| Our martial arts style is Kazoku Ryu JiuJitsu. “JiuJitsu”, “Jujutsu”, Jujitsu” are simply terms that mean; “unarmed combat”. This was the unarmed combat style of the samurai warrior. It is the oldest of the empty handed Japanese arts, and is the one style which Judo and Aikido have been derived. The word “Jiu” means flexible. It is also referred to as a “soft” art, meaning that our methods do not rely on powerful blows being necessary to subdue our opponents. What is unique to the art is that one does not use brute strength to overpower an opponent, but rather skill, finesse and flexibility. Economy of energy, balance, and grace are outstanding hallmarks of a good JiuJitsu practitioner. Unlike the Western hand-to-hand fighter, the JiuJitsu fighter was expected to be soft and pliable, winning by appearing to yield. The westerner usually misinterprets the common translation of ‘ju' as gentle, soft or flexible. To him it suggests the complete lack of strength and power. This was never the case with combat 'jujutsu' where frequently great strength was needed to insure the defeat of an enemy. 'JiuJitsu' techniques are not all gentle or soft, though sometimes they are made with such celerity and efficiency that they appear to be so. They seek to blend with the enemy's direction of strength, which is then controlled. This 'gentleness' or ‘softness’ is thus more correctly spoken of as 'flexibility', meaning that mind and body adapt to a situation and bring it to advantage for the operator. Because this type of system does not depend on power and brute strength it is an ideal and extremely effective Self Defense style for women. |