Kobukai Jujitsu – Shihan's Blog

As a martial arts instructor, one of the things that “keeps me up at night” is making sure that what and how I am teaching gives my students a real fighting chance in a violent encounter.

I have known people in other martial arts that trained for years and attained high rank who had their asses handed to them when they were finally confronted with violence.  That worries me.  It makes me think about exactly what I am teaching and how.  I think about it all the time.  I think about each and every technique, and how we approach it.  I think about how I train people to do it.  I think about their ability to actually pull it off.

I also know that I have to be brutally honest to my students – sometimes to the detriment of membership.  I tell them that years of Jujitsu training will give them no guarantee that you can defend yourself in a real attack.  I can tell them that the knowledge and training will give them a much better chance of surviving than they had before training in self defense, but I cannot tell them what they – the individual – will or will not actually do in a violent attack.  I also repetitively tell them that taking on a group of thugs in a multiple attack situation is Saturday afternoon martial arts movie fiction. Mostly I tell them to avoid and evade.  But I feel I have to tell them this, because media, movies, magazines lead them to think that the martial arts make you superman.  And boy – from someone who has been in a few altercations – I can tell  you it just isnt so.  Yes – techniques will give you a better chance, but it is truly exhausting work, and a gamble at best.

So – with this being some of my main concerns – I am awfully worried about the training that is available and popular.  I am afraid that those lookiing to learn how to actually defend themselves from a violent attack may take up training methods that will get them hurt or worse. There are pure tradition arts that set up unrealistic kata for their students to practice.  They may even have attack and defense scenarios.  The problem is – nobody ever questions the scenarios.  Do they even happen?  Do they happen in that manner?  If they do – how violent and forceful are they?  There are competition based arts that show you how to score points, or cause someone to submit to a technique.  They too set up unrealistic situations for which many hours of training are spent, and students develop a false sense of ability based on their competative success.

Where the issue lies with these situations is that students are taught responses to things that rarely if ever happen in a violent attack.  I am not talking about a fight in a ring, or a match on mats, or an ego-filled fist fight.  What I am talking about is a gun to the back at the ATM machine, or someone who gets into your car at a stoplight and puts a gun to the side of your head, or a crazed person who walks into a convenience store and begins to stab people, or someone who enters your home and attempts to assault you, or the couple of gang bangers who corner you at the garage elevator.  These are the things that happen, and these are the things a real self defense school teach you to respond to.

More than just giving you a response however, is the need for the school to allow you to test the theories they propose.  After some training – I make sure that students have to respond to unplanned self defense situations.  “Attackers” can attack in any manner with any weapon and the student has to respond appropriately.  For more advanced students we do this in many terrains – on a trail, in the woods, in a pool, on a beach, in a park, in a parking lot, in a small room, in a car.  This is necessary for competent self defense skills.

More than that – I as the instructor have to let go of ego – and challenge my advanced students to challenge me, the teaching methods and the techniques themselves.  I have to research, read accounts of attacks, watch videos of attacks, and interview people who have been attacked to keep up to date on what is really happening out there.  It is my job!

So – in conclusion, I say – “Let’s Not Lose Our Way!”  No matter how cool the fancy multiple move technique is, no matter how cool the newest grappling move is, no matter what flashy knife fighting technique comes down the pike – dont lose your way.  Self defense demands hard training on proven techniques, appropriate for your situation, against well researched and forceful attacks, that allow the practitioner to escape the violent encounter, or protect others from it.

Heat stroke – thats what summer class is all about at the Kobukai Dojo.  Its hot. Sweat is pouring off your head – as you body purifies itself.  We wear heavy black traditional Japanes Jujitsu Gi’s.  30 people crowd the class – all working as hard as they can – which is what I expect.  I love it.  And you do too.  What?  Love it?  What are you talking about?

This is what you expected – this is what your heart of hearts was hoping for when you joined a serious traditional Jujitsu class.  You wanted to KNOW you could defend yourself.  You wanted to challenge your body and your mind.  You secretly imagine yourself as a modern or ancient warrior, or survivalist, or competitor.  In your mind – you hoped Jujitsu was going to be ridiculously hard  – and then sorta wished it wasnt.

I know this – because I traveled the same path many years ago.  The first dojo I attended was heated with a Kerosun in the winter, and “cooled” with fans in the hot summer.  It was harder than I was able to keep up with at the beginning.  I was always sore. I lost pounds of useless fat and became wirey and strong.  My sempai kicked my ass every class.  But I knew it was REAL!  This was the real deal – not forms and padded nunchaku and air conditioning, and comforting, uplifiting, Sensei and Sempai.  This was a warrior group.  People who were tough – mentally and physically.  And I loved it.  And I hated it.

We all make an individual journey through the REAL martial arts.  It is a tough journey.  Tougher than you think you are – but not tougher than you actually are.  It is my job – on a daily basis to keep assessing that – moment by moment.  When do you need to study?  When do you need to just train repetition?  When do you need to get your ass kicked?  When do you need to sweat yourself until you almost collapse?

Dont think this is flying by the seat of our pants – this is a plan.  A plan for our warrior group and a plan for each individual – and even a plan for myself. 

Summer class is about the discomfort of heat, the increased limberness, the losing weight, the looking like a ripe banana with strange bruises while in your bathing suit – and about looking at those who have to sit in front of an air conditioner with a glass of ice water just to survive the day – and knowing you are NOT them!

Each day I see students show up, train hard, sweat their asses off (literally), and go home exhausted – and I thank all the Kami for the opportunity I have been given to help provide that experience – because in todays soft society, it is NEEDED.

Keep training, keep a tight diet, cross train outside of class – become that thing you always wanted to be!

I have wanted to do a Kobukai Jujitsu blog for a while.  But I never got to it – and then I was so amazed by the coolness of Trey Whitaker’s blog about our dojo – that I just let it go.  I am not good at revealing thoughts.  I am a pretty bad Facebooker – mainly because I dont want the world to know what I am thinking most of the time.  I am very opinionated – and have learned over time to shut my mouth most of the time – because most of my thoughts would get me in trouble one way or the other. So – I have learned to listen to something one master told me a while ago – silence is the beginning of wisdom.  I dont know if it is – or if its the beginning of frustration – but either way – it fits my personality.  Although I truly love my students, and strive every day to make them the best they can be – I am actually a very private and happily solitary person.  I have a small group of close friends who are the same.  We are more like male lions, we stay fairly much to ourselves, acknowledge each other when we pass by, and occassionally feel the need to get together and make some noise.  Other than that – I am fairly comfortable in silence, alone, at peace, out on the open road, or in the dojo. 

So – I thought I would start this blog because I wanted to reveal at least a part of my thoughts to you – the jujitsu audience.  I have many thoughts about how jujitsu should be, how it should be practiced, how training should be, what the martial art experience should be like, and how to make yourself as good as you can be in the dojo.  I wanted to give insite into how I plan classes, how I approach individual students, how I deal with the challenges of running a dojo, and how much I love being there!