Anyone who ever studied the Wetzel art heard the story of the Man from “Old Siam” which is now Thailand and how this man worked for Willy on his property, they got into a fight with him and how Wetzel with his then all Indonesian arts he had learned, was soundly defeated. At which time he asked to be taught this system. Of course, the true name of that secret art was never revealed, but now I know. This also is the real story of any collaboration between the Indo and Thai (NOT CHINESE) styles of that lineage. I now know what portions of the art we obtained from the real Mas Jud, his Sera Depok, and his other Indo arts of old silat, Cimande, etc. and how that was incorporated into the superior method of movement of Fon Jerng. When Willy Wetzel had his fight with the North Thai Fon Jerng stylist, and then learned from him, a fusion was created Wetzel taught his version of. I have discovered there were things inserted into the Wetzel art to be commercially taught that sort of lost the original intent of the Fon Jerng Masters who still teach those things in the pure form and understanding now of what certain moves were ACTUALLY FOR, has been very helpful in improving the art. This has been the case in all the aspects of the Old Indo and Thai arts I studied in their pure forms. It has made this art so much better and I can explain it from the actual root meanings now.
I will give you here a little bit of the history for the first time written about in the USA, to my knowledge from my teacher.
ANCIENT ORIGINS OF FON OR FOHN JERNG: FON OR FOHN JERNG in the Tibeto-Burma- North Thai language of Shan has a separate meaning for each of the two components. Fohn means “the Dance “while Jerng here is the art of fighting. The Dance of the fight. Taken separately, The Fohn can be done for exercise and health and for a show of the art in itself. The Tiger, Monkey, Snake, Crane and Naga as well as the four elements are also in Fon Jerng.
This art has its ancient roots in the KINGDOM OF DALI and its fight against invaders where it was developed especially for protection against the invading Chinese. Saying this is Chinese art infuriates the old masters. One of the famous masters who has been instructing me, wrote this, as to that question, he himself once posed to an old master Ajarn Gankham, Ajarn replied with disdain ‘THIS MARTIAL ART HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE OUR ANCESTORS TIME. WE DID NOT STEAL IT FROM ANY OTHER NATION. WE ARE NOT USING OTHER PEOPLES WAYS, FROM THE OLD TIMES TILL TODAY SHAN IS A WARRIOR NATION BY ITS NATURE WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING WITH OTHER NATIONS MOST OF THE TIME. WHO ELSE WILL COME AND TEACH US HOW TO FIGHT, IF NOT FROM WITHIN, OUR OWN PEOPLE? IT IS IMPOSSIBLE THAT THE CHINESE ENEMY WOULD EVER TRAIN US TO FIGHT THEM.
In fact, many of the masters proclaim it was the Chinese who after occupying the areas added what they saw into their own arts as they could, NOT the other way around.
The Chinese even had a name for these people and their region which was the Nanzhao, or Lords of the South. This Empire was the strongest prior to 902 AD. In 902 there was an internal battle and the entire royal family was wiped out in this power struggle. The next kings however kept the center still based in Dali and adopted the name of Gandharfor for their realm.
There are four distinct family roots of Fon Jerng my teacher was able to identify.
1. Tai luang family (Lai Tai Luan or Lai Tai Ya )
2. Muang Na Chan Ta family ( Lai Muang Na Chan Ta )
3. Ngua Hua Kha family.( Lai Ngua Hua Kha )
4. Moh Ahn family (Lai Moh Ahn
It's important to understand THE DIFFERENCE between what I teach and what you can and will find in other arts and other silat styles from Indonesia or anywhere else. Mostly, styles are about, techniques, a philosophy, a set of moves that is not the same as another art. Most of these things are subjective and you often hear, well everyone only has two arms and two legs (they forgot there is an entire inner structure that can be involved if you know how).
