Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara is a fighting system developed by Pendekar Paul de Thouars.
He was one of the more skillful martial artists of our time. He dedicated most of his life on the West-Javanese style Serak, which he learned from his uncle the late Guru John de Vries.
It was not allowed to carry out this knowledge outside the family circle. Therefor Pendekar Paul de Thouars developed the fighting art Bukti Negara as a way to share his knowledge without breaking his promise to his teacher.
Bukti Negara stands for the evidence of a larger and older ‘continent’ of knowledge – that of the system Serak. Besides that it is also a tribute to the country of origin: Indonesia.
- Bukti: evidence or witness
- Negara: continent or country
Guru John de Vries and Guru Ernest de Vries
Direct or indirect, Pendekar Paul the Thouars inspired and influenced many in the martial art community worldwide by dedicating his life to Bukti Negara and Serak.
Before he past away in 2013 he made sure his legacy of the style Bukti Negara was assigned to his Board of Directors who is responsible for expanding public awareness and appreciation for the Arts and maintaining its traditional forms and principles.
Walter van den Broeke, was appointed technical advisor Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara and Serak by Pendekar Paul de Thouars.
Walter started his journey in Pukulan in 1978. He trained under Pak W.L. Flohr; hard, uncompromising training from a dedicated and respected teacher. After Pak Flohr passed away in 1998 an endless journey started, seeking for more knowledge about Pukulan. Despite the contact with many teachers, Indonesians as well, not one approached the level of Pak Flohr.
An introduction to the De Vries family brought him to the fighting art Serak.
With the knowledge the De Vries family shared with me, I could finally understand, initialize and practice what Pak Flohr had taught me.
Along this road followed a meeting with Paul de Thouars in 2010 in the USA. He trained Walter in the system he had learned from his teacher John de Vries. His deepening and insight was phenomenal. It was clear that he practiced a martial art without claiming to ever being finished.
I see in Oom Paul what I saw in Pak Flohr: a dedicated and loving teacher, a wonderful personality and a man with an enormous amount of knowledge.
Paul de Thouars
In 2011 Pendekar Paul de Thouars asked Walter to help him promote his art of Bukti Negara. Since Walter was a direct student of the de Vries Family he needed the agreement of the uncles to do so. In a meeting between the de Vries uncles and Paul de Thouars they agreed to bring in some Pukulan from uncle Dolf de Vries. After uncle Dolf de Vries gave specific details how and what to teach of his Pukulan, the documents containing their wishes and agreements were signed by Dolf de Vries, Harry James de Vries and Paul de Thouars.
The combined style would be carried out as Bukti Negara.
Since 2013 the Bukti Negara organization is actively expanding this unique fighting system around Europe. Technical advisor of Bukti Negara and Serak, Walter van den Broeke operates from home base Breda. There are groups throughout Europe and America, all of which the group-leaders are trained by Walter on a regular basis.
– In honor of the late uncles Paul de Thouars, Dolf de Vries, Harry James de Vries, Jelle Dezentje and Pak W.L. Flohr –
Since 2016 we separated from the PDT Academy. We post here our statement regarding the PDT Academy Statement and for reference also the original document signed by Paul de Thouars.