http://www.OrlandoKuntao.com
Our Emphasis is on the Practical

 
Our School Our school is in Lakewood, Colorado, located at the back of the United Casting Company on the northwest corner of  South Kipling Parkway and West Kentucky Drive.  Our emphasis is on practical, no-nonsense self-defense.  We are a small school (accepting adult students only), preferring quality over quantity — both in whom we teach and in what is taught.  (Our Statement of Purpose provides insight into our methods, standards, and expectations.)  Classes are Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Saturday morning, with private instruction available by appointment.
 
Our Name Chinese Characters Je du-too, is  not  the name of our art.  We neither study nor teach Je du-anything (although we do practice a lot of Mexican judo).  Je du-too  is just the name of our school, the  Je du-too School of Martial Arts.  Neither is  Orlando Kuntao  the name of our art.  It is simply our domain name and while it best describes our analytical, systematic, and pragmatic approach to martial arts study and training, it is not some new art.  Our focus, methods, and expression may be our own, but the arts we teach we received from others, and it is they who deserve the credit.
 
Our Logo
JDT Logo
The two-headed garuda (eagle) in our copyrighted logo represents the fighting arts of kuntao and silat as received directly from Willem de Thouars. The knives and batons represent the Filipino influence in our system.
The cross in the center means our philosophical base is Western and our ethical base is ChristianThis does not mean there is a sermon with every lesson — there is not.1  What it means is that our approach to training and study is pragmatic, scientific, empirical, and otherwise devoid of any religious ritual or mysticism.
 
Our System Empty-hand instruction consists primarily of Chinese and Indonesian boxing (Chinese kuntao and the Dutch-Indonesian method of pukulan pentjak silat) combined with elements of kung-fu, Chinese kenpo, and Filipino martial arts. Each art (listed below) uniquely contributes to the system we study and teach. 
 

Kuntao name The Chinese kuntao we teach is an aggressive, combat-oriented system of Chinese fighting arts that was practiced in Indonesia before and during WW-II.  It is an art that defends by viciously attacking the attacker, destroying his weapons on the way in, thereby destroying his ability to wage war.  In addition to the art's combat principles and methods of execution, we teach and study forms from both kuntao and kuntao-silat  as received from both Willem de Thouars  and  George Morin (one of de Thouars' senior students).
 
Pentjak Silat This cunning art uses speed, stealth, finesse, and highly sophisticated technique to neutralize the opponent.  We practice the Eurasian, Dutch-Indonesian method of pukulan pentjak silat (not to be confused with either the magical/metaphysical variety practiced by some or with the contemporary sporting aspect, Olahraga).  Most of the fighting is conducted from a standing position, completely devoid of magic or mysticism, and with self-defense as its sole purpose.  Position is the operative word in silat, for its effectiveness manifests itself in an almost uncanny ability to take an attacker down from practically any position.  In addition to the art's combat principles, we also teach and study one pentjak silat jurus 2 and two kuntao-silat hybrids.  It is the combination of kuntao and Dutch-Indonesian pukulan pentjak silat (kuntao-silat) that forms the core of our training curriculum.
 
Kung-fu This is kuntao's classical Chinese root, and one that is more artistic.  One of my first arts (received from Al Dacascos), classical kung-fu brings a special beauty to the arts we teach.  Although you will find no "classical" kung-fu forms in our curriculum, the art's principles and training drills (as taught by and received from Dacascos), still significantly influence our training and instruction (our strong side forward emphasis is just one example of that influence).  Stimulating our artistic side, kung-fu is a perfect match for the combat efficiency of kuntao (efficiency that appeals so strongly to our analytical side).  Both sides work together symbiotically to speed development of the desired martial skills.
 
Chinese Kenpo Chinese kenpo was studied twice in our training. First, just after three years of intense training in excellent Chinese kung-fu. Second, a few years before we were invited by Willem de Thouars to study his kuntao-silat. Chinese kenpo effectively combines the fluidity and speed found in many Chinese systems  with  the linear power of traditional Japanese striking arts.  As such, it provides excellent comparison/contrast examples for learning and understanding kuntao and silat, and although Chinese kenpo is one of our martial roots, our students are NOT taught kenpo first — never have been.  On the contrary, they are taught  kuntao-silat  from day one.  Included in the curriculum is one excellent empty-hand Chinese kenpo form.  (For the record: Our kenpo form, as well as our kenpo roots, come from none of the mainstream kenpo lines — as effective as those systems are.)
 
Filipino Arts Filipino training methods strongly influence our empty-hand skills and they are also the primary source of our weapons training.  Weapons instruction (primarily knife and baton3) draws heavily from serrada escrima and, like kuntao, focuses on destroying an opponent's ability to fight by attacking his limbs first.  We also incorporate the Filipino method of two-man flow drills into our curriculum because such training helps us quickly internalize principles and personal weapons practiced in our primary arts, Chinese kuntao and Dutch-Indonesian pukulan pentjak silat.
 

 
Footnotes:
  1. Often ascribed to St. Francis of Assisi, the quote, "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words" was revealed to me by a friend.  His point was that there is, indeed, a sermon with every class.  As my friend put it, "your daily presence and conduct as observed by all  is  the sermon."
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  2. According to Babylon, Translation website — jurus is the correct spelling (not really a plural of the word,  juru) and it means  steps or movements in martial arts.  (Juru actually means skilled worker.)
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  3. To further round out our curriculum we also strongly encourage our students to seriously pursue instruction in the highly-effective and well-respected art of Ching Ching Pow.
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Our  emphasis  is  on  the  practical.
©Copyright Bob Orlando, 1999-2016
All rights reserved.
http://www.OrlandoKuntao.com
 
E-mail: Ron@OrlandoKuntao.com
Last update:  Aug. 6, 2016
by Bob Orlando
Web Site of Bob Orlando: Instructor in Kuntao-Silat (Chinese kuntao and Dutch-Indonesian pukulan pentjak silat), author of two popular martial art books: "Indonesian Fighting Fundamentals" and "Martial Arts America: A Western Approach to Eastern Arts"; and producer of four martial art videos: Fighting Arts of Indonesia, Reflex Action, Fighting Footwork of Kuntao and Silat, Fighting Forms of Kuntao-Silat. Offering practical martial arts instruction to adults living in and throughout the Denver metropolitan area including, Lakewood, Littleton, Morrison, and Golden Colorado.