What is UNIQUE to what I developed over my almost 50 years of practice IS THE REFINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF HOW THE BODY CAN GENERATE FLUID BODY POWER BY USING THE ENTIRE BODIES STRUCTURE IN A HARMONIOUS WAY WITH EACH BLOW AND MOVE . By synergistically incorporating every aspect of your structure, from each joint from the foot to the head, every spinal process and connecting this to the earth and the O2 in the air we breathe, a living wave –spiral whip form is created in your body. This is based on how God created the Universe and the GOLDEN MEAN. In other arts including Indonesian silat, the way they move creates massive BLOCKAGES to this energy and at these very points, stagnation develops over time. This leads to a short-term effect of less power that also requires greater movement to try and develop power and the purposeful abuse of the body God gave us by trying to alter the structure from damage, created by the mistaken use of hard objects to deform the bones and destroy the nerves and eventfully the joints. Over the long run in can lead to ALL TYPES of bodily disease and failure. Arthritis, stiffness, loss of muscle etc. are MINOR examples, Cancer and blot clots much more major ones. I will teach you step by step how to redo how your body moves. ONCE YOU DO THIS THE ACTUAL TECHNIQUES ARE AMPLIFIED TIMES TEN AND THE STAGNATION CAN BE REMOVED! THE TECHNIQUES I NOW TEACH ARE DESIGNED TO UTILIZE THESE METHODS OF MOVEMENTS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. Additionally, YOUR BODY AND MIND BECOME STRONGER AND QUICKER AND HEALTHIER. Instead of having arthritic and damaged hands and feet from striking dummies and hard objects, your joints become healthier, your hands remain soft and pliable and at the same time your ability to defend yourself, a strike becomes exponentially faster and more effective.
WHICH SOUNDS BETTER TO YOU? As an example, I could take a lesser effective set of moves AND STILL VASTLY IMPROVE THEM WITH THIS WAY OF MOVING. I did this in the past actually, prior to finding perfect matches for this living energy. The funny thing is, in the past some tried to steal what I taught but in EVERY case they failed to take the essence and ONLY saw the outward structure. They took a Car but forgot the gas or how it was made to work.
THIS WAS NEVER TAUGHT BY ONE PERSON IN INDONESIA THAT IS KNOWN ABOUT SO, THIS IS AMERICAN THAI INDO SILAT. I DEVELOPED IT SO IT'S MY ART AT THIS POINT. IF YOU WANT IT IT’S ONLY AVAILABLE HERE FROM ME!
Combine this superior way of moving and hitting with our LOWER BODY ART AND THE ART OF MISDIRECTION AND DECEPTION IN MOVEMENT which first and foremost prevents the attacker from being able to keep after you and you have THE MOST UNIQUE FIGHTING ART FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND HEALTH THERE IS AND ITS ONLY IN ONE PLACE, RIGHT HERE IN THE USA, AMERICAN THAI INDO SILAT. COME AND SEE, LEARN, GET HEALTHIER AND MORE EFFECTIVE IN YOUR ABILITY TO STOP VIOLENT ATTACKS AGAINST YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
Take a look at this video, if you know this art you will see it at once.
Once I saw where this was from, THAILAND, I WAS SHOCKED and I need to relate a strange but related story that created my surprise and cemented the connection that had been missing for so long.
Some years ago, when I lived in California, I received a hand written 3-page letter. The letter explained how a royal family was driven from Thailand, had a long journey and went to Java. There this art became part of the base of the Wetzel art, in fact he said, A MAJOR PORTION. I did not know this person and frankly, sadly, I dismissed it as some kind of made-up nonsense. Because, NO ONE HAD EVER SUGGESTED THIS IN THE PAST. I kept that letter for a long time but when I moved and had to discard many things it went in the trash. IF BY ANY CHANCE THE PERSON WHO SENT ME THAT LETTER READS THIS, PLEASE CONTACT ME AGAIN! So, until now, I basically forgot and dismissed it. BUT HERE I SAW THE ART WITH MY OWN EYES AND YES, THAT PART WAS FROM THE ANCIENT SIAM-THAILAND AREA. I discovered much more after viewing more clips. Its name is generic, like Pencak Silat is to the Indonesian arts and it is called FON JERNG which basically means DANCE OF THE FIGHT, a fighting art and there were and are many family styles of that, as there are family Pencak Silat styles in Indonesia etc. The written history goes back over 700 years to the Kingdom of Lana in what is now North Thailand and the ancient Deli Kingdom and the influence was from Burma –India etc. It is characterized by continues and fluid moves without interruption, the same as in the first art I was taught.
