From Inside Kung Fu Presents "Secret Fighting Arts Of Southeast Asia", January, 1990

By Lilian I. Howe

RUDY TER LINDEN

America's foremost instructor of Indonesian martial arts speaks out.

In response to public outcry and popular demand, INSIDE KUNG-FU PRESENTS
sought out perhaps the most qualified exponent of Indonesia's devastating
fighting systems on the American continent.

In the 1950's, judo was a household word, followed by karate in the 1960's. Then,
kung fu became the rage in the 1970's. In the 1980's, the highly commercialized
"art" of ninjutsu was "in" for about seven years. Currently, as we approach the
1990's, we are in the grip of a rising interest in the arts of Southeast Asia - the
Philippines, Thailand, and, most particularly, Indonesia.
The Indonesian arts, known generically as pentjak silat, are feared throughout
the world for their deadly effectiveness. However, as we at the magazine
learned at our chagrin, Indonesian people consider their art sacred.
A number of articles had run in major martial arts publications which, literally,
had the Indonesian community up in arms. To make amends, we contacted
the Indonesian government, and were put in touch with Andy Manuhutu, and
informed that he had full recognition from the consul general's office to speak
with authority on behalf of the Indonesian people.

Manuhutu, a full blooded Indonesian, insists that the arts of his homeland
are considerably different from the arts of other nations.
"Silat is very effective. It's offensive as well as defensive, this makes
it very barbaric by American standards.

"Indonesia is a melting pot of cultures from all over Asia. We have over
13,000 islands and 250 different tribes with 250 different languages.
But every part of Indonesia has a form of Silat.
"It's difficult to learn silat because it's taught on an individualized
basis. Everybody's different. When they're teaching you silat, they're
showing you the form, they show you the movement, but when it comes
to application or really using it, it's totally on your own instinct or combination.
It doesn't teach 'if he does this, you do that'. It's an instant reaction
to whatever situation you find yourself in. It doesn't matter if you are
sick, if you are tired, whatever. Your mind and body have been trained
to respond instantly.

"If you're in a wartime village in Indonesia, you have to be prepared at
all times. You don't have time to warm up if someone attacks you. You
don't have time to stop and do your stretching.

"When you learn the djurus (forms), it's just to teach your body
flexibility. It's not fighting, it's the art of making your body move right."

Manuhutu is very open about the difficulty silat faces in getting acceptance
in the United States. "We're off to a bad start already because some of
the audacious things which have been said in magazines. We wanted to keep
Indonesian martial arts free of politics, but it's starting already, and
that's a shame because some of these people are nothing."

If this is the case, then the next responsibility of our publication was to find
a legitimate and qualified instructor of Indonesian silat methods.

Finally, one name kept coming up, recommended by Manuhutu, prominent
members of the Indonesian community, and the Indonesian consulate -
Rudy ter Linden.

Rudy ter Linden came from an area called Surabaya. He established a
reputation very early in life, and is very well known throughout Indonesia
and Holland's Dutch Indonesian community. For a long time, he practiced
several forms of silat and has mastered four, serah (frequently misspelled
serak, which means laryngitis in the Indonesian language), tji kalong,
tji mande, and soetia hati. Feeling that each style has inherent
strengths and weaknesses, today he teaches these four complete
arts as one style - ratu adil. AFter a long hiatus from teaching, he
has recently returned to actively instructing the public.

This is his story.
 

TJIMANDI

 

Early Training

INSIDE KUNG FU PRESENTS:

Mr. ter Linden, can you tell me about your childhood?

RUDY TER LINDEN:

I was born in Palembang, Indonesia. I grew up there.
My father worked for an oil company. We moved to Jakarta,
and from there we went to Borneo. We stayed there until the second
world war, when the Japanese army came. All the wives and children
were evacuated to Java, so we moved to Surabaya, first in a camp,
then in a house. In 1942, Indonesia fell into the hands of Japan.

IKF PRESENTS:

When did you first start training in martial arts?

RT: When I was eight. My first art was Kuntao, which is a Chinese
Kung Fu style taught in Indonesia. My grandmother is Chinese,
my grandfather is Danish. They put me through the basic training
in this art. I practiced it in Surabaya, in a training hall behind a church.
It was a sleep-in situation, so I lived there. It was like being in the
army. You'd start a 5:00 in the morning, shower, eat breakfast,
exercise, meditate, and so on. I really didn't know what was
going on. I thought it was like a regular school, and everyone
went through this. We'd train until 1:30 or 2:00 and take a nap,
then continue.
 We'd actually soak our whole bodies in dit da jow. There was this
huge marble urn, and you'd sit in it up to your neck for about
15 minutes, then you'd come out and they'd slap you around.
 

SETIA HATI

Introduction into Silat

IKF PRESENTS: When did you begin Silat training?

RT: During the Japanese occupation. I was fascinated by Silat.
I met a man named Pak Sumo. He came to my house and talked
to my mom, and she said, "Rudy, this man is here to help you."
I don't know how many students he had. Maybe I was the only
one, maybe he had a hundred. But he began teaching me privately,
intensely, in Soetji Hati (Setia Hati). At first he talked to me
about birds and monkeys and animals, then he started training
me in djurus as a dance. I studied with him for years. I learned
from him hand-to-hand combat, sweeping, knife fighting, and so
on. I began to travel because I was fascinated by the Indonesian
people and culture. Over the years, since I was intrigued by
martial arts, I studied many, many systems in various parts
of Indonesia, New Guinea and Holland. I won't mention them,
because I only have a few months worth of knowledge in most
of them.

