A TECHNICAL OF THE TJIMI by John L. Malterer John L, Malterer has been a student of the martial arts for early two decades. Having studied the arts of Japan, Korea ‘and China, Malterer later became a newpaperman and has since ‘become involved in free-lance writing. He now operates martial arte schools in West Virginta | teach the chuan fa poekoelan style combat art. This is a combination of the original Chinese chuan fa and the later Indonesian poekoelan schools. Chuan fa translates as “fist method" or “ist way,” and poekoelan means returning fists and feet. This combat art was developed in a place called Tiimindie on the island of West Java by two masters of the arts, Chinese chuan fa master Obi Kim Boen and Indonesian oekoelan master Mas Djut. Over a period of three years, these ‘two practiced together many times, and gradually the pookoe- lan-chuan fa tiimindle system was developed by drawing from the best of the two masters and eliminating the shortcomings of each, ‘My teacher was Willy Wotzel. He was bon in Indonesia in 1921. At the age of seven he started to learn the arts, and was taught by Oei Kim Boen. He spent the early years of his life on ‘or near the island of Java. In 1949 he moved to Holland, and hhe came to Vanport, Pennsylvania, in 1956. In 1959 he taught 2 special class to the local police, and in 1960 he opened a Class to the general public. In late 1961 | started taking classes from him. Wetzel continued to teach until his death in 1975, PHILOSOPHY OF THE TJIMINDIE COMBAT ART To be a successful martial arts practitioner, one must first Understand and analyze the various situations he may find himself in before they arise; then one must be able to exploit them. This calls for composed and disciplined fighting with 2 certain amount of controlled recklessness, as opposed to just throwing a barrage of weapons in all directions. One has 10 develop a fee! for any situation and the appropriate measure to cope with it. Hours of practice in theoretical situations in class, drawing on your experience, that of your classmates, and most of all your teacher's, wll prepare you to recognize fights about to break out and what you will have to do to get out of the area. Once you have chosen your method of attack, go all ‘out. Hesitation is the nemesis of a good professional. When the decision has been reached on how and when to attack, or to retreat, parry, and counter, then action must follow im- mediately The key to survival is simple: get as close to your opponent as possible so you cannot miss with your weapons. The farther away you are the more chance you have to miss body targets land the less force your impacting weapons will have. In very close quarters mast weapons will hit the target, and your op: ponent will absorb them all. Your angle of attack, your posi 56 The author demonstrates the monkey position from chuan fa, This position is considered good for defense against kicks._EVALUATION NDIE SYSTEM This is a stance from the Indonesian art of poekoelan which provides good protection for the groin, throat and eyes. tion and his attempts to repel you will not matter. His evasion 's useless and will be too late. It will not matter how good a igher he is; all his skills will be negated. As your weapons hit him with maximum force and penetration, his defeat isin: cevitable Now, for this kind of fighting, one has to know himself, understand his system's strengths and weaknesses very well, ‘and have absolute confidence in the force of his weapons and ‘the best way to employ them to survive on the streets today. (One can spot amateurs and fakes by the way they move. A 00d professional will hold back until he isin a close position before he strikes the opponent; on the other hand, an amateur or a fake will throw his weapons at an extreme range. If he gets elose by accident or intent he will usually break off, but the professional will penetrate and the opponent will go down. Closing in on your opponent is almost always successful and is “the great equalizer.” It usually does not involve great expenditures of eneray if the proper technique is applied. This means using short, slashing, choppy blows to vulnerable tar- gets, with abrupt unpredictable maneuvers. You can see the result by the way the opponent's body reacts to each strike, by his loss of balance and aggressiveness, and the feel you get through your hands and feet as they hit his body. Once com- mitted to an attack, move in at full speed and force. After delivering disabling ‘or crippling blows, avoid possible self injury by leaving the area fast. If your opponent has friends, you do not want to get caught with them moving in from behind. In a multiple-attacker situation, don't try to fight everyone. Size up the situation if you have time, or react by attachking the closest opponent. Hit hard and fast then break away and leave the area. Better five second yellow than a long time dead! Also, never pursue an opponent once he eludes you: In street fighting there is no room for fancy footwork, aerial jump kicks or any other high kicks at all. Fancy preci sion maneuvers are good for judging distances or getting the feel of movement. They are good for exercise, maintaining one’s orientation, and for use in form contests, but they are fatal in a stroot fight. Street fighting is @ rough, brutal melee. Attackers may ‘come from all directions at once, singly or in groups—you will never know. You must be able to react instinctively to survive. ‘That means hours and hours of practice to perfect your art so that you move smoothly, block or parry effectively and are able to hit hard. The street is not the place to make mistakes. Use your weapons until your opponent is still. If your death is ‘unavoidable, take at least one with you. The tjimindie system isnot a sport; it is a combat art. EXPLANATION OF THE TJIMINDIE STYLE The tiimindie system is composed of the Chinese chuan fa 37‘WIMINDIE The timindie practitioner applies the heels of both hands to the head and a knee to the spine to finish an opponent. ‘and Indonesian poekoelan systems. It is subdivided into animal forms. The monkey and crane forms are chuan fa, and the tiger and snake forms are pockoelan. Together these are called the four-animal form, They ace taught separately, then com bined. The animal form for this total combination is the drag- fon. Each separate animal form and the final combined dragon form has unique characteristics