra training. I started training (April 1983) by attending at least two classes a day, six days a week, and doing a lot of extra training. Just taking the classes into account, that means that my one week's training was the equivalent of most other's 6-12 weeks; my one year's training the equivalent of most other's 6-12 years; and my five year's training the equivalent of most other's 30-60 years training. And that was basically my commitment for 20+ years. 

As explained above, my training involved training under all of the instructors at the JDJSDS, to varying degrees, and so I was exposed to all of their experiences.

From the commencement of my training at the JDJSDS, I graded every grading weekend (every three months) and I excelled in each of those gradings. That should come as no surprise given the abovementioned training regime.

After 1.5 years training, graded 3rd kyu (orange belt), and having never assisted an instructor teaching at the JDJSDS, I was asked by JDJ to take over the Melville branch from Paul Connelly. Ironically, being graded 3rd kyu made me ineligible for inclusion in the 'instructors' class. Within five years I was invited into the 'instructors' class, even though I had been instructing for a number of years prior to that invitation and by then it included instructing at the JDJ hombu. 

I taught for JDJ from the time that he first invited me to do so and was a full-time instructor for five years in the mid-to-late 90s where I taught more classes and private lessons than any other instructor and I was the chief examiner on more gradings than any other instructor.

In 1985, my training was supplemented when I was invited to join Greg's demonstration team for his nidan grading (Ju Jitsu no Jitsuen). This involved intensive training under Greg's supervision twice a week for six months (in addition to the abovementioned training regime). JDJ acknowledged that Greg's demo was the best demo that was presented for the nidan grading. That demonstration and team then went on to represent JDJ and the JDJSDS in a State Open competition organised by Brian Mackie.

There are also personal attributes. A kaizen mindset. An analysist by nature, nurture, and now pathology. A systems thinker (seeing connections; see Klein above) that enables me to see the forest and the trees. High attention to detail. Obsessive.   

There is a lot more to my CV than the above (which may or may not be presented in a future post). The point is that I am more than qualified to find fault in the teachings of the JDJ instructors and tradition. And I only do so in the pursuit of kaizen and insight that can lead to a new and better understanding.

Next Post

The JDJ jujutsu grading system was long considered to be 'best practice' by those in the JDJ tradition. As it turns out, not so much, in fact, it is a possible 'extinction event' for the JDJ tradition if adopted unquestioningly. 

The following is a comment that I received in relation to the first post: 

I appreciated the input of all the teachers at JdJ they each had a different perspective/approach. Where I think problems lie is the assumption that every student wants to become an instructor and so have a perfect understanding of the theory and practice. To my mind this has meant that the grading system has become very unwieldy and overly long.

That is a very astute observation and analysis. One that I have long shared. The words that I use to describe the JDJ jujutsu grading system are disjointed, overly cumbersome, and overly burdensome. I also describe it as a first attempt that is in need of modification. 

The next post will look at the development of the JDJ jujutsu grading system. I will explain how it came to be and describe some of the conceptual problems in the grading system that are a product of its development. This analysis can provide the opportunity for insights to be gained that can lead to a new and better understanding that might pave the way for the continued existence of JDJ's teachings.

 

Full-Time Dojo

When you were training for your gradings, particularly training for shodan, how did you train? Where did you train? Did you do more than attend classes, and if so, where did you train?

Attending classes should not be the standard that prepares a person for shodan. Particularly given that classes are at best a couple or few times a week. And within the JDJ tradition, even more so given that JDJ tradition classes are not training.

You don't pass school by attending classes. You're expected to do homework. The general rule of thumb when I attended University was for every one contact hour the student should do three non-contact hours of work. That is also true of the martial arts. If all a person does is attend classes, is that sufficient to be awarded a black belt?

JDJ told me the story of how Yoshiaki Unno wanted to fail a proficient student because he did not have the same attendance record of classes as that of another less proficient student. That is beaucratic nonsense. There are two interrelated aspects to a shodan awarding - proficiency (and understanding) which is the product of training. And that training is not necessarily conducted in classes, particularly when classes are dedicated to teaching and learning (as are those in the JDJ tradition).

I was unique. No doubt. I have never known anyone with the same training ethos (also known as 'obsession') as I possessed from day one.

In the third week of April 1983, I commenced training jujutsu at the Jan de Jong Self Defence School in Sensei Ian Lloyd's class on a Wednesday night at 6pm. I started by doing two classes a day, six days a week, plus extra training. I attended most of the classes at the JDJSDS located at 996 Hay Street, Perth (CBD) and made up others at suburban branches. But, all extra training was conducted at the full-time dojo at 996 Hay Street that was open from 9 till late five days a week and 9-5 on Saturdays where one could train in purpose built premises.

