Salem Budokai/JA/Danzan ryu

[CapitalKarate]

I found a Kodenkan Danzan ryu Jujitsu dojo at a local ymca at where I'm moving to and they are affiliated with Jujitsu America. I have a few questions about this whole thing...

1. How good is danzan ryu as a self defense art? Do they practice sparring and what style contact if they do, is it a complete art?

2. Does anyone know about the salem Budokai dojo?

3. Does anyone know anything important about jujitsu america?

Here's a few links in regards to the dojo,

The school itself- http://salembudokai.com/

The schools affiliation- http://www.jujitsuamerica.org/

Also what do you guys think about cross training in this and kajukenbo at the same time? Logically I would think it'd be fine considering this is the style of jujitsu/judo that kajukenbo incorporates into its' style.

Josh

[CapitalKarate]

No one?

[Teiydo]

It's been a while, but I will answer some of your questions.

I believe Danzan Ryu comes from the same lineage as what I used to study, Hakko Ryu which originates from Daito Ryu. From looking at the list of dojos on Jujutsu America, you are in very good company. Why? Professor Jay (Small Circle Jujutsu) is on there and so are a number of his students, instructors in their own right. I am sure that Prof Jay would not be a part of an organization that is suspect. As far as is it a good self defense style, I have a feeling that would have in large part to the dojo, instructor, you and how the classes are run. Since I believe it is more old school jujutsu, you will definitely be stressing pressure points, the meridians (sp?), and small joint manipulation, eg. wrists, fingers. Hope this helps.

[CapitalKarate]

If you clicked the media section of the dojo in salem they seem to practice sparring of some sort, i'm guessing full contact because half contact graplling doesn't make sense. Also they have photos showing students practicing judo throws and ground techniques and it looks like full contact, which was one of the questions I asked the sensei in the e-mail i sent him, do you practise full contact sparring?... still awaiting his answer.

[aefibird]

Is there a phone number for the association and/or club? If so, phone them up and have your questions at the ready. If they know that you are a potential new student then they're likely to be willing to answer your Q's over the phone.

Good luck with moving, BTW!

[CapitalKarate]

well, I got an e-mail back from one of the instructors at the dojo. The questions I asked him were basically;

1. I want to go into LE/Miltary, do you teach techniques thata re aplicable to this kind of career?

2. Do you teach all aspects of fighting? (striking, standup/ground grappling, joint manipulation, throws, etc..)

3. What contact level of sparring do you practice?

4. Do you condition your body to prepare you for a strike to your body?

His answers,

1. Danzan Ryu will serve you very well as a LEO. Many of our black belts have worked with prisons and LE agencies to provide training for officers and guards, and several of our members are or were involved in the military or law enforcement. If you do a little "google" research on Danzan Ryu, you'll find that it's a fairly young martial art, and was developed with effective self defense in the modern world in mind. There are techniques in our curriculum that deal with a variety of defensive situations: multiple attackers, knives, guns, batons, etc. It's a very well-balanced art. Our teachers are also careful to help you understand the implications of self defense, and attempt to give you the tools you need to evaluate and hopefully avoid or defuse difficult situations.

2. We have techniques in all the areas you describe. Danzan Ryu Jujitsu includes all these things, and our teachers also augment Danzan Ryu with training in Karate (to improve your kicking, punching and blocking) and Aikido (to improve your balance, speed, timing and footwork). We also have a separate Judo class that puts a lot of emphasis on ground work, so you would have the opportunity to train in Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (that's where a lot of the ground work they teach comes from), if you joined the Salem Budokai.

3. We occasionally do sparring in Jujitsu, but it's formalized randori rather than full contact fighting. The Judo class includes a lot of randori. We also occasionally spar in karate, but those sessions are few and far between. Randori gives an opportunity for you to try your techniques in a full-resistance situation, but is not any kind of full contact training like you'd see in a UFC or PRIDE match.

4. We do core conditioning and strengthening exercises, and occasionally work with a heavy bag, but we do not spend a lot of time hardening the body; it's our hope that by learning jujitsu, you will be able to blend with or avoid attacks coming in, rather than blocking them directly or allowing the blows to land.

So what do you guys think, from what limited knowledge you have does it sound legit? I think I'm going to also join their judo team also for the grappling and extra throwing if I don't have to pay extra.