JDJ Jujutsu Grading Analysis Series #5: Nidan and Sandan

You will recall from the second post in this series that Jan de Jong developed his shodan grading based on his needs for black belt instructors to accompany him when teaching in Europe at that time. 

You will recall from the abovementioned post that the nidan and sandan gradings were developed by JDJ to complete the 'technical' grading system so that he could promote his senior instructors to higher grades on an honorary basis, which they richly deserved. 

You will also recall from that post the following graphic of the shinken shobu no kata gradings in the JDJ jujutsu grading system.

This analysis brings to light an issue within the martial arts in terms of gradings.

Gradings are supposed to be related to progression. Progression in what and how is that assessed?

There is progression in JDJ's SSnK gradings in terms of the number of defences to be demonstrated in a 'reflex' fashion. Isn't that just a collection of defences? That is how JDJ's jujutsu system has been uncharitably described, but it is something that should be considered.

Is the progression that the defences in higher gradings are of a higher degree of difficulty? In this case, no! In fact, if the defences increase in degrees of difficulty with each higher grading, the efficacy of the fighting system should be questioned. The higher the degree of difficulty, the greater chance for an error in performance in a 'real-life' situation.

Many aikido grading systems have the same defences/techniques and/or kata demonstrated in each successive grading. The progression is subjective, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The candidate is expected to perform the same defences/techniques and/or kata 'better' with each successive grading. That is progression, but it also relies on a system with core defences/techniques, tactics, etc. What are the core defences, techniques, tactics of JDJ's jujutsu system? I defy anyone to attempt an argument in support of that question.

One of the ways in which the JDJ grading system fails is in the dramatic escalation in the SSnK defences in shodan and then a return to the norm in nidan and sandan. The nidan and sandan defences are not of a higher degree of difficulty in terms of performance or attack than that of shodan. Hell, you could teach and expect a student at the rokkyu level to do many of the defences in nidan and sandan.

Word of advice to those within the JDJ grading system in any of the ryuha that have not significantly changed the grading system, those attempting nidan and sandan, it is significantly less onerous than shodan in terms of the SSnK grading; it is significantly easier and should take significantly less time to train and grade. I should know because that was my experience when I trained and graded the SSnK gradings in nidan and sandan.

However, this is one of the reasons why I am totally opposed to time restrictions imposed on practical gradings within the JDJ jujutsu grading system. They make no sense. In fact, JDJ was also totally opposed to such restrictions. If you're good enough to do the grading you deserve the grading, irrespective of time between gradings. 

That is why I was able to complete the technical grading system along with my instructors. Only five were graded sandan by JDJ: Peter Clarke, Rob Hymas, Paul Connelly, Greg Palmer, all my instructors, and me. I had obviously spent significantly less time within the JDJ jujutsu system than all of my instructors, however, I was their technical equivalent and was thus graded to the same level as them.

The JDJ jujtusu grading system needs serious adjustments. It is a good system, a world-class system, but it needs serious adjustments so that it makes constructive sense. There is a lot more to the JDJ dan grading system than SSnK gradings, and those gradings tend to make constructive sense, but the heart of the JDJ grading system is the SSnK gradings.

JDJ Jujutsu Grading Analysis Series #4: Kubitsukami Shime

This post will take a break from the Jan de Jong jujutsu grading system analysis per se and focus on an element present throughout the shinken shobu no kata (SSnK) gradings: kubitsukami shime.

Kubitsukami shime is a category of attack that is included in JDJ's jujutsu SSnK gradings. 

You will recall from the first post that the format of JDJ's SSnK gradings is primarily based on attack-types, e.g., kubi shime (neck strangle), tsuki (punching), sukui (scooping), keri (kicking), etc. ...  kubitsukami shime. 

You will also recall from that post that the shodan SSnK grading is unique in being based on a matrix of attack and defence types. The kubitsukami shime attack-type category in that grading includes atemi waza, kansetsu waza, and nage waza defence-types. 

NB: There is no kubitsukami shime defence category in that grading.