I was unique because I adopted that training schedule. I was lucky because I had the opportunity to do so which was facilitated by the unique opportunity of having access to a full-time, purpose built training facility. That was a unique opportunity that I have come to understand is not appreciated or valued by most people training martial arts.

The JDJSDS provided that unique training opportunity at 996 Hay Street. When JDJ passed and the Jan de Jong Martial Arts Fitness ryuha was established down the road and around the corner, it was a full-time dojo, but I'm not sure of the training opportunities. Now that they have relocated to renting space in a community hall in Melville, there is no training opportunities provided by the JDJMAF.

There is only one JDJ ryuha that does offer the opportunity of training at any hour in a full-time purpose built facility and that is Sensei Daniel Newcombe's Self Defence Central Dojo. While you can discuss the various merits of the training provided by the various instructors in the JDJ tradition, you cannot question the training opportunity provided by a true full-time training facility as that provided by DN's SDCD.

This is in no way a promotion of DN nor his SDCD. It is simply sharing an insight into the unique value that is afforded by a true full-time, purpose built training facility. 

WHFSC Grandmaster's Council: a compendium of the world's leading Grandmasters

Shihan Jan de Jong OAM 9th Dan is included by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council in their book published in 2013 as one of the world's Grandmasters.

Many of the photographs featured in their book have been featured on this blog (consequently, I'm not sure if they accessed those photographs from this blog or elsewhere). One photograph I will draw your attention to is that presented to the right because it has a story of its own.

That photo was included in a post which incorrectly suggested the dojo was 870 Hay Street. In a quirk of fate, that photo was responsible for me connecting with a student of De Jong's from the 50s who then sent me various memorabilia from that time which I subsequently presented to Hans, De Jong's son, for his birthday.

Margaret de Jong, Jan's wife, contacted me with certain issues she had regarding my reporting of the 'Jan de Jong story.' I addressed the majority of her concerns, however, possibly in an act of defiance, I refused to change the description of that photo. As it turned out, Harry Hartman, the good looking young man to the right, the one executing the technique in the photo, contacted me to correct my description of the location of the dojo - and from there a friendship grew. See this post for more information of Harry's contribution to the Jan de Jong story on this blog.

I'm sure Harry is going to be chuffed that his image is now published in a book. At least he has an image published of him executing a technique; the vast majority of images available of me is being the one whom techniques are executed on.

The entry in the WHFSC book reflects the history of the jujutsu that De Jong taught that is popularly espoused. As my research has explained, there is no corroboration of that history other than that De Jong trained under the Saito brothers.

What do we know of the Saito brothers other than that they taught jujutsu in Semarang, Indonesia pre-WWII and that one was a photographer and the other a florist?

De Jong showed me a photographic book that featured a photo of Semarang, Indonesia that was attributed to a Saito around that time. There is another reference that may refer to the photographer Saito:

Many Japanese businessmen appeared on the scene in the years leading up to the Japanese invasion of Java. They were planted there on purpose to get ready for the forthcoming invasion. Our friendly Japanese photographer turned out to be a spy too. He was the most popular photographer in Semarang and he had taken several of our photos. While these people had been bowing and smiling at us, they had been preparing for our destruction!

Jan Ruff-O'Herne, 50 Years of Silence

There is also a photo included of the late, great, Sensei Ian Lloyd that I posted in a tribute to him. A timely reminder to remember those we've loved, lost, by have not forgotten.

Commemorating Jan de Jong

Commemoration is a ceremony or event in which a person or event is remembered.

On Saturday, 13 April 2013, Jan de Jong was commemorated. It is 10 years since he passed away. He was commemorated in a dinner organised by his son's (Hans) students (Craig Ma'har and Heidi Romundt). However, Saturday night was more than simply remembering an individual.

There is more to a commemoration than meets the eye. This, like so many other commemorations, was a cultural event.

Culture binds individuals. Culture binds individuals in a tribe, in a family, and in an organisation. A strong culture provides strong bonds. A weak culture provides weak bonds. Culture nurtures and guides individuals. Culture keeps individuals connected.

What is culture? CULTURE IS TELLING STORIES AROUND A CAMPFIRE. And that was what we did on Friday night. Craig started the official proceedings with certain formalities before he turned to stories of Jan de Jong. He passed over to me for the 'in memorial' section of the evening where I told stories of those who were a part of the Jan de Jong story but were no longer with us (Greg Palmer, Ian Lloyd, and Paul Seaman). Hans told stories of his father and his growing up with his father. Craig then, intuitively but unwittingly, invited anyone and everyone to tell stories about Jan de Jong. And we did.

