Draeger lived in Japan, China, Mongolia, Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia. One of the books he wrote is "Pentjak-Silat: The Indonesian Fighting Art" (1970). In 1979, Draeger and his team visited the island of Sumatra. While visiting the Aceh tribe there, it appears that the entire group was somehow poisoned, perhaps deliberately. As a result, he developed severe amoebic dysentery, leading to hospitalization. Draeger began losing weight and he grew increasingly weak during this ordeal. His legs began to swell, causing him great pain, and he found it difficult to walk or train. His long devotion to martial arts training came to a gradual halt.