Google '"kubitsukami shime"' and you will get zero (0) results. Google 'kubitsukami shime' and you will get 66 results, the only one of which is relevant pertains to Yoseikan aikido in which it is translated as 'neck strangle.' 

The more common kubi shime used in the martial arts is translated as neck strangle. What is the difference between kubitsukami shime and kubi shime?

Kubi is translated as 'neck' and tsukami as 'grip' or 'grasp'. Kubitsukami means to grip or grasp a person's neck, in this case with one's hands.

Kubi shime is most often used to refer to a class of technique taught in the martial arts, combat sports, and close combat that does not involve strangling by placing one's hands around another's neck.

The use by JDJ of kubitsukami shime to describe a specific class of attack distinct from the more commonly used kubi shime is (a) unique in the martial arts world, and (b) an illustration of the thought and effort that JDJ put into the development of his grading system. 

There is another difference between kubitsukami shime and kubi shime in this case. Kubi shime techniques are trained as defensive techniques. There are no kubitsukami shime techniques taught as defensive techniques. There are no 'throttling' techniques with the hands taught as defensive techniques.

So what, you may ask? So what indeed.

I observed a class being taught a defence against a straight-arm kubitsukami shime on the ground in the shodan grading to senior students. They were all struggling to perform the defence. 'What's going on here?'*

I was mentoring two of the abovementioned students for their shodan grading. Following the abovementioned class, I asked those two students to demonstrate the defence from yellow (rokkyu, sixth kyu, the first grading in the kyu system) from ostensibly the same attack. They struggled to perform the defence. 'What's going on here?'*

I demonstrated the effective attack for the yellow defense on one of the students and (a) the look of surprise and fear on his face was something to (sadistically) behold, and (b) it facilitated the effective performance of the defensive technique. It made it work and it made it easy to make it work.

In this case it was a straight-arm strangle from the side on the ground. The ineffective attack involved uke sitting back on their heels with their arms at less than 90 degrees and the hands placed half-and-half on tori's neck and triceps. The effective attack involved uke's hands on tori's throat with uke being positioned directly over tori's throat, pushing downward over arms at 90 degrees, thus applying their bodyweight behind the attack. Uke was no longer sitting back on their heels which opened up the area under their body for tori's knee to be inserted.

The ineffective attack prevented tori from executing the defence. The performance problem was not in the defence, it was in the attack. This was a light-bulb, eye-opening moment for these two prospective black belts. It was a revelation; a moment of insight*: performance problems may reside in the attack and not in the defence.

The same was true for the shodan defence, except that the attack was similar but different. The students in the abovementioned class were struggling with the shodan defence because, once again, the attack was ineffective. The question they (and the instructor) should have been asking themselves is, why are they doing a different defence from ostensibly the same attack? In this case it was because the attack, the effective attack for yellow, involves uke's bodyweight being positioned slightly differently in the case of the shodan defence (although they were still making the same mistakes as in the yellow attack).

This is an issue that is present in this particular ryuha. It is present in the ryuha from which this ryuha was derived. It was present in the Jan de Jong Self Defence School. The students did/do not know how to attack properly in these circumstances, and they were/are not taught how to attack properly.

This is not an issue most of the time. The defensive techniques that students are taught are often used as attacking techniques as well. The classic in this case is that the defensive kubi shime techniques students are taught are used as attacking techniques. This of course raises other issues concerning what students are being taught to defend against; an issue that will not be explored here.

Recently I saw a photo on Facebook of a class being taught defences from a standing bent-arm strangle. Sure enough, the hands of the attacker were positioned more towards tori's triceps than around their throat. Great for a massage but not so much for a 'throttling' action intended to do harm. This has implications for the defence as taught and trained in terms of its effectiveness against a 'real' attack. Will the defence as taught and trained against an ineffective attack be effective against a real attack intent on doing harm?

Towards the end of my teaching for JDJ, he said that my students performed the best in the school in their gradings. Part of the reason for that was (a) I identified the above issue, and (b) I taught the attack before I taught the defence. The defence is not only effective in that case, it is also easy to perform because that is what the defence is designed to defend against.