One thing has struck me in terms of culture. It's not about technical expertise. All of the veterans of the Jan de Jong Self Defence School do not talk about the technical expertise of Jan de Jong. They talk about the experiences they shared with him or what they experienced in his school. You can be as technically proficient as you like and you will not build a strong culture. Jan de Jong was technically proficient, but it was the 'other' that built the strong culture. And it was the telling of stories that strengthens that culture.

Who were the foundations of the Jan de Jong culture. Jan de Jong was a story teller par excellence. He loved telling stories and he always told stories. Greg Palmer arranged drinks or meals after training where he told stories to attendees. Rob Hymus would tell stories to students after class in the car park. Even though these individuals technical and teaching abilities cannot be distinguished from other instructors or senior members of the Jan de Jong organisation, they can be distinguished in terms of supporting and strengthen the culture of the Jan de Jong family/tribe.

The Jan de Jong organisation was on the point of closing in the mid 1990s. While doing my MBA fulltime I was working fulltime within the Jan de Jong organisation. Upon being informed they were about to 'close the doors' on the school due to financial stress, I developed a strategy based on a cultural focus. That strategy reversed every KPI (key performance indicator) because culture strengthens, retains and grows an entity, whether that entity be a family, tribe or organisation.

There were notable absences on the night. People who were senior in the Jan De Jong organisation prior to his death. Is their absence an indication of a weak culture? That is a question I pondered.

When I was writing my speech honouring those who were a part of Jan de Jong's story and who are no longer with us, I wanted to refer to the 'Jan de Jong family' but I was reluctant to do so. I was reluctant because some senior members of that supposed 'family' declined to attend. What sort of family is that? Then I thought, that is what a real family is like. There are members who do not buy into the culture of the family. They make a choice not to be included. But that does not take anything away from those who choose to buy into the family; to buy into the culture.

There were notable absentees. There were notable inclusions who have no relationship with Hans' school other than they were a part of Jan de Jong's family way back when. They are a part of and embrace the culture that Jan de Jong developed. By attending these functions and sharing their stories they strengthen the Jan de Jong culture and the bonds that bind.

There were members of Hans' school who never experienced Jan de Jong's school. On Friday night they were exposed to a greater tradition than that of Hans' school. They saw they were part of a greater whole. There were others who no longer train or no longer train jujutsu, but their bonds with each other were strengthened through nostalgia. The tribe, the family, strengthens and grows.

While this post informs on a night where Jan de Jong was commemorated, it also informs on a larger issue that all should consciously consider - culture. Jan de Jong did not just develop a jujutsu system, he developed a culture.

Ian Continues to Teach

Ian's son, Mike, provided a wonderful eulogy at Ian's funeral. He is a credit to his father in every way. Given my current interests, a couple of stories his son regaled the mourning masses with came to mind.

Mike told of the time when he held a party at his father's house and some male guests were throwing bottles at the wall of the house. Ian approached the lads and explained that he hoped that they had had a good time at the party but if they continued with their current actions, damage would ensue on their bodies. The lads decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

Mike also told of the time when his father stopped when being tailgated by some lads. Three lads got out of the car and approached Ian. Without Ian saying a word, the lads decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

How did Ian influence these testosterone fueled, societal motivated aggressive males who outnumbered this older man on each occasion?

Appraisal theory tells us that emotions (and subsequent behaviours) are evoked based on an unconscious, or conscious, assessment of our resources and abilities to deal with a threat. If we assess that our resources and abilities are sufficient to deal with a threat then we are confident and a particular emotion is evoked which is accompanied by a particular behaviour.

Was Ian confident in his resources and abilities to deal with the threat? In my unprofessional opinion, I would say that that was not a consideration.

I suspect that Ian had a resolve. A steely resolve. If this 'thing' was going to happen then he would engage in the process. There would have been no thought of outcome. He didn't weigh, consciously or unconsciously, whether or not he would prevail.

Confidence is a tricky thing. When you compare your resources and abilities to a threat, if the former outweighs the latter, you are confident which influences your actions. If your assessment falls short, you lack confidence and your actions reflect that lack of confidence. During a violent encounter, there is a constant reappraisal of your resources and abilities versus the threat. A steely resolve does not engage in that appraisal process.

There is another senior instructor at the school that was the Jan de Jong Self Defence School. He emphasises the 'warrior spirit' in both word and action. He is very proficient, physically strong and fast, and very aggressive. Who would I prefer to engage with, Ian or the unnamed senior instructor? The latter. Every day of the week. Why? Because I had a chance of defeating the unnamed senior instructor psychologically. That opportunity did not exist with Ian. Ian had a resolve. He didn't think about winning or losing, and therefore did not weigh resources and abilities against threats. He was going to engage to the best of his abilities, if he had to, and that was the end of the assessment process.