or features that can be recog- nized by the knowledgeable. The Chinese chuan fa system is basically the southern sys ‘tem with northern-style biocks and pares. The back hand use ‘and the positioning of the closed fist are from kenpo.Follow- ing are abbreviated descriptions of the monkey and crane forms as used in the tiimindie system. The monkey form uses wide log positions with the body at medium height; hand movements are open and closed—open hand parties, closed hand grabs with palms down, closed fist blocks to protect the body from the waist down by using erect body positions. Striking weapons are relaxed until almost at the point of impact. Defensive body movements are used; side to side and forward and backwards with sliding jumps, forward and backward rolls used and dodging head movements. The method of scoring is primarily frontal. Head butts are admini- stered hard and strong, in a forward attacking manner with 38 rapidly changing stances, to confuse the opponent £0 he won't know from which position weapons will come or where they will strike, A method of controlled breaking is taught. In the tiimindie system this is the first style taught. It forms the foundation on which everything else is built. It is an upper- and lower-body a The crane form uses high and low oneegged body posi- tions with turns, Every second or third move ends in a crane Position with an attack or a retreat and counterattack. All defensive moves and counters start from a one-legged position, Retraating consists of pivots and leaps accompanied by open. hand parties. During these leaps and pivots the head rotates in all directions to watch for any oncoming attackers (circle de- fense). The method of attack is from the groin up and from outside to inside on targets. Its an upper body art The Indonesian poskoelan system means returning fists and, feet. Poekoelan was @ religious art taught to only a few select individuals who were educated, upper caste, rich, and in a Position to gain entrance to these closed schools. Use of the ‘caste system dictated this. Most Indonesians learned pentjak- silat, a lower caste art. Poekoelan is composed of the tiger and snake forms. ‘The tiger system incorporates practical low positions and a‘WIMINDIE ‘deadly on-the-ground system used when knocked down oF ‘when footing is unsafe for fighting on two feet. Movements are ‘on the ground on all four limbs, just ike a tiger. Multiple blows, with hands, feet, elbows and knees are thrown to the ‘opponent's lower extremities, from the groin down, using smooth movements and speed with fast withdrawal of weap: tone after impact, Strikes are from the sides and front, low to high, to break the opponent's legs from under him, then rol: ing over on top of the opponent while using a pin-down me- thod to hold and crush him with elbows and knees, Defensive rolls and a unique side-to-side method of move- ‘ment on all four extremities as well as blocks with elbows and, knees together or separate are used, The body and muscles look soft but are hard when tensed. Kicking is done with both ‘eet off the ground, but one foot must be almost back on the round when the second foot strikes. A strong neck is deve: ‘oped and used, a are teeth, The tiger system is @ lower body ant, “The snake system is characterized by fast striking from any positon, with the weaving of arms, body and logs forward and backward and to the sides, before and during an attack, Three fingered blows with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger in the middle caste method and snake head blows of a half fist in the upper caste method are used. There is speed in all blows that are non-breaking but painful in nature; the struck spot will swell and turn from red to blue to black in extreme cases. The body remains at a medium height, and the Use of elbows and knees is taught. Blows are delivered to the entire body, and movement utilizes sliding motions of the feet in all directions. It is an upper- and lower-body art. ‘The dragon system or dragon form is the final combined form of the tiimindie system. One is always moving at varyingTiimindle stresses the hard-knocks reality and tactics used jr rough, brutal street melees. Fancy precision maneuvers may be valuable in demonstrations, judging distance or for getting the feel of the movement. But on the street, one must be able t0 react instinctively using methods such as those shown here, speeds with the body, hands and feet. One looks soft from the ‘outside but is really hard on the inside. A “stone-faco" expr sion is developed, which enhances his opponent's uncertainty, apprehension and fear. This form gives with the opponent's force of attack and comes back hard and strong. A circle defense is used from which the practitioner may rapidly launch an attack in any direction. One is able to de- fend close, far away, high, low or on the ground using relaxing ‘and tensing movements with good breathing form. One forces air out slowly while moving, holds on point of impact whi striking, or when about to be hit. There is no set pattern or repetition in movements, so an opponent can not anticipate the techniques. It is an unorthodox system using fast multiple blows with hands, feet, elbows, knees and head. ‘A COMPARISON: TJIMINOIE FORM TO. OTHER DISCIPLINED FIGHTING ARTS ‘A skillful tiimindie practitioner avoids clashes because he and his opponent may both go down. He retreats when at- tacked and immediately counterattacks when the opponent stops his attack. He will only attack when his opponent is moving forward or is stationary, not when the opponent is ‘moving backward or from side to side. If he is notin an ideal position for an attack, he uses draw stances (body positions) 10 entice the opponent into forward movement or into a sta: tionary position. If he goes into @ position and the opponent attacks, he retreats, parties ane/or blocks and then counters. If ‘the opponent does nothing or moves toward him, then he attacks. Targets of this system are from the neck up using hand and. elbow weapons and head butts, and from the waist down using kicks, knees, and elbow and knee takedowns. The tiimindie practitioner will fake high with hand weapons to draw the ‘opponent's efforts toward protection of his upper body, then he will hit the lower body with kicks, go over the top of ‘opponent’s hands, hit high with his hand weapons and always follows through with elbows and knees. pag 6