Jon Davidson
Jon began his martial arts journey in 2003 in Colorado Springs, CO. His first school was Tai Kung Fu, which trained in a mixture of Chinese Kenpo Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Arnis and Kali—all with a focus on combat, not sport. His teacher at this school was Ren Gall.
Ren Gall and senior members of the Tai Kung Fu school began training in Tongkat Silat under Robert Vanetta and then Pukulan Pentjak Silat Sera under Stevan Plinck. In 2005 the Tai Kung Fu students were introduced to Stevan Plinck’s version of Silat at a seminar in Colorado Springs. This was the first time Jon had seen an old world martial art that encompassed all aspects of fighting, making it a complete martial art. As one of the leaders in Tai Kung Fu, Jon changed his focus to training this new style and helping fellow students along this new path.
In 2012 Jon moved to Portland, OR. One of the reasons behind this decision was an invitation from Narin Latthitham to become one of his students. Jon began training in Narin’s style of Pukulan Pentjak Silat Sera the week he moved to Portland. Jon quickly became one of the top students in Narin’s class. Rising to becoming responsible for training the class, with his brother Mike, when Narin was unavailable. In early 2013, Narin introduced Jon to Walter van den Broeke. Narin considered Walter and the art of Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara to be something exceptional. He began training as instructed by Walter and incorporated it into what he was teaching his students.
Since Narin’s untimely passing in 2015, Jon has been training Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara. He spent a while training with the PDT Academy in Burbank. After some time he received word from Ronald Hartman about Walter doing a seminar in Santa Cruz and asked if he wanted to attend. Jon and Mike went to the seminar and have been training in Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara under Walter’s guidance ever since. Jon continues to be impressed by the efficiency, effectiveness, and depth of the art. He is also very grateful for the opportunity that Narin and Walter have given him with introducing him to a truly complete martial art.
Mike Davidson Jr.
In 1998, Mike began training martial arts under first Kerry Cantrell and then Ren Gall at Tai Kung Fu in Colorado Springs, CO. The Tai Kung Fu curriculum included a mix of Chinese Kenpo Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Arnis and Kali—all with a focus on combat, not sport.
When Ren Gall and senior members of the Tai Kung Fu training group discovered first Tongkat Silat under Robert Vanetta and then Pukulan Pentjak Silat Sera under Stevan Plinck, they introduced the rest of the group to these arts. The possibilities offered by Silat were intriguing enough to motivate the group to transition to training under Steven Plinck, leaving the Tai Kung Fu curriculum behind.
Upon moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2012, Mike became a student of Narin Latthitham and trained Narin’s version of Pukulan Pentjak Silat Sera. In 2013, Narin introduced Mike to Walter van den Broeke. Narin considered Walter and the art of Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara to be something exceptional. He began training the art as instructed by Walter and incorporated it into his teaching with Mike and his other students.
After Narin’s passing in 2015, Mike has focused on training Pukulan Pentjak Silat Bukti Negara under Walter. He continues to be fascinated by the efficiency, effectiveness and depth of the art He feels fortunate to have been given the opportunity through both Narin and Walter to explore such a complete martial art.