I believe this is the lesson you want to instill in your students. Forget confidence. Forget bravado. It's simply a steely resolve. Not to win or lose, but simply to engage with all of your resources and abilities. Let the outcome take care of itself.




... Interestingly enough, writing this post and reflecting on Ian's lesson is giving me the resolve to deal with a very intimidating issue that is currently having a major impact on my life. Thanks Lloydo. You continue to help me.

Ave Atque Vale Ian Lloyd

Ian Lloyd 2 November 1946 - 27 July 2012

Catullus 101

Through many peoples and many seas have I travelled

to thee, brother, and these wretched rites of death

I bring a last gift but can speak only to ashes

Since Fortune has taken you from me

Poor brother! stolen you away from me

leaving me only ancient custom to honour you

as it has been from generation to generation

Take from my hands these sad gifts covered in tears

Now and forever, brother, Hail and farewell (ave atque vale).

I prefer the modern translation of ave atque vale: I salute you ... and goodbye.

Ian first stepped onto the mats of the Jan de Jong Self Defence School in 1965.

He was the third longest serving member of the school. He is only preceded by Hans de Jong (officially 1955) and Paul Connolly (1964).

Ian was one of the first jujutska to be awarded shodan by Shihan Jan de Jong in 1982. He was a very proficient jujutsu practitioner, but that proficiency pales into insignificance when you consider the man.

Ian holds the record, by far, for teaching the same class. He commenced teaching the Wednesday night class in 1979 and continued to do so until the restructuring of the school after Jan de Jong's passing in 2003. The third Wednesday in April, 1983 was my first class of jujutsu, and I was privileged to attend Ian's class for many years.

'I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university' - Albert Einstein. Einstein may as well as have been speaking for Ian. Ian treated one and all, young and old, male and female, from all walks of life in the same manner. Always, always with respect.

'Respect' is a word that is often bandied around these days. It is often demanded but the simple rule expressed by R.G. Risch seems to have been lost by many: 'Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you've got to give it.' Ian gave respect to one and all with no expectation of anything in return. You didn't have to earn Ian's respect, it was freely given. All you could do was lose it through your own demerit. And even then, Ian wouldn't hold it against you.

'Being humble means recognising that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others' - G.B. Hinckley. By definition, Ian was humble. He didn’t teach to gain status or to impress anyone. His teaching was not driven by ego. He didn’t teach for financial reward. He taught because he enjoyed it. He taught for his students, for his love of the art, and for his deep and abiding friendship with Jan de Jong.

'Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend' - A. Camus. Both Ian and Jan de Jong lived this credo. Jan de Jong didn't ask Ian to walk behind him, and Ian probably would not have followed; but they walked together side by side as true friends. No tribute to Ian would be complete without mention of his deep and abiding friendship with Jan de Jong.

Ian asked those he met to just walk beside him and be his friend. Many accepted that invitation. 'Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears' - John Lennon. In this case, Ian was far older than his 66 years and the calculation of his life reaches towards infinity.

Ian, ave atque vale, I salute you ... and goodbye.

Jan de Jong Pt 9.2 - Internationalisation Pt 2

Recall from the last blog that Jan de Jong conducted annual teaching tours of Europe from 1982 until ill-health prevented him from doing so in 1999. These tours would be for periods of six to twelve weeks and involved travelling to different cities/towns in different countries.

The first 'tour' I was a part of was in 1991. De Jong was invited to a three day seminar held in Aarlen, Germany which was put on by Herr Teichmann, a Dutch or German judoka who imported diamonds from South America. The final night had a door prize of a diamond. Many jujutsu masters from around the world were invited. A capoeira team from Brazil was invited and put on a demonstration on the final night. They were 'hard core'. I found out later that one of them was a police officer and participated in the illegal 'blood sports' in his home city.

Soke Fumon Tanaka and his daughter Midori were also honoured guests, along with a member of the Japanese royal family. On the final evening when the invited masters put on demonstrations, Midori demonstrated the use of a naginata and Tanaka demonstrated the use of the katana. The demonstrations went on until the early hours of the morning and Tanaka was one of, if not the last demonstration. He demonstrated cutting a thick bamboo pole representing the thickness of a person's neck. They tried to balance the bamboo pole but the airconditioning kept on blowing it over. Finally, Tanaka simply drew his katana and cut the bamboo pole as it was falling. He cut clean through with the two parts simply separating as they descended uninterrupted towards the floor. Quite something to see.

