Japanese ju jitsu(sp?), which style best for self defense?

[CapitalKarate]

Hi all!

 

I'm a practitioner in Shorin-ryu Karate, and I've talked to my sensei about what type of techniques they teach in the higher ranked classes to see if they teach all aspects of self defense (grappling, punching, kicking, joint locks, pressure points, ground fighting) and they don't teach too much more other than punching/kicking and some breaks. So i want to round out my skills and get in some different training as well.

 

My Question...

 

What style of Ju (ju or jiu) jitsu would be best for me if i'm looking for a style that incorperates grappling, pressure points, strikes (punches/kicks/elbows/knees, maybe head), ground work, joint locks, and teaches it for self defense, not taught at all for competition or tournaments? And since i cant afford to go to both karate and jujitsu classes, would i be able to train using videos? i would be having my brother/father training with me, and comparing me to the instructors on the videos.

[Gumbi]

You know I havent been to many Japanese Ju Jitsu schools, and the one friend I have who happens to teach it is pretty familiar with all the schools of Tai Jitsu. I would say that any school that focus' more on the grappling aspect would be more suitable for you (something that resembles Judo/BJJ). For self defense purposes (say, protecting yourself when you get jumped) when working on the joint locks, try to focus more on the large joint locks (elbow locks, strangleholds, and knee locks) as opposed to the small joint locks (fingers and wrists).

[Gunyo Kogusoku]

Capital,

 

You won't be able to find many authentic schools of traditional Japanese jujutsu in Virginia to be honest. Not many of the traditional ryuha have made it across the pacific from Japan to the United States. Most of the ones that have are on the east coast or in the Pacific Northwest in places like New York, New Jersey, Washintgon and Oregon.

 

It's better that you search for modern generic jujutsu. It's al ot easier for you to find IMHO.

 

The classical schools are harder to find and require a lot more attention to detail and effort.

 

Hope this helps,

[Davison]

capital,I dont know if this helps,considering that you live in Virgina,but Ive been studying a traditional system of tjj called Hakkoryu for 13 yrs and for what you want out of a system ,thats exactly what it implies. My dojo is very traditional and my instructor is in my opinion,the best anywhere around in my area.There are Hakkoryu dojos scattered throughout the US. Video training in this system probly wouldn't be very helpful,this system takes time to learn correctly and requires instruction face to face.There is a dojo in Akron ohio that is awesome.Micheal J Lomonica is the the north american director. You can find info on this on the web but I don't know the site.hope this helps .

[Thuggish]

do BJJ

[Chibi]

I believe Michael Lomonica teaches something called 'Hakko Denshin Ryu' which is a westernized form of Hakko Ryu. It involves strikes and grappling, unlike the Japanese form that is purely defence oriented.

[Davison]

Lamonica shihan does teach Hakko denshin ryu now but until 1998 and 1999 it was Hakko ryu. It is not westernized at all. It is just modified to roll with the times. Even in original Hakko ryu,they still teach strikes and grappling.Its all purely for defense,thats what it is all about.Lomonica shihan is my shihan's instructor and I have trained with sensei Lominica A couple of times. We have had descussions about this and it comes down to Japan asking way too much money to be affiliated with honbu dojo in omiya city Japan and also that they are set in their ways of teaching. The orginal system was made up from systems and techniques of the fuedal era of Japan, samurai had to learn these techniques because they were designed for persons with armor on and could not easily move on the battlefield. The techniques were basic and right to the point ,designed for spear and sword defense. In todays time not very many people are going to be attacked with a sword or spear .The system had to be changed to adjust with the flow of things.So in a sense, same but different.

[Chibi]

I trained in Japan, and I agree that the fee to do Shihan training is too expensive. I quit because of this. I think it works out to be $5000 US for Shihan training. And then another 5 or $6000 to do the last training. There are still a lot of people here that do it though. I never saw any real striking or any grappling here in Japan.

[Vito]

id say BJJ is the way to go- ground fighting is more useful than youd believe.

[Davison]

vito, what happens when you are fighting more than one person on the street? don't get me wrong, I like BJJ also but On the street and on the mat are two different things. some one would probly get hurt if they took somebody to the ground to fight and the guys friend comes over and kicks him in the face. I know that bjj also teaches some stand up but the majority is groundwork.