In addition, I taught the student that performance problems can reside in the attack and not the defence and the first place to look to correct performance problems is in the attack. This is insight that leads to a new and better understanding of all of the teachings being taught*.

This same issue is, frustratingly, illustrated in downward strikes with a short stick/baton/tanbo. More times than not, I've seen uke attempting to strike tori with the butt of the weapon closest to their hand rather than the end of the weapon. This at the very least creates a distancing issue. The trained, instinctive, response to the attack will be 'short' of an actual attack meaning that the defence is more than likely to be ineffective in a 'real life' attack.

In this case, this is the odd thing. Get the student to hit an inanimate object and they'll do so properly. Get them to attack another person in the training environment and their attacks are as described above.

The lesson is simple: teach students how to attack properly! The product of this change in teaching will be better students who progress faster and suffer less frustration due to poor teaching. This of course requires instructors to know how to attack properly for the defence being taught. This is a separate issue.

*Insight leads to a new and better understanding. It is a new understanding because it did not exist before, and it is a better understanding because it is more accurate, more comprehensive, and more useful than the one that existed before. 

One of the paths to gaining insight that leads to a new and better understanding is curiosity, which is described in terms of a 'What's going on here?' reaction.

(Klein, G. 2013. Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable Way We Gain Insights. New York: Public Affairs.)

JDJ Jujutsu Grading System Analysis Series #3: Shodan Shinken Shobu no Kata #2

The previous post in this series explained how the Jan de Jong shodan shinken shobu no kata grading was originally developed to produce black belt instructors that would accompany him to teach in Europe. 

We also saw that the grading was unique in terms of (a) the extraordinary number of attack-defence combinations included in the grading (see graph below), and (b) the use of an attack class-defence class matrix.

Let's now consider the grading implementation under JDJ.

The first wave (3) to attempt the grading did so based on a demonstration basis. A kata basis where specified defences are performed against specified attacks in a specified sequence (without the traditional formalities in this case).

The first candidate of the second wave to attempt the grading was Debbie Clarke. 

Instead of adopting the same format for the grading as with the first wave, DC's grading was conducted in true 'reflex' fashion where the attacks were executed in a random sequence to which the specified defence was required to be performed. Needless to say, with 140 attack-defence combinations required to be performed in this new format, the number of attack-defence combinations performed far exceeded 140 and the grading was overly time consuming.

DC successfully completed the grading and is the only person in the JDJ school to have performed this grading in that format. (PS: Debbie Clarke is a true trailblazer within the JDJ tradition and her accomplishments far exceed this solitary one. She deserves far more recognition within the JDJ tradition than she has received in the past.)

After observing DC's grading, the other candidates (all male) on the day cancelled their grading so that they could go away and practice the grading in this new format. They would never get the chance to do so because, based on the DC experience, JDJ had second thoughts about conducting the grading in this manner.

The first change that JDJ implemented was to divide the grading into two with 63 and 77 attack-defence combinations respectively. The second change was to the 'reflex' format.

You will recall from the previous post that the shodan SSnK grading is unique in JDJ's grading system in being based on an attack type-defence type matrix. The modified format for the shodan SSnK gradings had the first attack in an attack type-defence type group to be executed at random, however, the remaining attack-defence combinations in that group were basically demonstrated in a demonstration fashion. The candidate knew what type of attack would be coming after the first one, and there were a limited number of those attack types.

There are questions that could be, and should be, raised based on this analysis of the shodan SSnK grading(s). For instance, was there any need to divide it into two gradings given the change to a reflex format?

I was recently involved with mentoring two candidates from a JDJ ryuha (branch of the stream) whose principal has recombined the two gradings. I initially thought it was a regressive move given that JDJ had found that including the 140 attack-defence combinations in one grading was a mistake. However, upon reflection, and with the assistance of this analysis, I concluded that the 140 attack-defence combination grading performed under the modified reflex format was the equal of or less onerous than the 57 attack-defence SSnK grading of ikkyu (59% less combinations than the shodan grading).

