It Finally Happened

A good man is dead.

Dr. Andre KnustGraichen was, by all accounts, a man of compassion, honesty and respect. he was well respected in the Martial Arts community, and certainly amongst many practitioners of the Indo-Malay art of Pencak Silat. He had a close family, friends, and a large student following which spanned several countries. He was a skilled chiropractor, and  professor at a chiropractic college.

I had only one interaction with Dr. KnustGraichen, over 15 years ago, when I had left the VDT Academy ran by Victor DeThouars. He called me to reprimand my behavior at the time, and I responded rudely. 

At the time - and even today - I felt justified with my feelings, but I can't help but feel regret at the memory of that phone call. I never spoke with him again, and that heated exchange (on MY part - Dr. KnustGraichen never raised his voice, nor belittled me) is the only contact I ever had with him.

Dr. KnustGraichen died from a heart attack induced from a pathetic challenge match between himself and a much younger man. The fight was recorded, and I have watched it dozens of times. It's a disgrace to every living Pesilat, on both sides.

I will state for the record: Dr. KnustGraichen had no business accepting the challenge. He was in absolutely no physical shape, and didn't have the mindset to fight. It's clear from the beginning, he wasn't taking the fight seriously, he probably thought he could "control" the situation. I can't fault his intentions, but I can to his naiveté. He was, literally, beaten to death. His age, deteriorating health and passive attitude contributed to his passing not four hours after the fight.

A good man is dead.

However much we must admit the recklessness of Dr. KnustGraichen's actions, we also must condemn those of Jule Sims, the child-playing-adult who wanted to make his name off the back of those with EARNED respect, as well as the so-called "Bukti Negara Governing Board" whom he claimed to represent, led by Louie Yu...a man largely responsible for the arrogance and denigration of the Bukti Negara group.

However, we cannot *entirely* lay blame at the feet of Jule Sims and Louie Yu, although they are certainly the pack mules that must carry the responsibility of the murder of a good man. No, the bulk of the blame must be directed at the three DeThouars brothers: Paul, Willem and Victor.

Each had their fair share of cult behavior and instigation. Each allowed their petty egos to dictate the course of their lives. And each has left a trail of scorched Earth behind them. Indeed, one never hears ab out the brotherhood, outreach and community the followers of the DeThouars creates, only the online lists of disavowed students, revoked rank, slander, lies and online bullying that has affected the Pencak Silat community for decades.

So it finally happened.

The cult of the DeThouars has finally killed someone.

And for no better reason than arrogance, ego, and a blatant disregard for the underlying principles that Pencak Silat is not only founded on, but drilled into every Pesilat from the moment they step into a Silat circle and learn kuda-kuda:

Hormat - "Respect"

Adab - "Morality"

I have personally heard the DeThouars brothers utter these words themselves, countless times, but they are honeyed lies in their mouths. I have never, in all my travels, seen those who claim to be "teachers of Silat" to have lower human values. Indeed, it would be hard on the most ruthless street hustler you could find on the streets of Jakarta to compare him to a DeThouars.

Excluding Maurice, the DeThouars brothers spent their entire lives hiding the art of "Sera" (a system of Pencak Silat, alternatively spelled "Serak") from their students, changing the forms, omitting the higher training (if, indeed, they possessed it) and misleading the general public, unchallenged, year after year. Often regarded as the pioneers of Pencak Silat in America, they are also responsible, by and large, for the tarnished name it now wears. Only in his dotage, when dragged before his peers in the Netherlands did Paul finally admit that yes - he had indeed been LYING to everyone.

I would have loved to have been a fly on THAT wall when the news broke. Almost every one of Paul's decades-long student body jumped ship, having received an empty purse for years of dedicated service, to form a repackaged version of the art that they had just been told was fake. Indeed, the only ones left were forced to scrape together new members from the ranks of those they once despised and denigrated.

