Technical Resources
Additional Jui Jitsu Info
Submitted by Audrey Atkinson 26/3/2003
Jiu jutsu also uses many finger and knuckle blows, teaches un-armed defence against weapons (baton, staffs, knife, bottle, pistol, bats etc...) it also teaches effective use of weapons such as: knife, baton, tonfa, sai, bo/jo staffs, kama also good modern clubs should teach weapon improvisation. Not also forgeting pressure point techniques and revival/ first aid from things like blows to the head, strikes to the groin and stopped heart and breathing. The size of the practitioner/opponent does not have much bearing on the art either as there is always a technique that will work on a person regardless of weight/ height.
The Dangers of Promoting Submission Fighting as The Ultimate Test.
Submitted by Chris Lacy
3rd Dan in JuJitsu
For some time
now I've been worried about the recent trend of submission fighting that is
sweeping the Martial Arts world. Before I start let me first state that I
have nothing against submission fighting. Indeed at the clubs I teach at we
enter such competitions and I've won a few Kumite style competitions myself.
What's worrying me is that this form of martial arts is now being advertised
as the ultimate test of an artist, and subsequently groundwork has usurped
classical self defence techniques in many clubs and arts.
I constantly see statistics published that say 95% of fights end up on the
ground. I'd love to know where these statistics came from and who conducted
such a poll. I'm not proud to say that I've been in a few street fights myself
and not one of them has ended up on the ground. Indeed, the ground is absolutely
the last place I would want to be! How many people are brave enough to attack
anyone one to one? Not many that's for sure! The people who would have the
confidence to do so are probably trained to some extent themselves and therefore,
in my experience at least, less likely to cause a fight. So if we assume that
people who are going to cause trouble will probably have their friends with
them, all that can be gained from following your assailant to the ground is
a kick to the back of your head by his friend(s) and probably much worse.
Jujutsu, my preferred art has been around for centuries as everyone in the
Martial Arts world knows. Other arts such as Karate, Aikido, Taekwando (in
all it's forms) and many more have stood the test of time. They have all stood
that test, both in the modern world and in the ancient battlefield because
they work. They work as a form of self-defence first and foremost, not as
a means of point scoring. They can all be adapted to competition style bouts,
but ultimately they are forms of self-defence designed to protect a practitioner
from real aggression. When I was learning I was always taught that the last
place you wanted to be in a fight was on the ground and I teach the same thing
to my students now. A classical Jujutsuka would only go to ground if he had
no choice, and it is good to have techniques to use when you get there, but
they should be done quickly with the aim of getting to your feet as quickly
as possible. That is self-defence, and that is what should be taught in my
view.
The current popularity for groundwork has come about due to the popularity
of submission fighting and so called no holds barred competitions which often
claim to have no rules, which of course they do. If they did not, people would
be losing their sight or worse! Again I have nothing against these competitions.
Also let me say that I love groundwork. These competitions are exactly that
though, competitions. They are good to watch, and they are a good test of
one martial artist against another to a large extent. While there are rules
however, they can't be as true a test as the battlefields of Japan were. They
also only pit one artist against another. Not one against many as would probably
happen in a street situation. Therefore it should be made clear that groundwork
training is mainly for competitions and not for the street. Classical Jujutsu,
the same art that has been practised for centuries is ideal for the street.
Let's not get the two mixed up!