Bankokuden Dojo

Professor Kam Hock HOE

Professor Raymond LEA

Dan-i 段位 Modern Jujutsu Grades
The Kokusai Jujutsu Daigakuin also awarded Professor HOE the following  Dan-i Jujutsu grade:

It isn’t clear whether or not Akishima-ryu was still practiced in the dojo by the time Professor Hoe began practicing there in 1919. What is clear is that he excelled and found his life’s passion. 

In 1925 at around 23 years of age, while continuing with his jujutsu trainning he began wrestling as a professional in All-in-American style wrestling tournaments. 

Three years later in 1928 his jujutsu training was suddenly disrupted when most of his Jujutsu teachers returned to Japan after the British Colonial Administration made changes to immigration laws. Professor Hoe then training under Professor WATANABE on Serangoon Road, now in Singapore. Other masters he trained with at that time included, Professor YAMASAKI and Professor HIYAKE. 

It is likely that Bankoku Jujutsu was a small school, indigenous to the Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka triangle, known as the Kansei area of Japan. What we have been able to piece together from fragments of many conversations with Professor Hoe is that in the first half of the twentieth century Bankoku Jujutsu was a collection of seven co-lateral schools of jujutsu. That is, it was an organisation of seven largely independent masters each of whom had authority to develop their own “personal” branch based on the jujutsu that they learnt from the other six masters. 

During his time living in Japan Professor Hoe would travel to Tokyo where he trained at the dojo of the Imperial Palace Police Force under it’s then Judo Master, NAKANO Shozo Sensei  中野正左  1888 – 1977 a Kodokan Judo Judan. While Professor Hoe was not a Judoka, he was clearly impressed by the Goshinjutsu 護身術  Self-defence Art and Taihojutsu 逮捕術  Arresting Art skills of Nakano Sensei as he often spoke of him in glowing terms with Professor Lea. 

When asked by Professor Lea what style of Jujutsu he learnt there, he replied “Nakano School.” One can speculate that a mis-understanding of Nakano Sensei’s name may be the source of the erroneous naming of our Jujutsu as “Kano Jujutsu” by one group of former members of the Kokusai Jujutsu Kenkyukai. 

In 1930 Professor Hoe traveled to Hong Kong and Shanghai to test his jujutsu in the wrestling ring. About this time, he became known as "Panther Hoe, the Terror of Pahang," since that time he has been known affectionately to generations of students and patients alike simply as “Panther Hoe.” 

Professor Hoe based himself in Shanghai where he became the All-in-American style wrestling Champion of Hong Kong and Malaya while continuing his Jujutsu studies under Professor YAMANAKA who was at that time a resident of Shanghai.

On the recommendation of Professor Yamanaka Professor Hoe was invited to live and train in Kyoto. Four years later in 1934, he was promoted to the rank of Sandan Meiyo  参段名誉  Sandan Honours, the equivalent of 9th Dan in the modern 10-dan grading systems, After his period of training in the Kansai he returned to Shanghai for a series of wrestling bouts where he became known as "the Contender of Shanghai." During this period Panther Hoe was a figure of legendary status throughout Asia. He was known as an unbeatable fighter from Manchuria in the North to Java in the South and from India to Japan. The following year, 1935, he was recalled to Japan to the city of Kobe where, together with his friend and long-term training partner, Professor YAMASHITA, he was taught the inner most secrets of Bankoku Jujutsu. Together they were tested and finally, honoured with promotion to the highest level in Bankoku Jujutsu and Kuatsu, Dento no Kyoju  伝統の教授  Professor of the Tradition  and were each given authority to begin their own collateral branches of Bankoku Jujutsu. 

Unfortunately, most of the seniors of Bankoku Jujutsu did not survive the war in the Pacific. The only known survivors were Professor HOE in Malaya and his friend and training partner Professor YAMASHITA in Japan. 

Sadly, neither was aware of the others survival, it was only when Professor YAMASHITA’s son visited Australia a few years after Professor Hoe passed away that the Yamashita family became aware of his survival. 

We believe that Yamashita-ha Bankoku Jujutsu is still extant in Japan but is now kept within the Yamashita family. All attempts to contact the family have been unsuccessful; this is a great loss to Bankoku Jujutsu practitioners in the west.

Professor Hoe and students outside
the Macalister Road dojo

Professor Hoe and a young Professor Lea at the rear
of Professor Hoe's Chee Seng Gradens residence on Penang

In 1968 Professor Hoe accepted a young Raymond Lea, at that time a RAAF member stationed at RAAF Butterworth, as a Jujutsu student and by years end promoted him to an old-style black belt equivalent to a modern Shodan grade.

By 1969 Raymond Lea had been promoted to the equivalent of a modern Yondan. In 1970 heartened by Raymond Lea’s enthusiasm and aptitude for jujutsu Professor Hoe acknowledged him as his disciple and named him Dojo-cho 道場長 Instructor in charge of the RAAF Butterworth dojo. Amongst Professor Lea's students were several of Professor Hoe's children, including his adopted son, a young Errol Perera.

Professor Hoe holding the book he co-wrote with Graham Rennie

Professor Hoe's business card
Presented to Collett Shihan in 1975

Now well into his seventies Professor Hoe relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 1979 to live with his adopted son, Professor Errol PERERA Dento no Kyoju. He continued limited but full-time teaching through the 1980s.

In June 1980 Professor Hoe was honoured by being acknowledge as a Jujutsu Grand Master and with the award of Judan 十段 10th Dan jointly by the Singapore Judo Federation and the Malaysian Judo Federation. 

Between 1981 and 1990 he was effectively in retirement only teaching Jujutsu to a few private students and preparing Errol PERERA Shuseki Shihan 主席 師範  Head Shihan  and Sekai Gakuenchou世界学園⾧World Head Master to take over leadership of Hyou-ha Bankoku Jujutsu and Kuatsu. He was still active up until his death at home on 3rd October 1990.  

Professor Perera in 2017

The organisational structure of the old Bankoku Jujutsu seems to be at quite a variance from what we know of the Japanese norm for martial arts organisations today, but this is as it was described by our master and there is no reason to doubt his word. While what happened back in the early to mid 1900s is of historical interest, it is clear that Hyou-ha Bankoku Jujutsu is what Professor Hoe and his students made it, the rest is interesting, but it isn’t particularly important to today’s students. 

The jujutsu that comes to us from Professor Hoe is powerful, rich in technical content and effective for the purpose of unarmed self-defence. That is the basis on which the society continues to research, practice and teach it.  

Master PERERA is Master Kam Hock HOE’s son; in his youth he was a student of Master Raymond Lea at the RAAF Butterworth Jujutsu Club. He was a long-term student of Master HOE. 

On Master HOE’s passing in October 1990 Master PERERA assumed the responsibility of being the worldwide leader of our jujutsu and Kuatsu. 

Traditional Den-i Jujutsu grades help by Professor Perera include:

Dan-i Jujutsu Ranks held by Professor Perera include:

Unfortunately, Professor Perera became disheartened with the behaviour of a group of his senior students and has largely withdrawn from jujutsu. This is a terrible thing but we respect his wishes and continue to acknowledge him as the world leader of our martial art.