Ultimately, I learned four complete systems: Soetji Hati, Serah,
Tji Mande and Tji Kalong.

TJIKALONG

 
Four in one

IKF PRESENTS: How do these arts vary?

RT: They are different means to an end. They are all very good,
very superior arts, but they also have limitations.

Take Serah for example. It's a forceful style of infighting. Lots
of feinting and "entry". The idea is to come in fast and finish
the opponent.

Tji Mande is more decoying and feinting, in-and-out. You
hit and fade. It's very strategic. You enter, hit him, and slip out
of his range.

Soetji Hati is faster than Tji Mande and Serah. It's also an in-and-out technique
with lots of low fighting, low kicks, and sweeping of the legs. There's a lot of angling.

Tji Kalong is a very devastating style. It uses sweeps and short kicks and consists
mainly of striking and paralyzing the nerve centers.

Every art has it's good things. You can't say that serah is better than tji mande or
soetji hati is better than serah.
 

SERAK

IKF PRESENTS: Is that why you combined them?

RT: Absolutely. A combination of the four can't be beat. If a person practices
only one style, and I have more styles, I have an advantage. Especially
if I know his art, and know where his dead spots are. When you get into
a fight, the idea is to finish him fast.

IKF PRESENTS: Do the styles have any common characteristics?

RT: The secret in Silat is the leg maneuvers. You step, you angle, you fake,
sweep, and you synchronize with the hands. The hands can then feint.
For example, while someone is watching my hands, I can move in with a leg
attack.

IKF PRESENTS: How long does it take for the average person to become
efficient in these arts?

RT: About three to 3 1/2 years. In Indonesia, an attack could
come at any time. You have to get right to the "meat" of the art. There is
just no time for years of flowery discipline or hiding knowledge from students
until they "prove themselves worthy".
I teach the student at his or her own speed. If, for example, a student can
learn all 18 serah djurus in a year, he'll get them all in a year.

IKF PRESENTS: In what way do Indonesian martial arts differ from other
nations martial arts?

RT: If you see different arts, karate, kung fu, taekwondo, and you see
a silat person, every person - I don't care who you are or what your art
is - is fascinated because it is so different. Anton Geesing, the famous
world judo champion from Holland, was in the army in Indonesia. He sparred
with a silat man, and he said the movements of silat, especially the leg
maneuvers, were just out of this world. It was just more tremendous and
effective than anything he's ever seen in his life.
 

DJURU OPENING SALUTE by Michael Pecina

Teaching methods

IKF PRESENTS: How is Silat taught.

RT: First, you have to understand what is meant by the name of the art,
pentjak silat. Pentjak is just the training, the forms, the djurus, the
exercises. Silat is the combat techniques. Without pentjak, you don't have
silat. If you only have pentjak, you cannot fight. If you only know silat,
you are not well grounded. You need to learn them together.
 We start with training in pentjak by learning the djurus. A djuru is a form,
and the hand techniques are hidden in the djuru. A lot of people don't
understand them. The djuru is the root of the tree. If a person wants
to be healthy and proficient, he or she has to practice the djurus daily.
But it doesn't matter how good you are at djurus, you still can't fight
with them until you learn the next step.

At first, djurus are practiced in a straight line, then a triangle, and lastly
on the "platform". In the platform stage (sekoeroeng) you learn all the lankas
and the sambutan. Lanka are the wheels under your car. The footwork, the
stepping, the leg maneuvers. Lankas make the djurus come alive.
Then there is the sambutan - sparring. Actual practice against single and
multiple opponents. This is a djuru application.

The best way to explain this is you guide, direct and corner your opponent,
then you take care of him. But to do that, you need lankahs or steps. It's
a spider weaving a web for the fly.

Then, there is silat. Silat is the fighting technique itself. You learn to apply
all of your knowledge against opponents, develop your attributes, and so on.

Politics

IKF PRESENTS: Do you share the feeling that the image of Indonesian martial
arts suffered politically due to stories which have appeared in magazines recently?

RT: I'm afraid so. I think silat was just becoming well known, and through stories
like that, damage has been done. I don't know how much, but what's done is done.

Many Indonesian people don't like it. Many silat people not only in the US but in
Indonesia and Holland, are upset. Once damage is done, it's hard to correct. With
all due respect, people should be careful of what they write and print.

IKF PRESENTS: Are you a pendekar?

RT: You almost never hear the title pendekar in Indonesia. It's anachronistic.
Historically, the difference between a pendekar and a guru is nothing in terms
of knowledge. They know the same. It's a religious title. The pendekar is more
like a priest. It's a carryover from the old religion, the old times. I personally
consider the use of the term sacreligeous, so I would never use it. My instructors
never used it.

IKF PRESENTS: Did you study any arts outside of Indonesia?

RT: Yes. I studied with James Mitose for three years. I also hold a black belt
in san soo kung fu from Jimmy Woo.

Jimmy Woo is one of the great unsung heroes of martial arts in America. A lot of
people misunderstand him because he tells it like it is. The first time I saw him,
I knew he understood fighting. His style isn't pretty, but it's very effective.

I learnt a tremendous amount of physical application from Jimmy Woo. It's hard
to understand San Soo unless you've trained with him. He's one of the top
martial arts fighters.

IKF PRESENTS: What are your plans for the future?

RT: I'm going to help promote silat. However, I believe it must be promoted
from Indonesia. I'd like to work with the Indonesians and help them all I can
to promote the authentic silat in the United States. You have silat in Malaysia
already, in Australia and all over Holland. In the US, it's not so well known yet.
 
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lilia I. Howe is the sister of martial artist Dan Inosanto