Getting a good Jujitsu Foundation
Judo was the first martial art I ever learned. I was a scrawny kid, with braces. Not quite a book worm, but rapidly on my way to being a teenaged couch potato. My Dad would tell me to run out and play, and I’d stay inside playing on my video game console.
One day I came home from school, and found that my Dad had replaced the video game console with a box, saying “Take a shower, and meet me in the garage at 4.” The box had a martial arts suit (I later learned it was called a “gi”) and my Dad took me to a martial arts class that afternoon, where we both went through the basics of learning judo. It was amazingly cool to do something like that with my Dad. I can still remember the first time I threw him on the mat – he still outweighed me by a good 40 pounds then! He looked so surprised to be laying on his back, then just grinned at me.
Fast forward more years than I like to admit, and I’m thankful that my Dad dragged my sorry butt off the couch. I went from judo to jujitsu, to a bunch of kung fu styles, and now work as a freelance journalist covering martial arts, as well as teaching those classes at the local dojo. Dad still does martial arts, but has moved on to softer styles like Wing Chun, because his joints aren’t as limber as they used to be, and he doesn’t think it’s as fun to be thrown on the mat now that I outweigh him by 40 pounds!
And, well, as all the philosophy stuff says, things come full circle. I’m now teaching the introductory jujitsu classes at the school. In some ways, it’s kind of challenging, I have to filter out the things I’ve learned from other styles, and focus on the basics. Jujitsu grew out of Japan, as opposed to the Chinese Kung Fu styles I learned later, and focuses on a stable stance, grapples, and throws. It doesn’t focus so much on punches, because it was meant to be practiced by a man wearing armor, and punches against another person wearing armor are pretty futile, while putting him on his back makes him considerably more vulnerable.
It should be noted that I teach jujitsu, rather than its sporting form, ‘judo’, because I want to teach the full on martial art, and give someone a basis for learning more martial arts in the future, rather than a “recipe book” of throws, grapples, and such designed to win points in a tournament. I think jujitsu has a lot of practical use as a self defense martial art, mostly because it focuses on joint locks rather than throws. A joint lock is a very practical method of disarming someone; in its most basic sense, it’s a means of applying force to a joint in the way that, mechanically, it’s not meant to know. Anyone who’s had their thumb turned ’round in a Hawaiian handcuff has had a joint lock done on them. The nice thing about joint locks is that they even out strength differentials quite well – originally, they were used to make an armed and armored foe drop a weapon, making him more vulnerable on a battle field, but they’re quite useful for dealing with muggers, or bullies in a school yard.
Anyway, it’s kind of neat, going back to my foundations, my first “real” martial art. I’m wondering if I’ll see any father/son pairings at the school I teach at.

MMA, or mixed-martial arts has been enjoying immense popularity lately as a spectator sport. Names like Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock have become legit superstars to legions of sports fans all over the world. Younger MMA and UFC fans however should know that the ideology and concept for this seemingly new genre of contact sport dates back several decades ago. In fact it has its roots in a martial art developed by none other than Jun Fan a.k.a. Bruce Lee. Dana White, president of the MMA even acknowledges the martial arts icon as the father of the MMA.
The name for the art of Jeet Kune Do, or ‘the way of the intercepting fist’ came about while Lee and his long-time training partner Dan Inosanto were driving around talking about a European fencing technique- the epee’ in particular. This fencing move stops or intercepts an opponent’s thrust with an attack of one’s own. The two were trying to think of a name for a new martial art based on this concept and thus, the way of the intercepting fist and its literal Chinese translation- Jeet Kune Do, was born.
Traditional martial arts training involves ‘kata’ or forms to be memorized by the practitioner of a specific martial art during the early levels. It’s a series patterned of steps, punches and kicks that theoretically helps the martial artist internalize the various movements and thus be able to use them in combat effectively. The minor role of ‘kata’ in Jeet Kune Do martial arts training (although it’s loosely patterned after Wing-Chun basics), is the most significant difference it has with other ‘classical’ forms of martial arts. Bruce Lee puts more emphasis on actual combat or sparring sessions as a way to prime the martial art practitioner to be an effective fighter. According to him, pre-arranged patterns and movements are inadequate in simulating the ever-changing circumstances in actual combat- lacking the dynamism and improvisation of sparring with another person.
The basic concept of Jeet Kune Do is to use what works. The “take what is useful and discard what is useless.” mantra that most martial artists (and followers of the Buddhist faith) are familiar with. It is, therefore, the art of combining the useful techniques and movements a Jeet Kune Do practitioner has collected from other disciplines and using them as leverage in a fight.
“Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit in with all styles. As a result Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways, is bound by none and likewise, uses any techniques or means which serve it’s end.” -Bruce Lee.