What I would advise, and in fact did in this case, any future candidates for the shodan SSnK grading conducted under the modified reflex format, whether it be in one or two gradings, 'don't stress' because of the extraordinary number of attack-defence combinations in the grading. Conducted under the modified reflex format, it is actually easier than the previous gradings conducted in true reflex fashion.

This analysis and insight leads to other questions. For instance, where is the progression? Is the only progression in the number of attack-defence combinations in the SSnK grading(s)? After all, the degree of difficulty in the defences is not significantly higher in the shodan grading. There are no greater insights provided by the grading other than to learn new 'tricks', as Hancock and Higashi describe them in The Complete Kano Jiu-Jitsu (Judo).

This analysis and question raising will no doubt raise the ire of some senior and relatively senior members in the JDJ tradition. My question to them would be, why haven't you studied the JDJ grading system? After all, the original JDJ grading system is the equivalent of the Motorola 8900X-2.

Studying the development of JDJ's grading system does not only provide the opportunity to gain insights that can lead to improvements in that grading system, it can also be used as a case study to better understand all martial arts grading systems.

The argument that has been presented at times is in terms of 'preserving' JDJ's teachings. Is that just laziness, lack of original insight, or wanting to 'slip stream' behind JDJ's reputation, as so many do? JDJ was a pioneer and his accomplishments are not diminished by studying and concluding that his grading system is a Motorola 8900X-2, however, do the JDJ ryuha want to continue using the Motorola 8900X-2 or do they want to make improvements that lead to the modern day smart phone that is far more useful? 

 

JDJ Jujutsu Grading System Analysis Series #2: Shodan Shinken Shobu no Kata #1

This post is the second in a series dedicated to an analysis (or limited exploration) of the Jan de Jong jujutsu grading system.

The core of the JDJ jujutsu grading system is the shinken shobu no kata (SSnK) gradings.

The phrase shinken shobu no kata was probably appropriated from Kodokan judo which has an actual kata that goes by that name*.

Shinken shobu is translated as 'real fighting' and so SSnK is a kata of real fighting, which is the intended purpose of JDJ's SSnK gradings. 

The Kodokan SSnK is a traditional kata where a series of specified attacks and defences are demonstrated. 

JDJ's SSnK in his gradings is a kata in the sense that there are a series of prescribed attacks and defences, however, they are 'demonstrated' in a random order as directed by the examiner without tori's (executor of defence) knowledge (not in a Cato Pink Panther fashion 😀). Tori stands with their back to the examiner who signals a specified attack to uke ('receiver' of defence) at random which tori is expected to respond with the required defence.

This type of grading, and indeed training, is designed to simulate a 'real' attack-defence situation. On a continuum from solo kata to 'free fighting,' this type of training is designed to rest more towards the 'free fighting' end of the spectrum.

Where JDJ got his SSnK format from is a mystery. The closest that I have seen to it is Mas Oyama's Kyokushin karate's one-step sparring. 

The following is an analysis of the JDJ jujutsu grading SSnK attack-defence combinations:

There is a 146% increase in the number of attack-defence combinations from ikkyu to shodan before reverting back to the norm in nidan and sandan. 'What's going on here?'

One possible/probable answer to that question may lay in an understanding of the development of the JDJ jujutsu grading system. 

The JDJ jujutsu grading system was developed piece-meal based on JDJ's needs at the time.

JDJ commenced teaching jujutsu in Perth in the 1950s and needed a grading system, so he developed one from rokkyu to ikkyu. He had no need for a shodan grading because he was the only instructor and his students were a long way off completing the kyu system that he had developed.

As students were graded ikkyu and were instructing in his expanding school ... here we can put to bed an 'urban myth' propagated by some of JDJ's senior students and instructors over the years (I'm still being asked the same question from students and instructors of JDJ's ryuha (branch of the stream) these days). It was/is suggested that JDJ did not grade anyone shodan at that time out of fear that they would go off and teach in competition to his own school. That is ascribing a devious nature to JDJ, which may or may not be true, however, it would also suggest some forethought on JDJ's part which was definitely not part of his psychological makeup. 

