Walter van den Broeke
We have the pleasure of meeting Walter H. van den Broeke semi-annually, a senior practitioner who began studying Pukulan Pecutan in 1978, at the age of 13, with Hans van den Broek and continued, since 1983, under the guidance of Pak Flohr . Walter is the most open and available person of great experience we have ever known in the martial environment. He transmits his forty-year experience in Pukulan with pure passion, asking for commitment and constancy in training in return.
After the death of Pak Flohr, Walter began a unique mission to further develop the skills and knowledge gained.
During this research in Pukulan, Walter met many teachers like Bp. Harun (Cianjur), Bp. Parso (Surabaya), Bp. Habudin (Madura) and the Cikalong kumpulan in Ciuanjur which were located in West Java, East Java, and Madura (Indonesia), but also in the Netherlands, where it was still possible to find several senior practitioners of Pukulan. Walter also studied Mande Muda with Bapak H. Sudarno Tulalessy for 4 years.
After practicing Mande Muda, he returned to practice with Pak WL Flohr for another 2 years, after which he decided to walk on his own to fully understand the knowledge he had been given. This research took him to Indonesia where he lived and trained until 2002.
Serak and Bukti Negara
When Walter returned to Holland he was introduced by a friend to the de Vries family. They introduced him to the art of Serak and, to his surprise, he discovered that he had seen the same things in the past (same principles, timing, langka, etc.) with Pak WL Flohr. With the information that the de Vries family gave him, he could understand and internalize the teachings of Pak WL Flohr.
In the first half of 2010, Walter came into contact with uncle Paul De Thouars. There was a long exchange of letters, and finally they decided to meet in person.
After the January 2011 meeting, uncle Paul introduced Walter to his group of Serak students and trained Walter as he had been trained from a young age by his teacher, uncle John De Vries. There was an instant connection with uncle Paul and his way of practicing Serak.
His profound knowledge and vision of art was impressive.
One thing that struck Walter after spending countless hours training with him, was the continuous evolution that uncle Paul developed from day to day in his art. His skill had not only improved over the years, but it was clear he was still developing his art and studying. A truly endless quest.
Walter found in uncle Paul what he had found in Pak WL Flohr: a devoted teacher, a great personality, and a man with a vast knowledge.