What is a martial art?A martial art can be defined as any skill that can be applied in warfare. The word martial means “military.” So traditionally, a martial art is a military art. The first things that usually come to mind when discussing modern martial arts are leaping, kicking, punching, blocking, inverting elbows, twisting necks, throwing, and weapon fighting. But also horsemanship, javelin throwing, archery, spear fighting, halberd fighting, wrestling, knife fighting, rifle, shotgun and pistol shooting, demolitions, logistics, and battle strategy can all be described as the field of martial arts. Anything that a soldier might do in battle is a martial art.By martial art usually it is meant aikido, arnis, boxing, capoeria, chow gar, choy la fut, hapkido, hsing’i, hun gar, jeet kune do, jow gar, judo, jujitsu, karate, kempo, kick boxing, krav maga, kung fu, pa kua, penjak silat, praying mantis, savate, shaolin, tae kwon do, tai chi, white crane, wing chun, wu shu and more! As you can see the list is quite long and it is actually quite amazing how many martial arts systems there are and how many methods of self defense can be formulated.Often within a martial arts school it is taught that ‘this particular system is the best system and it was created to beat all the others’. Of course every martial artist would have the viewpoint their style is the best because that is the style they have chosen to do, but in reality what they are saying is ‘this is the best style for me as it suits my temperment and I like the teaching environment’.The changing of the artsThroughout this history and development of the martial arts and all the combat systems of man our training tools have played a vital part in evolving and perfecting these systems and techniques.All the martial arts have been effected by the role that mechanical devices play whether it be weapons, dojo mats, breaking boards or even the uniforms we wear – all these paraphanialia indentify the martial arts into their systems and style.The main players in shaping our new martial arts would be the traditional wooden dummy, wing chun rings, iron palm ointments and even the system of using forms and karta have developed the martial arts into their current form.Even today modern training tools are common and again the martial arts are under development with new training products such as the Wavemaster, the BOB training dummy, the Focus Master. All with one thing in common, to create a well rounded combat system.Ideally a martial arts solo training tool should be workable for all and based on sound theory and through constant practice develop into sound physical application. The ideology and theory would have to take into account all the history of the combat technology of man and give this competition and street application.The Martialarm Combat Training PartnerIn a martial arts career you can occationally find your self with no school to go to or no one to train with and so out of neccessity the martialarm solo training partner was born. The Martialarm is a Martial Arts training machine used to develop the entry and trapping skills of any martial arts system. It is designed to actually test any techniques so to improve the ability to trap and control your opponents hands and arms. This can be done because the Martialarm moves and reacts like a real opponent. The Martialarm moves and twists up, down, left and right just like a real opponent would – so it can spring forward and it does strike back!.The Martialarm Combat Training Partner was designed and developed on the following theoriesMartialarm Theory#1) Safety – You must maintain 100% safety when entering into the opponents attack range, this means to limit any variables that could occur by covering them. (Methods of entry must be sophisticated yet simple, fast as well as safe!)#2) Attack – You must have the ability to attack at will, with no concern or hesitation. The attack should incorporate a total control of the opponents weapons. (Attacks must be structured to have within them a 100% defense!)#3) Adaptability – Techniques, attacks and defenses must flow but not necessarily at a constant pace. Adaptability to choose what’s next is key!Whatever martial arts you choose just be sure you do look at a few before you decide and enqire with the school what martial arts equipment they utilize to get the best from your training.

In order to learn Wing Chun, it is important to understand the history behind it. There are many versions of how Wing Chun came into being. Some say it was started by Ng Mui, a Buddhist nun who developed it over 300 years ago in southern China and named it after her student, Yim Wing Chun. While others believe it was started by a Shoalin monk in the early to mid 1700s.

