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SENSEI THAMBY RAJAH
- a sterling benchmark for the present-day martial artists-

by

 Sensei A. Madawan
Shudokan Institute of Aikido Dojo,
Seremban., Malaysia.

Sensei Thamby demonstrating the Shiho-nage .

        Snugly ensconced on an expansive piece of fertile, green and flat land, the Shudokan Institute of Aikido dojo, with its shiny blue coat of paint appears all the more majestic since its inception in 1952. A rustic, wooden structure which otherwise would be dismissed as the mere residence of some householder today remains etched in the minds of several personalities - personalities who have ranked or are contemporarily ranking high in the international arena of  martial arts, namely Aikido. It was here, inspired by the frequent visitations of great martial artists and the enthralling beauty of the art that their dreams and aspirations were forged. The late Sensei Ted Stratton was introduced to the art at this very dojo. Sensei Joe Thambu of Shudokan Australia grew up during his formative years in Aikido right here on the dojo mats, so to speak ; observing, learning and evolving into a young martial artist amidst the sweat, grime, "kiai", the rolls, the kicks and conversation of great martial arts pundits of world- renown. The well-beaten tatami mats, the contorted and frayed bokken/jo sticks in the dojo are testimony to the fact that they have been well-used . Sweat, tears (and at times blood) have drenched and percolated some of these mats and the surrounding lawn around the dojo. This dojo has been a stop-over and training centre for several  foreign senseis - Donn.F.Draeger, Pascal Krieger, Larry Bieri and wife, Joseph A.Tartaglia, Aizawa Kamataro and the list is interminably lengthy. The tremendous amount of zest and energy exuded by these great men and the hundreds of students animate  the dojo and have beatified it. It is no longer a mere dojo, instead it has transcended to the  realms of a shrine imparting  a faith and a culture which  eschew  fame, money and pride but extolling  simplicity, brotherhood, discipline and humility. The lessons learnt here, on the dojo mats amidst fellow students, perforce assuage the inherent doubts and hesitations (stumbling blocks in our lives) to undertake difficult tasks. 

                              " Civilization taken to extremes begets a godless world......
                                Culture taken to extremes gives birth to a world without wars."
                                                                -Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.(ex- Indian President)

         The lessons taught here are not just the locks, the throws, the rolls, the falls and the flips. More than all these mundane skills,  good character, respect for the others , a sense of willingness/readiness to perform monumental tasks and self-respect are ingrained, imperceptibly but undoubtedly. Imbibed by these good values, it is superlatively gratifying to witness young uncoordinated, rash, grumpy and brash children turning into decent teenagers with vision and vigor in them. Over the last 25 years in this dojo, I am yet to hear or see the names of  any of our students being splashed across the TV screen or print media for criminally transgressing the law. This is our concerted achievement and pride. Kudos to all our instructors of the past and present. The training, helps to kill the  ghastly "ghosts" haunting the dark corners of our minds !

         Speaking of the dojo, one cannot dismiss the main technocrat, prime-mower and impetus behind its birth. The personality being inferred here is none other than Sensei K.Thamby Rajah ("Sith" to his loving nephews and nieces). Fueled and propelled by an unquenchable thirst to delve into the world of martial arts, young Sensei Thamby crossed the seas to Japan to harness the nagging interest that kept burgeoning in him persistently. It ought to be remembered that  Malaysia (then Malaya) had just been under the Japanese occupation not long ago and there was repugnance to anything that was Japanese in nature. But this young man braved the odds to set foot on Japanese soil and to study martial arts. Judo caught his attention. That, he studied under Ichijima Sensei and Mifune Kyuso Sensei , both of whom were  foremost teachers at the Kodokan. He persevered and went on to  study of Karate and Ju-jutsu. Soon the beauty and grace of Aikido naturally drew him to it. He was introduced to Soke Gozo Shioda himself and was trained by him. You can witness the quality instruction that he must have received from the vigor, speed and vitality which he exudes while training ! His techniques are fast and simple and may at times be incongruent with what a newly-initiated student may be learning in the dojo. Remember, there is no incongruence, truly speaking, but it is just that the techniques are performed in fast mode as a whole. Rest assured, eventually you shall see the connection ! There is no straining of muscle and grunting but sheer sharp application of techniques upon the uke when Sensei Thamby performs a technique. Nothing superfluous and flowery. His exposure to varied arts has ingrained in him over the years to see the link-up between the plethora of  martial arts disciplines. At his level and range of experience, there is no thinking and scheming of techniques prior to its application. It is intuitively executed as per the state-of- affairs at that given moment of time. As Sensei Donn. F. Draeger often exhorts, "Train in your basics well. You start with the basics and end with the basics. Everything else are mere branches from the basics." This was his answer to an impatient student who asked why there wasn't anything new. Just like Sensei Draeger, Sensei Thamby has often remarked that an art has to remain the way it was handed down. If it is changed to suit one's whims and fancy then it heads towards fatality. He often asserts the founders of the varied martial arts have risked their lives at times to polish and formulate the moves that we easily learn today. Hours, days, years and decades of effort have been put in to  to evolve an entire range of techniques. Many of these techniques have been tested on battlegrounds, by peasants against pilfering and aggressive feudal lords and in extreme, stressful  life or death situations. If we can't perform the techniques well, it is just our shortcoming, lack of effort or attitude. Nothing is wrong with the technique or the teacher. It is this humility that is necessary for acquiring knowledge - in any field of study whatsoever. Who are we to change them as we like? Techniques can be monotonous and repetitive but each time you practise them you at getting better at it until one fine day you do not have to think of the moves in your minds. They just come instinctively. This is how martial arts is studied. I remember, when Sensei Draeger taught us Jodo. It was just one technique each time he came down to Seremban, that is once a year . That's it and we kept at it repetitively each weekend for hours on end.

