Paatje Richard Kudding

Paatje Richard Kudding was born in Tanggerang, West Java (nr. Jakarta), in 1938. From the age of five his father, Bernard Cornelius Kudding, taught him Sundanese tiger-style silat pamacan. The family lived briefly in Semarang, but were interned by the Japanese during their occupation of the region in World War II. After the war, the Kudding family settled in Makassar, Sulawesi where Paatje Richard studied both Silat Matjan Bugis under Nono Malonda as well as an unspecified kuntao style under Wong Hong Leong (patriarch of the successful peranakan Chinese business family). When his family left Indonesia in 1959, they settled in Holland. There, he met Rob Faulhaber, and was introduced to Paatje Faulhaber under whom he began training in 1959/60. Paatje Kudding continued to study under Paatje Faulhaber until he moved to Canada in 1970. During the mid-1960s, when Kuntao was organised in Holland under the Kempo Section of the Dutch Judokwai, Paatje Kudding served as Secretary of the Kempo Section.

During the mid-1960s, Paatje Kudding also studied Dragon-Style Kung Fu (longxingquan) from under Sigong Hoang Nam of Paris. Hoang Nam also exercised a profound influence of Paatje Kudding's philosophical approach to the martial arts. Besides these two systems of fighting, Richard Kudding also studied traditional massage therapy under Pencak Silat master N.J. Fischer. Paatje Kudding also holds a Nidan (Second Degree Black Belt) in Kodokan Judo and in Kyokushinkai Karate. In recent years, Paatje Kudding's work has taken him all over China and Southeast Asia where he has continued to search out traditional schools and masters, and enrich his knowledge of the martial arts.

In 1970, Richard Kudding emigrated to Canada to pursue his career as an engineer in the new world. Once established, Richard yielded to requests that he teach his art, and established the Flying Dragon Institute, first in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and then from 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. While living in Winnipeg, Paatje Kudding also furthered his martial arts experience studying Pai Mei (White Eyebrow) Kung-Fu from Sifu Tim Chang (Chang Shing-Shan).

In October 2000, Paatje Kudding formally entered into negotiations with the Jakarta-based International Pencak Silat Federation (PERSILAT) for Kuntao Matjan to be recognised by the Indonesian government as an authentic Indonesian martial arts through the auspices of UK Pencak Silat Federation president Aidinal Alrashid. Formal recognition and membership in PERSILAT were granted in autumn 2002 and publicly announced at the December 2002 World Pencak Silat Championships in Penang, Malaysia. In 2003 Paatje Kudding retired from active teaching in the Calgary branch of the Flying Dragon Institute in order to concentrate of growing the art of Kuntao Matjan internationally, and on building the Canadian Pencak Silat federation (PERKASA, Persekutuan Kanada Pencak Silat) on behalf of the International Pencak Silat Federation. Classes in Canada are currently headed by Guru Dan Brocklebank who heads the Calgary branch of the Flying Dragon Institute under the authority of Paatje Kudding.

Flying Dragon Calgary, January 2001

Paatje Richard Kudding can be contacted on email