It was a close call, but almost Paatje Phefferkorn would never have doled out another "sapu" (sweep),
because when he was liberated from a Japanese prisoner of war camp, he weighed only 21 kilos (46 lbs)

 
Very fat he didn't become after that, but his fighting style and knowledge he took with him to Holland.

This is the fascinating life's story of a man for whom Pencak Silat is much more than just a martial art.

Paatje Phefferkorn:

"I started Pencak Silat in 1931 in Bandung when I was about 10 years old. It really came about
by accident, because one day when I was kiting there and my kite came broke loose and I ran after it.
It landed exactly at the house of mr. Sumanto. He was a Pencak Silat teacher (Setia Hati) and I
saw how he was training a number of students. I had never seen anything like it and was enormously
impressed. It was fast, hard, and still gracious and it never let go of me again. I kept returning, and
then remained standing behind the gate, watching the daily open air training. Sumanto saw me standing
all right, and one time he asked me to come in.
It was strange really, because he was a Javanese and all of his students were Javanese too, really.
As a Dutch-Indonesian you didn't much associate with the Javanese, that was part of those times.
Not that we didn't want to, but that's how it had evolved because of the divide and rule concept of
Dutch politics. You were even looked at cock-eyed you were interacting with the Javanese too much."

For the young Phefferkorn, it became a meeting which would determine the rest of his life.

For seven years, day in and day out, he trained with his teacher Sumanto who taught him everything
you can teach to a child of that age.

"The training was always very disciplined. He taught us the stances, shouted commandos and especially
a lot of applications. What I remember especially of those times, was his incredible speed.
He allowed himself to be guided by the actions of his opponent and then reacted to him with an
explosive, almost gracious speed. Later, I was also allowed to spar with him, in the back of his
yard, which functioned as his 'dojo'. But always, mr. Sumanto kept emphasizing the gracious aspect
of Pencak Silat. 'Through the suppleness of Pencak you can move on any surface' he used
to say, and I remember that always.
I trained with him for seven years, and I am still grateful to him for every day of that period.
 

WAR OVER ASIA

Then, war broke out. Phefferkorn was enlisted, and what happened during the war with
mr. Sumanto, will forever remain a mystery. Phefferkorn, at least, never saw him again.

In the mean time, Verdi Phefferkorn had already completed training as a machinist and
a logical subsequent assignment was function with the KNIL (Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch
Leger or Royal Dutch-Indonesian Army). He joined the air force in the function of armaments
mechanic and air gunner.

Holland declared war to the Japanese occupiers from the secret airport of Samazinda 2 they
took the battle to the enemy from the air, with their aging Glenn Martin bombers. However,
the enemy's number was too great, and on the 8th of March, 1942 they were taken prisoner.

Their heads were shaved, and it looked like he would spent the rest of time in a concentration
camp. However, together with another 11, he started to take initiative and succeeded to
escape his Japanese henchmen. In the mountains, the Preangearse he, together with
many other resistance fighters continued the war. But, for a successful guerilla war, you need
the support of the local population and the Dutch (and therefore also the Indos or Dutch-
Indonesians) weren't exactly in the lead on the popularity poles of the Indonesian population,
who just had been liberated from the yolk of the Dutch.
Despite the fact that Phefferkorn was half Indonesian, his crystal blue eyes couldn't hide
his European descent.

After months of wandering and travails, he was caught out in Jakarta. He had been betrayed
and during a razzia together with his comrades, caught by the Kempetai, the Japanese Gestapo.
Of 9 of his fellow fugitives, nothing was ever heard again.

"We were interned in a concentration camp. The conditions there were hellish. In all, I have
spent four years there; many died and only the will to survive got me through it. I am
convinced that my Pencak Silat had to do with it as well, because as I was trained, I knew
how to continue my exercises in the camp, under the guise of "gymnastic" exercises.
We continued on with those until we were too weak and almost starved to death.

"Then, when finally, on their turn the Japanese were defeated by the allies, Phefferkorn
weighed only 21 kilos. The average tourist has a heavier suitcase than that when he
takes along his clothes on holiday.

"We thought we had been liberated, but because Sukarno and his, the nationalist
feelings of the Indonesians had been whipped up so much that we couldn't leave
the camp. The Indonesian decree was 'Death to all Dutchmen'. Our women and
children were murdered in the terrible days just after the war, and of all things,
we had to be protected from the Indonesians by our Japanese camp guards!
In the end, we fled again with weapons we stole from the Indonesians."
 

TO HOLLAND

Many years later (1959) the lifer Verdi Phefferkorn ended up in Holland. There
was no place for him in Indonesia anymore, and in the Netherlands, a new existence
had to be built up.

"We arrived here penniless, I had to look for a job, find work. I really didn't
have a lot of time for Pencak Silat, even though I trained for myself on my attic.
In the mean time, I had married and had seven children who had to be kept, so
that took up a lot of time. When my sons grew bigger, they too became interested
in the fighting arts. They saw the way I trained and of course I would teach them.
They talked to about it with their school friends and one thing led to another.
"Pa, can't you teach", you know how it goes. So, I started with a small school
in Utrecht, just as an extra. That was in April of '67. First I would teach there
with the recently deceased Cor Turpijn, later, I went on by my own.

"But word spread and in no time I had to start on a second location. In the end,
it worked up to a total of 17 schools (!) where I trained or where teaching occurred
under my supervision."

Paatje Phefferkorn is now a part of "Council Of Elders", which has important advisory
function within the BPSI (Bond Pencak Silat Indonesia - the Dutch Pencak union).

Taking on board his admittedly advanced age (75) he has had to slow down a little.

"Well, you have to. Still, assistants come to my house to train twice a week. My
body then wants to do more than it can handle. My mind will say 'Pheffie, watch
out, slow down'. However you want to look at it, those deprivations in those
prisoner camps left their marks."

When you look at him in action, you wouldn't say so. He still has no trouble
whatsoever with getting into the difficult and low stances of Pencak Silat.
His moves still have something cat-like and at the same time exude the
esthetic beauty of Pencak Silat.
 

GRACE AND MAGIC

"I stick with the classical Pencak Silat as much as possible. Of course,
the art has changed through the years. Especially with the Japanese
influences a lot has been added that wasn't there before.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we may never forget the origin.
What mr. Sumanto taught me was a lot more graceful than what I'm
seeing today. I try to stick with the original school and teaching. My
teacher always taught me the context and background of a movement
and sometimes you can tell from the moves of the 'modern pencakkers'
that they don't know exactly why they're doing it.
When you don't know the meaning of a move, you can very easily
become it's victim - only think of the injuries you can get by inaccurately
executing certain techniques."

In pencak, a lot is being said about magic and such, does that have
a value for you?

"Obviously, there is magic in Pencak Silat even though you shouldn't
go around telling fairy tales. During my captivity, I have immersed myself
in the magical aspect of Pencak Silat deeply. There, they gave me the
nick-name "ghost man". I don't think we, as is sometimes thought,
can speak with the spirits of the deceased, although I have my own
philosophy about that and there is most definitely "something" on the
other side. I unravel the bullshit, but I do add something to it.
I am religious and believe in Jesus Christ and I also believe that
this life has a specific purpose. Pencak Silat can help attain that
purpose. However, within this context, it would go too far to
speak of this too much.
Let's say this. I help a lot of people get rid of their problems, I
unravel a lot of things. My lectures and lessons on Pencak Silat
are of great help in this.
Whether Pencak has a future in Europe? I don't know. A lot will
depend upon the youth. I hope so, but I'm skeptical."
 

Mr. Phefferkorn (background) and his demonstration
team (Anil Patandin on foreground, right).