IT IS CLEAR TO ME NOW, THIS IS THE REAL COLABORATION BETWEEN THE INDO PENCAK SILAT – MAS JUD AND ANOTHER ART. Remember that name they use, OI KIM BOEN and some variations on the first two words, like King Boen, which I found strange at the time, that was often used? Well, it’s funny they even tried to pass this off as a Chinese man. BUT BOEN IS ACTUALLY A DUTCH NAME AND IS A PLACE NOT A PERSON!
BOEN NAME MEANING - DUTCH: variant of Boone, Norwegian (Boen): habitational name from a common farm name Boen ‘The farm’ FROM bo, ‘farm or meadow.”
HERE I BELIEVE IS THE REAL NAME ONG KHUN- BOEN. Ong is a numerative noun for Kings, Princes, Angels, Palaces, etc. (so the King variation I have seen was more correct) KHUN, MEANS SIR OR LORD, MASTER. A high-level person who came from or was found working on a farm etc. The descriptive part, that language is Thai! This was being told by a Dutch Indo so they used a Dutch name for coming from a Farm etc.
Watching further clips of this art I saw many interesting things. On one video, 40 seconds in, the man does the triangle Bow of Mas Jud. In one sequence there are Sera Depok Juru moves being performed. In another clip the man is perfuming ON THE EXACT SAME SQUARE WITH THE X AND STRAIGHT LINE AS IN MAS JUDS SERA DEPOK AND IS SEEN IN MY BOOK! In one video there was a large diagram they were performing on, the same as another Dutch Indo style uses here who claims some connection to Mas Jud, but it’s not from him, its Old Siamese. Follow this now. In the 1930’s a great upheaval occurred in Thailand and some intellectuals who had studied in PARIS, BRUTALLY reorganized the country in some Communistic/Western revolution. Basically decapitating (hence the death) of the old aristocracy and revamped a lot of the old culture, interestingly this is when “sportified” Muay Thai emerged. This sport, just as Perisa Diri, was in Indonesia was A DIRECT ATTEMPT TO KILL OFF THE OLD ARTS and remove the ancient influences. In the real Fon Jerng their stances and postures how they start (prayers to God), etc. as well as fighting positions are pure, unaltered from ancient times.
Back in the 60-70s Chinese Kung Fu was very popular and it seems they tried to pass off the name with a Chinese twist but oddly left the last Dutch name of a place – farm etc. intact. Back then it drew no attention as most had no idea of the languages or meanings anyway, we didn’t. Was this because Dutch Indonesians related the tale? Or did a Dutchman marry into a Siam family, learn the art and go to Indonesia where he showed the art and maintained the royal formality of his name simply for prestige, etc.? The Dutch had been in Siam for 400 years, so it’s possible. Siam by the way had the name changed to Thailand in 1939 in the upheaval I mentioned. The Chinese tale was fabricated purely to take advantage of the Kung –Fu Shaolin temple craze and they even had Willy Wetzle living in a secret Shaolin-like monastery in Indonesia as a Black 10th degree dragon as part of that temple-kung fu type lore to sell the art when I first started. That nonsense was written up and put on the wall for all the students to see by John Malter who got it right from Willy Wetzel his teacher. Who would have known what Jerng was? This is the same reason they never used the term “Pencak Silat” as well. To add to the proof, I now have discovered by the video words, of many of the Dutch Indo teachers like Willy Wetzle and knew him personally the following. They revealed that in WWII, the Japanese segregated all the Dutch Indo prisoners of which Willy was one and SENT THEM ALL TO PRISONER CAMPS IN SIAM, (Now Thailand) Willy was there! Willy himself did use the story Willy met a teacher from Siam, they got into an argument, as the story went, he worked for Willy and they fought. Willy was soundly beaten and asked the man to teach him HIS ART! That’s as close as they got to letting the cat out of the bag and clearly showed Willy learned this art. So he actually said it, just not in detail.