This point is as funny as it is sad to behold; When a follower of a DeThouars brother has no one else to attack, or tires of attacking all the old targets, they turn on themselves. In the grand tradition of a totalitarian regime, followers are encouraged to suck up to the "leader", in the hopes of gaining acceptance, status, even "secret" knowledge. And, as always with such groups, when a member who just days before was revered and respected is suddenly disavowed and expelled (for whatever unutterable, imagined "crime" they may have committed, usually no greater than someone else kissing ass better than they did), they are reviled, ostracized, and for some reason suddenly unable to comprehend the "true" teachings that just hours earlier, they were the unchallenged masters of.

I have seen this scenario play out countless times - literally, HUNDREDS OF TIMES - within each DeThouars camp, save Maurice.  Like rats feasting on the dead bodies of their brothers, it's all too common to see some newly-minted "Guru" in the DeThouars camp appear on a list with a dozen or so others as being "Expelled", or "Unworthy".

You can almost set your watch by it, it happens so regularly.

This started decades ago, back in the early 90's, when Paul DeThouars began to allow his students to speak for him. When, for whatever reason - money, status, ego...damned if I know why any leader would want to become a follower - he allowed people who had nowhere near the time in training, skill or intelligence to presume they had the authority to *judge* and confer or revoke the rank of Stevan Plinck.

After such arrogance...what recourse? Absolutely, what is allowed will continue, and what continues will grow. I would have expected a man who displays the title of Pendekar to have understood the rudimentary elements of this concept.  Many luminaries of the martial arts world, including Dan Inosanto, Rudy Ter Linden, Herman Suwanda and others have been slandered and lied about by the Bukti Negara cult as well, and the internet has a long memory:

One thing of interest to note here, is that if you remove the students, lapdogs, sycophants and suck-ups, all you have left are three senile brothers squabbling over a long-flaccid dick measuring contest. In that light...how could Serak, let alone Bukti Negara, Kun Tao Silat DeThouars, Tongkat (call it what you like) be taken seriously?

Ten minutes of online research will reveal the roots of this cancer in wave after wave of ad-nauseum  online attacks, bullying and overall stupidity. There is a saying amongst many of my peers in Pencak Silat; All it takes to destroy anything good in Silat, is a DeThouars.

Because they never bring anything to the table but arrogance, discord and petty backstabbing, even amongst themselves. Parasites, looking for a free meal.

Rec.Martial-Arts, Martial Arts Planet, Abu Mansur's Pendekar List, Silat.tv...the list goes on. Always the arrogance. Always the disrespect. Always the destruction of the chat room, web board or discussion group.

My friend Paduka Guru Glen Lobo said it best;

"For years people have talked about the silat wars. In truth they were only Bukti wars- internally and then with anyone who intervened in the “what you looking at?” street thug scenario. And they went after everyone. When your life is altered because you may know something that someone wants, you self aggrandize, and lie to keep the interest.. these people are Attention whores, Hubris Syndrome Cult creating hypocrites, who’s only aim is to create a following who worship them and suck up to them."

There were no "Silat Wars"...only the Bukti Wars.  And THAT bitter truth is a hard pill to swallow.

As a once-student of Victor DeThouars, I myself am not blameless. I gleefully took part in the flame wars the destroyed the Pendekar List, at the command of Victor. Like many others - some of whom now hide their heads with shame, as I did - Victor had but to point his finger, and I would rip into anyone he wished slandered. I can say, as a once-insider looking out, that the allure of the DeThouars cult of personality is something that, like so many cults, you don't realize how deep you're actually in, until you're covered in it completely. 

To be honest, a dear friend had to give me some hard truths before I woke up to what I was becoming. I was lucky, it only cost me a little over $20K and four years of my time. Many of my classmates suffered much greater financial and psychological hits than me.

It was over ten years before I could bow my head to Abu Mansur and beg his forgiveness for what I had done on the Pendekar List. Like any true Pesilat, he accepted my apology and offered his hand in friendship.