JDJ was a product of his experiences during WWII  and his focus was on the here-and-now. The motto he lived by could be expressed in: 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.' JDJ lived in the present.

JDJ visited Europe in the late 1970s to explore the jujutsu scene there. He found a vibrant scene and that many were extremely interested in his teachings, however, he also found that all of the instructors in Europe were black belts and he had none; so he developed a shodan grading to produce black belt instructors that could accompany him to Europe. 

The first black belts (3) were graded in 1981 and the second wave (4) in 1982. JDJ's first teaching tour of Europe was conducted in the European summer of 1982, accompanied by most of his newly minted black belts.

JDJ's shodan grading was developed as a one-off grading with no thought as to a dan grading system. It was also designed to produce instructors. 

The traditional approach of the Japanese martial arts is that shodan means that the student has mastered the 'basics' and now the 'real' learning begins. That is why in most Japanese martial arts there is relatively few gradings before shodan and then they are relatively basic. This is in complete contrast to JDJ's pre-shodan gradings.

An 'instructor' in the aforementioned martial arts is at least sandan if not godan. JDJ needed black belt instructors so he developed a shodan qualification that might be equated to those martial arts sandan-godan levels, at the very least. A unique feature of the JDJ dan grading system is that it is designed to produce instructors; most if not all other martial arts grading systems are not so designed, in which case, where do their instructors come from?

JDJ's senior instructors were graded shodan whereas mid- to senior level instructors in Europe were more highly graded. JDJ considered his senior instructors to be at least the equivalent of the more highly graded instructors in Europe and so wanted to 'upgrade' his senior instructors. He was, however, hampered by the idea that in the style of jujutsu that he learned from his original instructors, shodan to sandan were technical grades and that all higher grades were awarded on an honorary basis. So JDJ had to develop nidan and sandan grades before he could promote his senior instructors to higher grades. This he did.

The first nidan was awarded in 1991 (10 years after the first shodan) followed by the first sandan in 1999 (nearly 10 years after the first nidan) when JDJ's health was in decline and he needed a sandan grading so that he could award his senior instructors higher honorary grades before he passed away. JDJ awarded his three senior instructors rokudan (sixth dan) in March 2003 and he passed away in April 2003.

Aside from the number of attack-defence combinations in the shodan SSnK grading anomaly which is illustrated in the graph above, there is another anomaly in that grading.

The structure of all of the SSnK gradings, with the sole exception of the shodan grading, is based on attack-type categories, e.g., kubitsukame shime, kubi shime, atemi waza, etc. 

The shodan grading, and only the shodan grading, was structured in the form of a matrix. Attack-type categories were juxtaposed against defence-type categories, e.g., kubitsukame shime attack-type divided into atemi waza, kansetsu waza, nage waza defence-type categories. This matrix needed to be populated with attack-defence combinations. The addition of the defence-type categories to the grading structure necessitated an increase in the number of attack-defence combinations included in the grading, hence the disproportionate 146% increase.

These insights, this new and better understanding that arises from these insights, has significant implications for those who teach in the JDJ tradition, the JDJ ryuha, which will be explored in future posts.

*The Kodokan SSnK is known as kime no kata in Kodokan judo, which is translated as 'kata of decision' or 'forms of decision.' JDJ used the phrase KnK in his dan grading system to refer to revision gradings. 

Jan de Jong Jujutsu Grading System Analysis Series #1: Insights and Understanding

I am going to post a series of articles on this blog based on an analysis of the Jan de Jong jujutsu grading system. Why? Because it will produce insights that lead to a new and better understanding which can change the way the reader understands, thinks, feels, acts, and desires.

The above answer to the above question is based on Klein's (2013) work in Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights. 

Klein explains that insights lead to a new and better understanding. It is a new understanding because it did not exist before and it is better because it is a better understanding than the one that existed before. It is more accurate, more comprehensive, and more useful than the understanding that existed before.

