Kyle-san

Try looking for a Jujutsu school, it'll give you that well roundedness that a lot of people are looking for and it has the Japanese grappling element to it. Just make sure you get a good instructor.

Indeed. Seven is an excellent film.

My first was just a simple inside wrist lock with some extra pressure applied on the elbow.

I sure would.

If he's lazy and leaves his leg hanging out for too long, not much at all.

I think Arashi does it, and even if they don't they're a great dojo. I just had a competition there last week. Oh, and it might be difficult getting ahold of Maximum. Apparently their gym burned down two weeks ago or so. It completely slipped my mind.

It's completely possible to learn the techniques out of a book, but it becomes much easier if you've either had previous experience or know an instructor that you can go to now and again. Feel free to try learning from the book as an aid to the times you get out to the Kendo club.

Yeah, those Maximum guys are hardcore. Anyway, here's that site. http://www.geocities.com/pmgdtm/2home.html

I'll find the site and post it later, they've got a good JJJ program too.

There are a couple good places around here, but I haven't been to any of them. Panther Management Group is supposed to have a good club going.

This reminds me of an old story: One day a prospective student approached a master to ask him about his style. This student had travelled for days to find the master and study under him. "Master," the student began "I wish to be the best in your art. How long will it take me to attain mastery?" "10 years," the master replied. "10 years is a very long time," said the student. "What if I practice twice as hard as all your other students?" "20 years," the master replied. "20 years!" The student exclaimed. "What if I practice day and night?" "30 years," the master replied. "30 years! Why is it that every time I say I'll work harder it takes longer to master your style?" The frustrated student asked. "Because," the master commented in a soft voice "if you have one eye focused on the goal you only have one with which to follow the way."

And the clear restrictions on striking.

I've found that JJ tends to add in a lot more strikes and concentrate on "deadlier" techniques. It's just the slight differences between a technique for sport that'll score you some points and a technique to seriously damage an enemy. Of course, I haven't had a lot of experience with either style (close to a year) so there's probably someone else around that can explain it better.

Indeed, very well said.

If it's something serious that'll take time to heal of course I'll take a break. However, if it's just some bruising on my ribs or my elbow got over-extended a bit or something along those lines I'll likely be right back for the next class.

There are times when a technique just isn't working for me and I'm getting so frustrated it isn't funny. Of course, that just makes things worse and it gets harder to work with the specific technique. Then I'll just give up on it, not care if it is 100% right or not, and just let it flow. Almost every time I pull it off exactly like I'm supposed to and it's all good.

Go check both of them out and see which one you personally enjoy more. Easy as that.

I'd have to agree. I hate stepping into the ring with guys like that, but every now and again it's a nice reiminder that not everyone has the same interests.

Thanks Kensai.

I've found that most throws don't work in competitions because both opponents have (usually) trained doing throws and have found subtle ways to counter them. A little shift of the weight/positioning of the feet can ruin a very nice throw very quickly. I can't see that same principle being applied "on the street", though. Kensai, care to translate for us non-Japanese speakers?

Alright, I'll post a little about some of the arts I've taken. Shotokan Karate: What I enjoyed most about this style was the kata. I don't really care if it didn't make me as good a fighter as some styles that train specifically for tournaments, I just enjoy learning. The kata more than anything else calmed me down and made things feel very natural, flowing, it was nice. TKD: To be honest, there isn't much I enjoyed here. Well, with the exception of seeing how high I could kick or jump. That wasn't bad, but I didn't have an instructor that I particularily liked. Jujutsu: In both the Jujutsu styles that I've dabbled in I loved to work on wrist locks. It never fails to amaze me how easy it is to control someone with such a small part of their body. Making people spin is definately fun.

There are different definitions of effective. Someone might see their personal/internal growth as the most important so, in their view, something like Tai Chi would be more effective than Jujutsu. Of course, I did misread an earlier post of yours which sent me off on this tangent. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

It depends on the size of the tournament and how well organized. For instance, today I was at a Grappling tournament that was small compared to others I've been in. From registration/weigh in to the last match it was 5 hours. There were, oh, 40 or so competitors and two main categories. Most Karate tournaments I've been to have lasted 9+ hours from start to finish.

What if the art isn't competition oriented? What if it isn't combat oriented? Because it has a different purpose does it automatically render it "less effective"? What if the point of the art is to develop the person, not to win medals?

I started when I was 10, not a bad age but I could've understood more if I had been older.