Interview on 'Tradition' with Ben Haryo Sensei, Godan.

Ben Haryo Sensei, the chief instructor of GBI, is one of the highest-ranked Jujutsu practioners and instructors in Indonesia, if not Southeast Asia. He holds a 5th Dan, or Godan, technically Master level. Ben Sensei's standards are high. Few make it past blue belt level, let alone to Shodan. Many of his students hold him in admiration, if not awe. It's just because of his mastery of the secrets of Jujutsu; it's also his personal charisma. In this interview, Ben Sensei dispels a few myths about tradition in Jujutsu.

Following are the edited highlights of an interview with Sumo Semar.



1. There are some fears that 'traditional' jujutsu is dying out, even in
its homeland of Japan. Do you see it as the responsibility of Senseis to
help preserve that tradition and what can students to do help ?

First of all.. which tradition? The GBI Club does not preserve pre-Meiji (1868) traditions, the so-called Koryu Budo. We preserve the civilian self-defense art of the Meiji-Taisho-Showa Gendai era, 1868 to 1949, the prewar period and maybe a few years after the war. I don't think our traditions will die out very soon :) If the Japanese youngsters are not interested in 1940s Dento Gendai Jujutsu anymore, there are many Westerners whom are willing to preserve them. Already there are some non-Japanese who has received full transmissions in some Jujutsu arts. So I'm happy.

Actually, the Japanese has founded Nihon Kobudo Kyokai & Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai organizations to preserve their traditional martial arts. So the arts will live on, at least for 20-30 more years.

BTW, what's modern will be "traditional" one day. The Wado-ryu was born in 1934, it is not a Koryu, and yet it's now considered as traditional (Dento), and is registered in the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai & Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai as a form of Kobudo, that is, old martial art. The Hakko-ryu is a form of Aiki Jujutsu which was born in 1943, even younger than the Wado-ryu, but already people consider it as a traditional martial art. So, this entire mixed martial arts movements, which was born in 1987 with the emergence of Japanese Pancrase Shootfighting organization, will be "Traditional" one day as well.

Back to your questions, I think it's the responsibility of any sensei to preserve the movements of the original Kata, as taught by the founder of the art. On the other hand, it is also important not to become trapped by the Kata. Kata are models for future applications. The Kata are set in stone, but the applications are limitless.

The students, if they really love the art as is, without any "delusion of grandeur" thinking that the art will make them "ultimate undefeatable warriors", then they will do the utmost to preserve the traditions as is, while trying to develop new applications more relevant for the modern era. Our Jujutsu has Tanjudori and Tanbodori, the applications of old Jujutsu techniques against gun stickups and single stick attacks. They were developed in the 1930s. Maybe our students in the future will develop Jujutsu techniques against laser pistols. Who knows. :)

2. What do you is the meaning of 'tradition' in jujutsu ? What is the role
of etiquette, rituals, and formalized kata in preserving the tradition ?

Tradition in Jujutsu means that we are a part of a stream which has flown from about a hundred of years. We are very strongly based on Wado-ryu, an art founded in 1934. And yet, the Wado-ryu itself are largely dependent on the movements adopted from Shinto Yoshin-ryu, an art founded in 1864. As to this day we are still doing the movements which was originally conceived in 1864. We honor the Founder by doing the Kata as he taught us, and be truthful to our student about the sources of our art. As I have mentioned, the Kata is a link to the past, and yet, it is also useful for the future. Kata, again, is a model for future applications. The Kata are to be preserved as is, but the applications are limitless.

Etiquette and rituals are meant to develop a spiritual connection between ourselves, our fellow practitioners and the spirit of our ancestors in the martial arts. Most importantly, our ritual is to internalize the ideals of the Ryuha, that is, self-improvement through martial arts training. By trying to live up to the ideals which our Founder has outlined, we are building a spiritual connection between ourselves as individuals, and the Founder. Without the ritual and etiquette, we are simply doing a self-defense course. Nothing wrong with that, but if you study GBI Jujutsu, ritual and etiquette is part of the package which you have to live with :)



3. Do you have a response to some of the critics of traditional systems ?
Some modern, competition-oriented styles have been very critical of the
traditional martial arts, including ju-jutsu.

John Danaher, co-author of 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory & Technique,' has
said that the traditional systems are confused about whether or not they're
a way of life, or combat, or philosophy. Some followers of that style have
been even more critical in online forums. But given your formidable
street-fighting skills, are the criticisms fair ?

My survival on the streets was more of good luck rather than skills :) I'd rather not talk about it :) But anyway, Yes, the critics are very fair. I think the critics are correct. Some of the traditional martial artists still stick to their marketing ploy that "our art is ancient, pure, undefeatable and incredibly powerful.." I think this kind of marketing trick, in the long run, will hurt the credibility of the traditional martial arts.

John Danaher maybe correct, but in my case, I am very certain of what I am doing. I teach Jujutsu as an useful activity to do in our spare time. It is a vehicle to attain self-improvement. It is the WA=Ten Chi Jin No Ri=DO philosophy that we are teaching. By self-improvement, it means improving your attitude as well as your skills. If your overall personal quality are improved, naturally your self-defense skills will improve as well.

We know that, in a real fight, it's never about yourself, it's about your opponent. If you are better than your opponent, you may win. If you are not, you may lose. We are all humans, we are better than some people, but lesser than some other people. It's God's will. So, all this talk about which art is better, is all nonsense..

My advice to fellow traditional martial artists, is to concentrate in preserving traditions and self-improvements. Let's forget the "we have an ancient secret undefeatable martial arts of 1000 years old" marketing ploy. That will do us no good. We all know that there are no such thing as "ultimate undefeatable martial art". Let's not buy into that delusion. Japanese martial arts didn't help the Japanese won the WWII. Chinese martial arts didn't help them to win the Opium Wars. Indonesian martial arts didn't help us to prevent Dutch occupations in the 19th century. And the illustrious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu did not enable Royce Gracie to win against Sakuraba, nor Helio against Kimura. No art is undefeatable. We're all just humans after all.

In short, rather than wasting your time trying to find the "ultimate undefeatable martial art", I would advise you to train in an art that you actually enjoy doing, be it BJJ, Krav Maga, Karate, Kungfu, Jujutsu or whatever fits your fancy. The traditional arts has become well established with millions of practitioners. So enjoy them for what they really are.

To me, the most decisive factor to determine the worthiness of the art, is the attitude of the practitioners. If the art helps the practitioners to become better, kinder, gentler, more humble, more considerate, more generous and more intelligent human beings, then the art is worth learning.


4. The 'master' is a central figure in traditional jujutsu, it seems. In
the old days, students had a lot of obligations to the master. Could you
explain what reciprocal obligations there are in the 21st century, as we
grapple (no pun intended) with modern problems using traditional methods ?

I am rather uneasy when people calling me a master. A teacher maybe, but not a master. I think the teacher has the responsibility to teach the students according to the syllabus and grade them fairly according to their skills, while the students has the responsibility to obey the teacher in martial arts matters, and to support the teacher financially (especially in professional dojos).

Are there simple ways in which students can receive the benefit of the
Zen-style training methods of serving the master, perhaps designed to combat
egoism, a hindrance on the martial-arts path ? In other words, how can the modern student serve the modern master.

Without a doubt, a good student will find a good teacher, just like a good teacher will eventually find a good student. Finding a teacher worth following is like finding a bright candle in the dark. I have been training with Taman sensei for years, and I am still thankful to God that I am his student.

On the other hand, we must be wary of teachers with psychological problems. If you find a martial artist of very high skill, but lacks humility and consideration for other people, then he/she are not worth following.