As that old letter I received told me, an aristocratic old family had to flee and seek their fortune elsewhere, wound up in Java teaching their royal art. This now seems so. There is no way a lot of what we were taught was not Not Fon Jerng, the great Shan, passed on well from some source from Siam AKA North Thailand.
The Thais who do Jerng now for sure do some of what I saw Juds people do, like the drawn diagram on the ground, a circle drill, the Bow and some specific Juru moves of Sera Depok. Their influence must have run deep in his version of Sera Depok, etc.
So while I do not know exactly who was the man Ong Khun -Boen,The Royal Thai from the fields-farm etc. I can tell you that I saw that man’s pseudonym in both the Wetzel line and the DeThoaurs line. I saw it in the De Thouars line when I saw it on a test one of them gave their students, in the form of, “who is Oi King Boen?” He had blatantly denied knowing a thing of this name before I pulled his old test out of a pile of papers we were going through together and showed him his one question he prepared for his own students in the past asking that very question! Never heard of him, LOL, YEA RIGHT. But he refused to comment at all and was embarrassed I found it after flat out denying he knew anything of the name and just got up and stormed off. Just more of the planned cover-up.
In modern times it might appear to outsiders that a lot of Fon Jerng may have lost much of the old combative applications as they seem to concentrate on the dance applications for public display, BUT NOTHNG COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. As I have now actually been both researching and learning Fon Jerng I can assure you their combative applications are better, incomparable to any modern Pencak Silat I have seen. There are also spiritual applications which by the way are also prayers to God as they move, taken from the old ways. It not an easy system to get entrance into and I have been blessed with great friendships with some of the best teachers there. I will name and honor them on my DVDS I will make. I have discovered so much now about what we have, more of what actual animals are associated with various concepts. How many animal mannerisms are utilized and they ARE ALL RELATED TO THE ELLEMENTS THEY CORRESPOND TO AS WELL. By the way I was teaching the elements here that no one else was for 40 years and now I see this was a MAJOR part of Fon Jerng as well.
ALSO A BRAND NEW MAJOR ANIMAL INFLUENCE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO ME THAT WE ALWAYS HAD BUT WENT UN-NAMED. THE ONE WE USE MORE THAN ANY OTHER FOR OUR LOWER BODY DESTRUCTION, THE ELLEPHANT!! I can tell you if you look at the snout of the Wetzle dragon, the longer snout, how it curls up on the upper lip portion and down on the lower portion, you can clearly see the elephant trunk being shown. There will be much more to come on this for my students as well, and to me It’s very revealing and exciting.
At any rate we have not forgotten them nor do we hide the animal influences. In a sense my trips to Indonesia allowed me to put back many combat applications needed, but the Thai way of movement guided me to seek more effectiveness through movement and I improved the movement as well over the years so we don’t just flow in one speed. Guess what, the Shan art of Fon Jerng uses SPIRALS, AND CIRCLES AS WELL. Finding this art was like discovering a long lost relative, one I knew had to exist but had no idea how to locate.
I also want to give this credit to the Shan arts that was hidden and denied previously. The very BEST parts of how we move come from the old royal Thailand Jerng systems, period. Not Chinese and not Indonesian. Pukulan Cimande Pusaka Fon Jerng Sanders American Thai Indo Silat has a strong Jerng base we cannot and will not deny and I far prefer to any moves by any modern Silat in Indonesia you now see. But we have forged these moves with old Silat combative ways as well just as the old story indicated and proposed to have done.