Klein suggests that insights transform us in several ways and that in some ways they make us different people. They

change our understanding by shifting the central beliefs … in the story we use to make sense of events. … our new understanding can give us new ideas about the kinds of actions we can take; it can redirect our attention, changing what we see; it can alter the emotions we feel; and it can affect what we desire. (Klein 2013, 148; emphasis in original)

One of the paths to gaining insight that Klein identifies is curiosity, which he describes in terms of a 'What's going on here?' reaction. He explains that the reaction itself does not produce the insight but it can start the person down the road to gaining insight. It can start the person down the road to gaining insight when they go in pursuit of an answer to their initial 'What's going on here?' question.

As it turns out, I am all too familiar with this path to gaining insight. It describes how my first book on the science behind all fighting techniques came about, as it does with the second book, Fear and Fight: A New and Better Understanding of Our Natural and Learned Responses to a Threat. It also explains how I gained unique insights into the JDJ jujutsu grading system that produced a new and better understanding which is more accurate, more comprehensive, and more useful than the one that existed before.

I was recently mentoring a couple of students training for their shodan in the JDJ jujutsu tradition. It's been a while since I graded and taught shodan so my memory was a bit hazy on some of the attack-defence combinations in the practical grading. The practical grading in the JDJ jujutsu grading system is referred to as Shinken Shobu no Kata. SSnK is the foundation of the JDJ jujutsu grading system and will be the main focus of these posts. 

When the abovementioned students demonstrated some of the shodan attack-defence combinations they had been taught, they produced a 'What's going on here?' reaction which led me back to JDJ's original grading(s). A lot of the answers to my questions were found there, however, a lot of other 'What's going on here?' reactions in relation to JDJ's original shodan grading were also generated.

That is how this series of posts came about.

But as Robert Hymas used to frequently say, 'having said that,' curiosity and asking 'What's going on here?' in relation to an instructor's teachings is generally not encouraged in the martial arts, in fact, it is often actively discouraged. There are many possible reasons for that, one of which is that the instructor simply does not have any insight nor understanding. They may be able to perform what they have been taught but that is as far as their knowledge and understanding extends. Another reason may be that having their teachings being questioned and the instructor being unable to answer those questions challenges their authority and self-image. 

Isaac Newton famously said that if he has seen further, it is only because he has stood on the shoulder's of giants. First, it is amazing how most martial artists are reluctant to say that they have seen further than their instructors. One reason is that they probably have not. Second, you can see further than your giant-instructor by gaining insight and a new and better understanding by questioning the giant-instructor's teachings when appropriate.

Case Studies

While many will/have seen any analysis of JDJ's teachings that is not unquestioningly supportive as being an attack on him and his teachings, such analysis not only shines a light on his teachings, it also shines a light on all other martial arts, combat, sports, self-defence, close combat, law enforcement, security, etc. teachings. It does so by being a case study in the area of preparing a person to engage in a violent encounter.

A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context.[1][2] For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular firm's strategy or a broader market; similarly, case studies in politics can range from a narrow happening over time (e.g., a specific political campaign) to an enormous undertaking (e.g., a world war).

Karl Friday (1997) in Legacies of the Sword uses the Kashima-Shinryu as a case study to understand the bugei (military arts or martial arts). By studying one and gaining insights and understanding of the one, this provides the ability to have insights and understanding of the many similar but different phenomena, in this case martial arts grading systems. This is what an analysis of the JDJ jujutsu grading system provides in terms of an opportunity.

Full-Time Dojo

When you were training for your gradings, particularly training for shodan, how did you train? Where did you train? Did you do more than attend classes, and if so, where did you train?

Attending classes should not be the standard that prepares a person for shodan. Particularly given that classes are at best a couple or few times a week. And within the JDJ tradition, even more so given that JDJ tradition classes are not training.

You don't pass school by attending classes. You're expected to do homework. The general rule of thumb when I attended University was for every one contact hour the student should do three non-contact hours of work. That is also true of the martial arts. If all a person does is attend classes, is that sufficient to be awarded a black belt?