Our 'team' consisted of Peter and Debbie Clarke, Hans de Jong, Greg Palmer, myself, and of course De Jong. The above photograph is of Peter and Hans training the pencak silat which was part of our demonstration on the final night. We also demonstrated jujutsu and the use of various weapons including the unique use of a short stick or long torch. Peter demonstrated the use of a manrikigusari, a chain with weights on either end. Watching the video of the demonstration brings a smile to my face as the commentator on the night explains that this is a weapon used by the police in Australia (they don't).

One of the gradings in third dan in De Jong's jujutsu grading system is to demonstrate the use of the manrikigusari. Peter was training for third dan and as is his way, he makes the weapon he is training a part of him. I recall seeing him walking down the streets of Munich twirling his manrikigusari. He had it in his pocket as he went to board the plane back to Australia and put it into the tray along with his wallet etc when he went through the metal detector at the airport, then put it back into his pocket and boarded the plane. Different times. I recall arriving at Hamburg airport, or another German airport, and picking up a very large duffle bag loaded with weapons - swords, jos, tanbos, knives, replica guns, etc. I walked through the airport with the bag slung over my shoulder and was not approached once by any official. Different times.

I was the first from De Jong's school to conduct an international seminar independent of De Jong in 1993. I was living in London and was invited to conduct a two day seminar celebrating a milestone anniversary for Wim Mullens' school in Rotterdam. What made this seminar noteworthy was that I was graded first dan (shodan). No shodans conduct seminars in Europe (or anywhere else for that matter). Participants came from throughout Holland, and also Germany and Belgium and more than half were higher graded than me. Such was the reputation of De Jong that they would attend a seminar given by one of his instructors even though he was a lowly shodan.

When I attended the seminar in Aarlen in 1991, I was graded 1st kyu which in our school is represented by a black and white belt (white stripe running the length of the belt in the middle of the belt). Peter Clarke told me that the first thing I'd be asked would be what grade I was because nobody else uses this belt except judo which previously never awarded women a black belt, but a black and white belt. Peter was right. I didn't even make it out of the change rooms the first day I was there and I had to answer that question. It proved quite handy actually as they didn't know how to categorise me so I got to move freely between seminar classes.

Since De Jong's passing in 2003, the tradition of teaching in Europe is continued by his instructors. I believe Maggie de Jong and Paul Connolly taught in Europe one year. Greg Palmer taught in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany before he passed away, fulfilling a dream to teach internationally. He also taught in South Africa if I remember correctly. Peter Clarke and Hans de Jong, independently, conduct annual teaching tours now.

Les Periera wrote an article about the celebrations associated with De Jong's 50th year of teaching professionally titled 'Only doing what I enjoy doing' (http://www.lespereira.com/Documents/Only%20Doing%20What%20I%20enjoy%20Doing.pdf) which was published in Australasian Fighting Arts. He wrote:

With Shihan de Jong's international reputation the Hay St dojo is almost a mecca for Ju-jitsuans around the world, with regular visitors from Switzerland, Denmark,Holland and England, as well as some Pencak Silat practitioners also from Switzerland.

Perth, Western Australia, has been described as the most isolated capital in the world, and yet, De Jong's reputation was such that many did indeed make the 'pilgrimage' to train under De Jong and his instructors. Periera missed out a few of the nationalities which have visited here, including, of course, many who've made the trek from the east coast to the west coast of Australia. One of the first groups to visit De Jong's dojo was a group of jujutsuka from Indonesia.

The photograph to the right accompanied the Periera article. It is a wonderful photo of a younger De Jong executing a painful technique on Ian Lloyd. Lloyd was a senior instructor for De Jong. He owned the Wednesday night classes at the dojo for more than two decades. His was the first class of jujutsu that I attended - April 1983. He has a relaxed style of teaching and would start of each class with a joke, while still in seiza of course. He travelled with De Jong (and others) when De Jong toured Indonesia in the 1980s.

The previous blog referred to the school in Aalborg, Denmark which De Jong taught at annually and the close relationship we have with that school and its instructors. Periera wrote in connection with De Jong's celebration:

Several presentations were made, including a statuette from Sensei Per Brix, of Denmark, for whom Shihan de Jong has held several seminars over the last three years. The presentation was made by Sensei Soeren Markussen, one of the senior Instructors at Sensei Brix's school, who spent three months in Australia training at the school.

I'll leave this part of De Jong's story with another quote from Periera's article:

An indication of Shihan de Jong's reputation and standing on the world stage may be gained from the number of telegrams and cards from wellwishers both interstate and overseas - Singapore, Japan, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Holland....