bushido_man96

I understand the angle you're getting at here. But, just because I'm learning it as a self-defense tool, doesn't relegate it to learning it by rote. Self-defense, more than anything, requires a student to understand all the nuances of the technique in order for it to be applied effectively. The guy has years of experience, and I know he's one of the authorities on Jujitsu. He's got a section where he talks about the philosophy of Jujitsu and all this, the "higher enlightenment" spiel, so to speak, and the passage I mentioned is in that area. I think what irritates me the most is the way that is sounds almost condescending towards the idea of learning a Martial Art solely for self-defense purposes.

I'm reading George Kirby's book Jujitsu, Basic Techniques of The Gentle Art, and there is a passage I read in the section titled A Philosophy of Jujitsu that caught my attention. Kirby basically says that if a student learns Jujitsu as solely a means of self-defense, then that is all the student will learn. But if the student chooses to learn it as an "art" form, the student can gain much more. Kirby says learning as an art form, the student why the techniques are done, and what makes them work. He goes on to say that rather than "just learning" techniques, the student can learn to "understand" them. Now, for most of you that have posted here for long enough to know my take on things, you probably realize why this passage got my attention. To me, self-defense is the first line of what a Martial Art is supposed to by. If you aren't learning self-defense, then you are really just exercising. I also take a bit of an issue with the idea that if you only learn self-defense, then you aren't learning a Martial Art. This idea bugs me as well. My question is this: how is it that if I spend lots of time drilling a technique in the realm of self-defense scenarios over and over again, analyzing how it works in response to different scenarios, attacks, angles, etc, how is it that I am NOT learning the "what" and "why" of the techniques? How is it that I am also not going to gain as much "understanding" by learning the self-defense aspects of techniques? And this isn't just a question in regards to Jujitsu; it carries over to any Martial Arts techniques. So, I'm curious as to the outlook of others here as well. I anxiously await your thoughts!

Everywhere is different. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your try at Wrestling. But it doesn't necessarily mean it will be that way for all who try Wrestling.

Looks good!

11/27/2012 I took a few minutes and got down on one knee to work some brush/trap drills with my 7 year old son. Worked defending and feeding the strike, which is tough to do, and tried to work in some arm bar or wrist lock take downs.

I thought I had something that mentioned a link, but I'll do some checking. I remember reading something somewhere, but its been some time ago. Most instructors will only know what they've been told by their instructors, so it may be hard to tell. I imagine Hwang Kee learned Karate from the Japanese during the occupation.

I'd say its kind of like prospecting. Dig up a little bit, examine the heck out of it for the tiniest bit of gold, sift it out, then dig up another shovel full.

I feel you there. High school is hard for an introvert. When a high priority is placed on winning, as it often is in school sports, the abundance of testosterone can run you right out of the room. My school didn't have wrestling, but I felt that way about a lot of people. BJJ tends to discourage the overblown ego thing by the very nature of the practice. This is of course a blatant generalization, so your mileage may vary. Well, if the Martial Arts are about overcoming challenges....then why not try it? It will be cost effective, you'll learn great skills and get great conditioning, and you might make some new friends in the process. Even if you only make a junior varsity team, you'll still get to some meets and tournaments, and you'll be getting some good training. Worth a thought.

Your welcome.

Are there any other kinds of drills? Unfortunately, our one-steps are this way, and even our DT stuff and Combat Hapkido tends to not run much resistance for the most part. But, I can fix that CH problem...

Foot Throws: Karate, Judo and Self-Defense, by Hayward Nishioka. Another Ohara publications book, it gives a brief history on Nishioka, and then gets right into foot throws. The first section is the Judo section, dividing the techniques up into sweeps, reaps, and wheels, and then what he calls some unclassified techniques and combinations. Nishioka then gets into some foot throws for Karate, and you can really see the difference in the set ups, where as the Karate throws have striking involved more than the Judo throw descriptions, which don't use the strikes. Finally, the self-defense section gives another set of foot throws, many related to others already mentioned, but with more striking involved as well, along with explanations in differences between competition based throws, and for self-defense. Not a bad read, but it can get a bit confusing in trying to decipher the differences in the "his right, your left" descriptions of the pictures, but then again, if you have experience with Judo, I'm sure it comes a bit easier. Its still given me some ideas to use in incorporating more sweeping motions into my training.

Congrats and well done!

That's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing that, Justice. Cool to see the behind the scenes stuff, especially with the way games are made now.

Laughed a little to hard in a public place at that one. That comment is awesome. Hehehe....thanks. Unfortunately, its too true. That really, really sucked. The worse part of it was cleaning it off afterwards. Its like lighting your face on fire, and then standing into the wind to try to put it out. Never again.LOL!! Man, I've been caught in a cloud of pepper spray years back and it was nasty stuff. I'd rather not catch a face full of it on purpose. I take it was part of training certification? Yeah, that's what it was. I still refuse to take the TASER rid, too. :lol: Now that's funny stuff, too!

Glad you had a good time! You'll be a career judge in no time!

I think they were once their own kingdom, but was taken by Japan later.

I'm inclined to go with Wastelander on this. I've never heard of any "meanings" being assigned to the dan ranks, but sensei8 does shed some different light on the subject.

Great post, tallgeese. Ever since I started Combat Hapkido, I've been sold on strike before joint manipulation. If you grab hold of someone's wrist, you've really got a tiger by the tail. That's why that striking aspect is so important.

Keep digging, Bob. I'm sure you'll find it.

Have fun and good luck!

Thanks for sharing this. You're right, clear as mud! In Cook's book, there is a section where Shotokai is discussed, as well as the things Egami started to do later on in making changes to it.

Everyone's given great advise so far. If 2 days is what you can do, do that. Sometimes things change, and you can fit more in, which will be a great bonus. Most of all, enjoy your time training!

Mine, too, Bob. But, the holidays do cause that. Next week, I should be back into it. My training, especially as of late, is like having a quiet conversation because Dai-Soke is no longer with us, especially on the floor. I feel his unexpected death has left me as an uncompleted puzzle; one that'll never be finished by his hands. I miss him so very much!! I understand how you feel, Bob. Just remember that when its really quiet, you just have to listen more closely.

I think Zaine has a good point. Modern espionage is different than when the Ninja were in demand. Training has changed, and the tools have changed mainly because they technology has gotten better. Nowadays you would be looking at circumventing electronic security systems including sensors and cameras, and things like that. So, the game has changed, and the old Ninja schools, although I'm sure they still have some valuable skills to teach, aren't as necessary as they once were. And, like JZ mentioned, the lineage thing. It basically makes it "official" that there will be no more of the traditional Ninja. You might be able to refer to some spys as "modern day Ninja," but they won't be what many would call the "real thing."

You could look at hiring an independent photographer for a day, have them come to the Hombu and other dojos, and do some picture taking while in classes, or seminars, or what not. You could also do a photo album of your school. Whenever someone signs up for classes, take a photo, put it a book. Then take a photo after every grading. Kind of a recording of their journey. Kind of like a photo record of your students.