Wing Chun was almost unheard of anywhere else but China until 1950 when Grandmaster Yip Man began teaching in Hong Kong and his students grew in number. One on these students was the late Bruce Lee who became a master of the form and used Wing Chun as the basis for Jeet Kune Do or the Way of the Intercepting Fist, the style of martial arts he used in his ever-popular movies. I can still remember being enthralled by Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee using amazing skills of balance, graceful and agile movements and lightening fast strikes. His movies captivated a whole generation and encouraged many to study a martial art in one form or another.

I believe many women learn Wing Chun because of its simple form, relying on position, the use of energy and angles rather than size and power. With short explosive blows by the hand and very low kicks, people of small stature find learning Wing Chun a remarkable form of self-defense. You can be effective without any massive strength at all. You actually learn to use your attackers strength against them. When you learn Wing Chun, you will gain better balance and speed, you will learn about how to position your body and how to refine your movements to their best advantage, mostly getting in close to your attacker. In Wing Chun the principal of the closest point between two points is a straight line holds true. Wing Chun is generally used for defense rather than attack and when first developed strikes were meant to be fatal and pointed at areas such as the throat, eyes and stomach. Many countries have their elite military personal learn Wing Chun, not only for self-defense but also for the quiet execution of the movements in arm-to-arm combat.

It does not take long to learn Wing Chun, in fact it is quicker than most other forms and you can learn to defend yourself in a fairly shot period of time, but true of all martial arts you can practice it for the rest of your life. When you learn wing Chun you also gain health benefits as the meditative side of Wing Chun is a great stress reliever as Wing Chun is also about using your mind, learning to control impulses, relax into the movement and sense your balance, strength and power. As your fitness levels improve so to does your overall health.

Whether you learn Wing Chun for self-defense, sport or simply as an exercise and meditation tool it will be a valuable asset for the rest of your life.

In order to learn Wing Chun, it is important to understand the history behind it. There are many versions of how Wing Chun came into being. Some say it was started by Ng Mui, a Buddhist nun who developed it over 300 years ago in southern China and named it after her student, Yim Wing Chun. While others believe it was started by a Shoalin monk in the early to mid 1700s.
Wing Chun was almost unheard of anywhere else but China until 1950 when Grandmaster Yip Man began teaching in Hong Kong and his students grew in number. One on these students was the late Bruce Lee who became a master of the form and used Wing Chun as the basis for Jeet Kune Do or the Way of the Intercepting Fist, the style of martial arts he used in his ever popular movies. I can still remember being enthralled by “Fists of Fury” and “Enter the Dragon” with Bruce Lee using amazing skills of balance, graceful and agile movements and lightening fast strikes. His movies captivated a whole generation and encouraged many to study a martial art in one form or another.
I believe many women learn Wing Chun because of its simple form, relying on position, the use of energy and angles rather than size and power. With short explosive blows by the hand and very low kicks, people of small stature find learning Wing Chun a remarkable form of self-defense. You can be effective without any massive strength at all. You actually learn to use your attacker’s strength against them. When you learn Wing Chun, you will gain better balance and speed, you will learn about how to position your body and how to refine your movements to their best advantage, mostly getting in close to your attacker. In Wing Chun the principal of the closest point between two points is a straight line holds true. Wing Chun is generally used for defence rather than attack and when first developed strikes were meant to be fatal and pointed at areas such as the throat, eyes and stomach. Many countries have their elite military personal learn Wing Chun, not only for self-defense but also for the quiet execution of the movements in arm to arm combat.
It does not take long to learn Wing Chun, in fact it is quicker than most other forms and you can learn to defend yourself in a fairly shot period of time, but true of all martial arts you can practice it for the rest of your life. When you learn wing Chun you also gain health benefits as the meditative side of Wing Chun is a great stress reliever as Wing Chun is also about using your mind, learning to control impulses, relax into the movement and sense your balance, strength and power. As your fitness levels improve so to does your overall health.
Whether you learn Wing Chun for self-defense, sport or simply as an exercise and meditation tool it will be a valuable asset for the rest of your life.