JDJ told me the story of how Yoshiaki Unno wanted to fail a proficient student because he did not have the same attendance record of classes as that of another less proficient student. That is beaucratic nonsense. There are two interrelated aspects to a shodan awarding - proficiency (and understanding) which is the product of training. And that training is not necessarily conducted in classes, particularly when classes are dedicated to teaching and learning (as are those in the JDJ tradition).

I was unique. No doubt. I have never known anyone with the same training ethos (also known as 'obsession') as I possessed from day one.

In the third week of April 1983, I commenced training jujutsu at the Jan de Jong Self Defence School in Sensei Ian Lloyd's class on a Wednesday night at 6pm. I started by doing two classes a day, six days a week, plus extra training. I attended most of the classes at the JDJSDS located at 996 Hay Street, Perth (CBD) and made up others at suburban branches. But, all extra training was conducted at the full-time dojo at 996 Hay Street that was open from 9 till late five days a week and 9-5 on Saturdays where one could train in purpose built premises.

I was unique because I adopted that training schedule. I was lucky because I had the opportunity to do so which was facilitated by the unique opportunity of having access to a full-time, purpose built training facility. That was a unique opportunity that I have come to understand is not appreciated or valued by most people training martial arts.

The JDJSDS provided that unique training opportunity at 996 Hay Street. When JDJ passed and the Jan de Jong Martial Arts Fitness ryuha was established down the road and around the corner, it was a full-time dojo, but I'm not sure of the training opportunities. Now that they have relocated to renting space in a community hall in Melville, there is no training opportunities provided by the JDJMAF.

There is only one JDJ ryuha that does offer the opportunity of training at any hour in a full-time purpose built facility and that is Sensei Daniel Newcombe's Self Defence Central Dojo. While you can discuss the various merits of the training provided by the various instructors in the JDJ tradition, you cannot question the training opportunity provided by a true full-time training facility as that provided by DN's SDCD.

This is in no way a promotion of DN nor his SDCD. It is simply sharing an insight into the unique value that is afforded by a true full-time, purpose built training facility. 

Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu Jujutsu ... or Not?

Rob Hymas was one of the senior jujutsu instructors for Jan de Jong from the late 1970s until JDJ's passing in 2003.  He was one of three that JDJ promoted to sixth dan shortly before he passed away. After JDJ passed, RH formed his own school, Indian Ocean Dojo. The 'welcome' page of the IOD website states: 'This school teaches the strategies, tactics, and techniques of Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu jujutsu.' Does it?

Before JDJ passed away, the Jan de Jong Self Defence School promoted that it taught Tsutsumi Hozan ryu jujutsu. Did it?

Jan de Jong Martial Arts Fitness is an offshoot (ryuha - see below) of the JDJSDS when JDJ passed. The principal of JDJMAF is JDJ's daughter, Maggie Connelly (nee de Jong) (1st dan) with the head instructor being Paul Connelly (6th dan) who was a contemporary of RH. Their senior instructor is Daryl Cook who the JDJMAF website states: 'Holds dan grades in Jan de Jong Ju Jutsu.' Does he? And how does JDJ jujutsu fit in with THR jujutsu?

DC is shodan. I have fond memories of doing part of my shodan with DC. One particularly memorable part was the Kentai Ichi no Kata, a Yoseikan kata, conducted in JDJ's backyard. Before we could commence the grading, the poo of JDJ's great dane, Sasha, had to be removed from the grading area. I suspect that not many martial arts gradings commence with the removal of dog poo. And dear God that dog could poo! I was uchi deashi with JDJ and it was my job to clean up Sasha's dog poo most mornings. A price you pay to be uchi deashi within the JDJ tradition it would appear.

The ude hiji nage defence that DC demonstrated on me, the uke, had me thrown into the pot plants at the front of the sliding doors into the JDJ residence. A challenge was not to be distracted when recovering from the throw, in a formal matter, with dirt and leaves falling off me. 

Hasso gamae ... resulted in me stabbing a lemon above me hanging from the lemon tree that I was standing under at this end of the grading arena. I had to surreptitiously try to remove the tip of my sword from the hanging lemon before attacking DC. And then trying to concentrate when a fly was crawling up my nose was a challenge that I suspect few have had to contend with when performing this kata, ... although, is it something Japanese swordsman had to contend with back in the day?