 Down the memory lane....
(Sensei Thamby with some of the instructors)

                           
 Sensei Thamby (uke) being trained personally by Ichijima Sensei (shite) in Judo

         Today, we talk of Shudokan Aikido because of the efforts of this man alone. If he had not opened his dojo in Malaysia there would have been no Shudokan Aikido. Sensei Thamby is a historical figure in Judo and Aikido in Malaysia. He was the first black-belt holder in both disciplines and the dojo is the first Aikido dojo in the whole country ! In terms of character, Sensei Thamby Rajah is exemplary. He eschews pride, self-gain, money and fame. In the dojo premises, an unassuming visitor may catch him feeding the geese or tending to the garden of flowers and fruits.  The only tell-tale sign of a martial artist may be his manner of walking and broad shoulders. A very soft person , this diminutive figure has been the source of inspiration and impetus for many a martial artist in Aikido. As per the record, over the  years there have been several students who have attended Aikido classes without paying the monthly fees due to the financial plight they were trapped in.. This goes to show his generosity and  keenness to develop the art and the art alone, not his bank balances ! Is this the same with most contemporary  martial artists?   He has often mentioned to me that the dojo is not for making money. All that he needs are a couple of students who are willing to learn the art. That is his mindset and modesty. Sometimes, watching Sensei Thamby from the sidelines, you would be spellbound at his lack of pride. He stoops down to realign the footwear of students on the shoe-rack and even today assists the students in closing the door. He is a very private person and very knowledgeable. He values things of the past. In a corner of his bedroom he still cherishes and uses the desk he had used during his school time. He still reminisces his school days with glee and joy in his eyes. Not many are aware that he was a keen gymnast and the winner of the St.Abbot's Gold medal in gymnastics while at school (St.Paul's Institution, Seremban). The predisposition towards active, vigorous and disciplined sports was already in its latency in his prime. Hence, it was only natural that it burgeoned and proliferated in his later years in the field of martial arts !

           Sensei Thamby, and his contribution to the art of Aikido in Malaysia shall remain etched in the history of the art in this country. He has set the momentum moving and this momentum is maintained and mushrooming the world-over by his students. If you wish to learn how to live as a true martial artist then emulate him - his techniques of the past and most importantly his sterling qualities of humility, kindness, generosity and dedication. It is not just how much you know but how much you have changed positively with what you already know. It is how well you understand the little that you know that is important  when you are mugged in the dark alley out there.

Mifune Sensei (shite) demonstrating Iriminage on Ichijima sensei (uke).
Sensei Thamby is in the background.

   
Sensei Shioda & Sensei Thamby                 Sensei Thamby with his old friends at the opening of the new Yoshinkan dojo (Japan)      

Sensei Draeger explaining the parts of the Japanese sword in the Seremban dojo precincts.

                
    Sensei Thamby demonstrating Aikido and Karate techniques to his students.  Sensei Thamby's student Sensei Kwee Heong (far right) 
      with Sensei Shioda in Japan.

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Acknowledgement & Thanks from Sensei Thamby Rajah:

""    Several personalities have contributed to the growth of this dojo. The growth of this dojo would have been been grossly incomplete without a word of special thanks and gratitude to Mr/Mrs.Thambu (my brother and sis-in -law),  Sensei F.Klyne, the late Sensei Ted Stratton and family, Mr.Johnny Khoo, Sensei Joe Thambu, Sensei Soh Har, Sensei Venugopal, Sensei  Kwee Heong, Sensei Yoong Kai Seng, Sensei Madawan, Dato' Dr.Rahiman Dawood, Dr. Chong Hong Leong, Mr.Tee Kim Chan, Dr.N.Ganesparan, Sensei Ramlan Ahmed and his loving wife Sensei Emma and the students of the past and present. Thanks to one and all . "

SENSEI THAMBY'S ADVICE TO HIS STUDENTS :

 "DON'T just learn the techniques. LOVE what you learn and keep that flame of love forever burning in you. The discipline that you learn here and the time spent in learning the same shall help you in your later years in the other departments of your lives. "
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 " That one hour that you spend in the dojo ought to be wholesome training, without unnecessary talking, lazing and with full commitment. You can always question the instructors after class. "
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" The basic movements are very important for physical building-up, as well as for learning the techniques later on. A student without strong basics learns nothing much later on. He or she will not be able to understand what is happening later on. "

The line -up of Instructors at the dojo(2001)

Chief Instructor : Sensei K.Thamby Rajah
Technical Director : Sensei Joe Thambu (Australia)
Instructors
Sensei Loh Soh Har
Sensei Ramlan Ahmed
Sensei Emma Idzura
Sensei Venugopal
Sensei Kwee Heong
Sensei Ganesparan
Sensei Gerard Ratnam
Sensei Madawan

Sensei Thamby Rajah  and the Shudokan Institute of Aikido featured in KARATE TIMES (1996)
of Kerala, India ( Vol.2/No.3)

   
    A 1954 article featured in Standard Times, Singapore on Sensei Thamby Rajah's remarkable achievement in Judo at the Kodokan Judo Headquarters, Tokyo. Sensei Thamby was the first black belt holder in Malaya then.