As another example, the founder of Silat.tv once replied to me, when I pressed him on why he tolerated the DeThouars cultists to run rampant over his website (at the time it was Willem and his people, who eventually succeeded in rendering Silat.tv as useless and vile as everything else they touch); "Well - if we let them just do what they want long enough, they might one day give some of their art to us".

Verbatim.

I left Silat.tv soon after that.

I have heard, read and researched lie after lie spread by the students of Bukti Negara, in the hopes to shoplift notoriety for themselves and their non-system. Some even included a few of my teachers, which turned out to be so hilariously stupid, I didn't bother to call them on it. Simple minds invent simple tales.

I, personally, have been attacked online, slandered over and over, had my original youtube account hacked by the Bukti Negara group way back when it was still an internet novelty (I should be thankful, I guess, that they don't possess much in the way of higher intelligence - that password was identical to my website as well.), endured death threats, my then-wife was called in the middle of the night and threatened, and of course, many so-called "challenges". Unfortunately, no one was willing to go blade-to-blade, and for this I am eternally regretful. It would have been fitting for Paul to see one of his students shitting through a bag for the rest of his life, before he died.

I note with some amusement that the "Bukti Negara Governing Board" has judiciously avoided challenging Stevan Plinck, Cliff Stewart, or even Joe Simonet - all holders of DeThouars Serak wallpaper - to any sort of "challenge'.

Be a shame to lose all respect because your spine is snapped in two like a breadstick.

Oh - did you think that was too far? Ah-ah, so sorry to be the one to point this out, but if you didn't take action to stop this behavior when it was spreading, you don't get to pass judgment on me NOW. If you couldn't be bothered to do what needed to be done back when the Bukti Negara school was shitting on this art I and so many others love, you don't have a moral leg to stand on now that it's gone this far. 

You don't get to have it both ways. A good man is dead - you could have spoken up long ago.

What is allowed will continue, and what continues will grow.

If you wish to keep your head bowed, your mouth silent as this behavior continues, then that is certainly your right. But to someone engaged in living as a decent human being, you cannot tolerate that which puts you to indignation, to outrage.

YOU MUST STAND UP.

This article will find umbrage among many I consider friends, and of course, everyone who considers me an enemy.  To this, I can only say; You cannot have it both ways. I have no wish to pick a dead man's pockets here, but it must be stated plainly:

1: If Paul DeThouars was indeed a "Pendekar"

2: If Bukti Negara was indeed the sole invention and ownership of Paul DeThouars

3: If the people who make up the "Bukti Negara Governing Board (so-called) are/were students of Paul DeThouars

...then the SOLE responsibility of letting this morally bankrupt, cancerous mindset spread throughout the system, and indeed infecting other schools to varying degrees must rest entirely on the head of Paul DeThouars.

There, I've said it.

Take it however you want, spin it to place blame on a few "rogue students", attempt to apply special pleading to the situation - I've heard it all before, in countless variations. The point remains the same:

This is Paul DeThouars' fault. And a good man is dead because basic respect and morality was neglected in Paul's teaching.

Oh, make no mistake - it is my sincere wish that heads will fucking roll after this. It's important to note that Jule sims was not some "rogue student" of 6 months or a year's training gone renegade.. he was a GURU of Bukti Negara, and therefore FULLY REPRESENTED the art and it's moral values...if such exists at all.

I hope they throw the book at those responsible, followed by the bookcase, and then the entire library, brick by brick. I hope Jule Sims - who I have had online run-ins with myself - spends the rest of his life talking to his family from behind a transparent partition, through a telephone receiver with his hand pressed against the thick plastic, and unsuccessfully trying to avoid prison rape in the showers.

I hope they charge other "Bukti Negara Board Members" with conspiracy to commit murder, and scatter like the sociopathic roaches they are.

But whatever happens, the life of Bukti Negara, and certainly the reputation of the DeThouars brothers, is dead.

And so is a good man.