DC was #15 on the list of shodans awarded by JDJ, one after me, and without taking into account the shodan JDJ awarded in Holland during WWII. DC and I were awarded shodan in ... Tsutsumi jujutsu. JDJ never, to the best of my knowledge, awarded a grading of any rank in Tsutsumi Hozan ryu jujutsu. 'What's going on here?' as Gary Klein would say in respect to gaining insight.

Tsutsumi Hozan ryu and Tsutsumi ryu are two different traditions according to James Shortt and Serge Mol, the latter being the more authoritative book. 'What's going on here?'

JDJMAF appears to be walking the association with THR back when they state, 'The style of Ju Jutsu taught at Jan de Jong Martial Arts Fitness is based on Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu Ju Jutsu whose origins can be traced back to 14th century Japan' (emphasis added). What does 'based' mean? What style of jujutsu are JDJMAF teaching? With that they are not explicit, although their reference to DC's qualifications would suggest JDJ jujutsu.

Where did 'JDJ jujutsu' come from? It started with Greg Palmer, another contemporary of RH and PC and who was awarded 4th dan by JDJ shortly before he passed away. GP always explained that JDJ referred to his teachings as THR jujutsu out of respect for his instructors, the Saitos, even though he'd considerably changed what he had been taught. 

I have argued throughout this blog that JDJ developed the entire jujutsu grading system and it would be a difficult exercise to identify what is uniquely THR within that grading system. I was discussing a change of name for what he was teaching with JDJ shortly before he passed away given the considerably changes that he had made to what he was taught. JDJ obviously took that approach when awarding RH, PC, and Peter Clarke 6th dan and GP 4th dan in JDJ jujutsu shortly before he passed away. It would appear that only JDJMAF have adopted that ryu name when grading jujutsu students, although I cannot be sure.

The assertion that the JDJ tradition is teaching THR jujutsu has been 'questioned' in the past, most visibly now in various internet forums. Fraud! they say. That's fair enough. So how do we respond to that accusation. Here I refer to Karl Friday in Legacies of the Sword:

Martial arts ryuha ... have historically tended to practice total transmission, in which all students certified as having mastered the school's kabala are given 'possession' of it. ... such students normally left their masters to open their own schools, teaching on their own authority; masters retained no residual control over former students or students of students. Each new graduate was free to modify their master's teachings as he saw fit, adding personal insights and/or techniques and ideas gleaned from other teachers. It was common practice for such graduates to change even the names of their styles, in effect, founding new ryuha and independent branches of ryuha in each generation. (1997, 18)

Dr. Friday defines the term ryuha as "branch of the current," representing the onward flow of a stream of thought; the branches betoken the splitting off that occurs as insights are passed from master to students, generation after generation.

To be sure, since time immemorial people have attempted to gained credibility by associating themselves with authoritative sources. There are many in the martial arts who attempt to gain credibility for what they are teaching by associating themselves with JDJ even though they only did a few lessons with him. I could do the same with the well-known and world-wide respected Wally Jay because I attended a seminar of his while I was living in London (but I don't).

The point is that you don't take a ryu/ryuha name at face value. You don't disparage the use of it on the same basis. JDJ's instructors may have very well studied THR jujutsu. They may very well have taught what they were taught to JDJ. On the other hand, they may have modified their master's teachings. JDJ most definitely did modify his masters' teachings. I seriously doubt that they would recognise what JDJ came to teach ... but does that make it more or less THR jujutsu? RH decided not to adopt the change in name of style that JDJ graded him 6th dan in. Peter Clark changed the name to Tsutsumi Jugo ryu jujutsu to reflect the origins of his style and the unique contribution that he has made. PC, in association with MC (nee de Jong), may or may not refer to their teachings as JDJ jujutsu. The point is that you look behind the name, as Friday's explanation clearly illustrates. In doing that, you maygain insights, having asked 'What's going on here?' and attempting to find answers to that question.