The name PAMUR "Kombinasi" Tjimande, chosen at the foundation is actually not completely right, because the PAMUR and Tjimande are practised separately in the trainings. Only during warming up the techniques are trained together.

© P.P.& S. PAMUR Kombinasi Tjimande Tari Kolot Kebon Djeroek Hilir Banten Indonesia, 2008
Website made by: M. Govaarts M.A.

The teacher is Guru besar/ pendekar Ph.J.C. Tönjes glr. Sanjoto, called “Paatje” by his students. He was born in 1928 and is still actively participating. He’s keeping close relationships with the PERSILAT (the world association), the IPSI, the PAMUR in Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague. On a regularly basis he takes his students to Indonesia to guide them to important places of the history of the Pencak Silat. He’s been living in The Netherlands since 1964.

The association originates from the 1960’s, where Ph.J.C. Tönjes taught his sons and their friends Pencak Silat in the backyard of his resident in Eindhoven. At the time this group became too big, Ph.J.C. Tönjes rented a gym. PAMUR Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B. was founded on April 23^rd 1977 by Ph.J.C. Tönjes/ glr. Sanjoto, Mike Hoekwater and Johnny Tönjes of which the first two are still involved in the board of the association. The goals of the association are based on the official philosophy of Pencak Silat of the IPSI and therefore of the world association PERSILAT:

1.      To expand and maintain -without profit seeking- the Nobel Indonesian Self defence Art Pencak and Silat in the true form, respectively in the streams PAMUR from the land Madura Indonesia and Silat Tjimandé Tari Kolot Kebon Djeroek Hilir Banten form West-Java, Indonesia.

2.      To strive for the fundamental ideas of justice, brotherhood and communal sense within and if possible out of the association.

The expansion comes about through the means of: trainings, demonstrations, project at schools and institutions and exams. The striving for communal sense takes place inside and outside the association. Examples of non-training activities include: eating at the teacher’s house, birthdays and other parties, barbecue, journeys to France and Indonesia, visiting cultural events, lessons Bahasa Indonesia, private trainings in the backyard of the teachers, training week-ends, outdoor trainings.

The PAMUR style originates from Madura, an island on East-Java. The association’s teacher, Guru besar/ pendekar Ph.J.C. Tönjes glr. Sanjoto is Madurese. One of the customs in the village of Probolinggo was the participation of the youth in trainings. The name of the teacher was Kakèk Wongsokarto, abbreviated to Kèk So. Kakèk or Kèk means ‘grandfather’, a common word used for old men. Kèk So taught the style of the Jagutarung which is translated as the style of the fighting cock. Back in those days the words pencak and silat didn’t yet exist. It was simply referred as ‘games’ or ‘playing’. The first document saying that Ph.J.C. Tönjes participated in the trainings Pencak Silat goes back to 1937, but he started watching and practising when he was seven years old.

When the definition of Pencak Silat became generally know on may 18^th 1948, the Madurese bapak Raden Hassan Habudin got the idea to merge al the different Madurese styles into one style. This new style would also contain the Jagutarung. In 1951 he founded the PAMUR which means: “Pencak Angkatan Muda Rasionil”. This can be translated as “New young rational pencak”. “Rational” means that the techniques can be analysed rationally, the technical aspects are emphasized. The name doesn’t contain the word silat, because the silat doesn’t find it’s origin in Madura. In this area only the pencak was known. Like any other streams and styles of Pencak and Silat in Indonesia, PAMUR is based on religion. In the case of PAMUR this is Islam.

Approximately five years after the independence of Indonesia, some islands were trying to become autonomous. Hassan Habudin wanted Madura to become an autonomy. However the government didn’t agree to this. When Ph.J.C. Tönjes took notice of foundation of the PAMUR in 1951 he wanted to join the organization. The government didn’t allow an autonomy because other islands wanted the same. At that time Ph.J.C. Tönjes was officer at the police corps of the Indonesian Republic in Tanjungkarang and therefore he decided to express the PAMUR but not to join this association officially. Eventually Hassan Habudin gave up the striving for an autonomous state. In 1986 Ph.J.C. Tönjes and his students went to Hassan Habudin to practice the PAMUR. Since then he has been an official member.

The PAMUR style has expanded Indonesia-wide and has become one of the most popular styles, together with other styles like: Tjimande, Minang Kabau, Panglipur and Setia Hati.

