Jan de Jong
Martial Art Practitioner , Budoka, Coach
- Occupation
Martial Art Practitioner , Budoka, Coach
- Date of birth
01 January 1921
- Date of death
01 January 2003 (82 years)
- Citizenship (s)
Netherlands
Australia
Jan was born in Indonesia, and started training Tsutsumi Hozan ryu Ju Jutsu in 1928 under S. Saito (8th Dan) in Semarang on the island of Java, Indonesia.
Jan de Jong and his father, also a black belt in the system, were two of the very few non-Japanese to be taught by Saito. in 1939 he was graded 3rd Dan, the highest technical grading in Tsutsumi Hozan ryu Ju Jutsu.
In 1940 he travelled to the Netherlands to further his education. The outbreak of World War II interrupted these plans and cut off financial support from his family. In order to support himself he commenced teaching Ju Jutsu in Rotterdam. For the duration of the war he was a member of the Dutch resistance, after the war he returned to Indonesia and commenced working for the Royal Netherlands Indies Army and then the Indonesian army as a physiotherapist.
Accepted into the aliran (Indonesian for system or style) to learn pencak silat from Soehadi, and was graded 6th degree Black Belt in pencak silat in 1951.
In 1952 Jan de Jong emigrated to Perth, Western Australia.
In 1969 he travelled to Japan and trained in many martial arts schools, including that of Minoru Mochizuki in Shizuoka near Mt Fuji, where he graded 1st Dan in Yoseikan aikido and Shotokan karate.
In 1979 he accepted the position of Chief Instructor and Adviser to the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SAS).
Jan de Jong was promoted to 4th Dan in Ju Jutsu in 1980, and later in 1982 he was promoted to 6th Dan in Ju Jutsu, and conducted his first teaching tour of Europe which subsequently evolved into an annual occurrence, in 1989 he was promoted to 8th Dan in Ju Jutsu.
In 1990 Jan de Jong was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia for services to the martial arts.
in 1996 Jan de Jong was promoted to 9th Dan in Ju Jutsu.
Jan de Jong Shihan continued to teach and also to refine and improve technical and teaching aspects of his martial arts up to the last three weeks of his life, which ended at the age of 82 in April 2003.