Hence, Guru Besar/ Pendekar Hassan Habudin is no teacher of Ph.J.C. Tönjes but he is an ally. Moreover Hassan Habudin is a teacher of the students of Pamur Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B..

Next to Panglipur, the PAMUR in Jakarta is part of the international team of the PERSILAT. This team gives world class demonstrations. The PAMUR also trained students of the Pamur Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B. at the Padepokan Pencak Silat Indonesia and at the Judo Institute in Paris. This has resulted in an feeling of brotherhood.

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Tjimande Tari Kolot Kebon Djeroek Hilir Banten
The other style of the association is the Tjimande Tari Kolot Kebon Djeroek Hilir Banten. This style is as important as the PAMUR, but manifests in a very different way: a silat-way. ‘Tari’ means dance and ‘Kolot’ means old. ‘Kebon Djeroek’ is a mandarin tree. ‘Hilir Banten’ means the lowlands of Banten. Tjimande is also the name of a river in Banten.

Tjimande is a self-defence art, camouflaged as a meditative dance. Educating this art starts with being consecrated followed by learning the dance on existing music. Fundamental elements of this style are religion and secondly meditation. The Islam is the religion of the original practitioners. The meditation includes the belief in the spiritual world and contains animistic elements. To explain the meditation in a scientific matter is impossible, and it’s therefore difficult to clarify.

During his period as vice-commander of the general policy department in Tanjungkarang Lampun Selatan, Ph.J.C. Tönjes met a teacher of the stream Silat Tjimande Tari Kolot Kebon Djeroek Hilir Banten. His name was bapak Guru Sarkani. After exchanging some of their arts, Ph.J.C. Tönjes discovered some beautiful elements in Sarkani’s game. These elements were related to the semi-high positions and several low defence techniques, mostly based on fighting behaviour of animals. Until his transfer to Banka (ca. 1956) he devoted to this defence art for seven years together with other students of bapak Guru Sarkani. He did this with the approval and a lot of support of the commander of the police department of the districts of Lampung bapak R.M. Djoeki Mangoenredjodidjojo.

A new stream, within the Tjimande Tari Kolot was founded by bapak pendekar Uyuh Suwanda, born in Bandung. It's the aliran Mande Muda, in The Netherlands represented by bapak Guru H. Tulalessy in 's-Hertogenbosch with the association P&S Paguron Mande Muda Mawar Suci.

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General information

Pencak Silat associations can be divided into three categories: traditional, modern and semi-modern associations (Notosoejitno, 1997). The association Pencak en Silat PAMUR Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B. is traditional. However some adjustments are necessary because the trainings are given in Europe. Traditional means:

1.      The leadership of the association is hereditary.

2.      Acceptation of the students takes place by means of a selective test and a trial period.

3.      The teaching takes place in a monologue way.

4.      Breaking the disciplines will be punished through dispersion or expelling this person.

5.      The subject material is classified and no written material about this is available.

6.      Activity costs are being paid by the teacher and no contribution is being collected.

The association tends to be semi-modern on number 5 and 6. Number 5: some video material of the PAMUR figures is available. Number 6: members do pay contribution. However the contribution is very limited, because of the vow of the teacher that he cannot act profit seeking. The activity costs are being paid by the contribution, but the teacher contributes to this by e.g. cooking, paying travelling costs, etc.

PAMUR Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B. has attention for all of the four aspects of Pencak Silat: mental-spiritual, self defence, art and sport. Mental-spiritual is emphasized mostly, followed by self defence. Sport obtains the least attention, however the association has often competed in tournaments and has e.g. won the world championships in The Hague in 1999.

There’s always been tension between self defence – sport and self defence – art. When a person has become advanced in self defence, it’s difficult for this person to manoeuvre within the set of rules of the sport. After all, this person is tend to finish off the opponent, which can disqualify him or her.

The tension between self defence and art occurs when e.g. a lot of acrobatic moves are applied to spice up the demonstration. The consequence of this can be that the techniques are not logic anymore in terms of self defence. In this case Ph.J.C. Tönjes cannot support these moves.

 

The position of PAMUR Kombinasi Tjimande T.K.K.D.H.B. is: in this stream the traditional self defence must be leading. However the mental aspect surpasses the self defence techniques. Superiority to act as an assistant, instructor or pelatih is being obtained by following ethical norms.

Exams are held by the system of the Federation of Eastern Fighting Arts (FOG).

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