The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter: 9/14/08

9/20/08

Congratulations to our tournament fighters!

Team Jiu-Jitsu Fighter pulled out a third place win at the 7th Best of the Best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ProAms in Omaha on Saturday 9-20-08. Our competitors were: Ryan Holz, Brad Rourke, Aaron Duncan, Rob Bieber, Andy McLaughlin, Tate Wright, Zach Yoakum, Carlos Barreda, David Kluthe, and Ray Peterson (not pictured).

Team Jiu-Jitsu Fighter

Overall, no matter whether it was a win or a loss, I saw some real good grappling from our folks today. Tournament Jiu-Jitsu is a whole different animal. Grappling for points, with a time limit, was a new experience for most.

I wanted to recognize the accomplishments of those who placed today.

Gi Divisions:
Carlos Barreda - 1st Place (Super Featherweight)
Rob Bieber – 2nd Place (Middleweight)
Andy Mclaughlin – 2nd Place (Lightweight)

No Gi Divisions:
Andy Mclaughlin – 2nd Place (Lightweight)
Tate Wright – 2nd Place (Middleweight)
Brad Rourke – 3rd Place (Middle-Heavyweight)
Rob Bieber – 3rd Place (Middleweight)

Tate is featured in this promotion video for the 7th Best of the Best when he won at the last one, the 6th Best of the Best.

Ray

Rob

Ryan

Tate

Zach

Aaron

Andy

Brad

Carlos

David

Team Jiu-Jitsu Fighter Highlight

9/17/08

Defending the Armbar (Jujigatame)

Jiujitsu terminology Lesson 2

In continuance with my last post, I will continue to introduce some basic Jiujitsu terminology in both English and Japanese. If we all remember, in the last post I mentioned Tachi-waza and Ne-waza. In this post we shall look at Tachi-waza. Tachi-waza uses two types of distinct terminology, terms described by body part or by direction. If we recall the previous post, the term Nage-waza, throwing techniques, was mentioned. This is the largest and probably most important part of Tachi-waza pertaining to our system. with this in mind, I will focus on Nage-waza.

Nage-waza is divided into 5 basic sections:
Koshi-waza=Hip techniques
Ashi-waza=Foot/Leg Techniques
Te-waza=Hand techniques
Ma Sutemi-waza= Back sacrifice techniques
Yoko Sutemi-waza= Side sacrifice techniques

This being said, any and all of your favorite throws/sweeps/take downs can be defined in one of these categories. The easy way to figure out how to categorize your technique is to listen to the name of the technique. In example, Morote Gari, the double leg take down. The Japanese word Te is found in the name of this take down therefore logically it is a hand technique. Or for instance, Okuri Ashi Barai, sliding foot sweep contains the word Ashi, therefore is an Ashi-waza.

As you learn new techniques, you can use this system to not only help categorize the multitude of techniques found in Jiujitsu, but also through this form of active learning, help to remember your Japanese terms.

In the next segment we shall start to define the meat and potatoes of Jiujitsu: Ne-waza

Response to: Honoring the J in Jiu-Jitsu

This is my response to Honoring the J in Jiu-Jitsu.

I think I’m pretty safe in saying that our style of Jiu-Jitsu is a hybrid style, originally born from Kodokan Judo. As it is with most teachers, all of the teacher’s knowledge and experience is often times incorporated into their teachings. The result is sometimes something different than what the teacher was initially taught.

As was the case with Mitsuyo Maeda, he departed Japan as a representative of Kodokan Judo, tasked with spreading the art of Judo around the world. Through the experiences from all of his travels and challenge matches, Maeda’s style of fighting as well as teaching, had evolved. By the time he settled in Brazil, the Judo he taught to Carlos Gracie was more than the Kodokan Judo with which he had left Japan.

Roseberry-Shihan studied Judo under Takaski Matsumoto-Sensei and Karate under Seikichi Toguchi-Sensei in Okinawa, Japan. He trained at the Kodokan in Japan, as well as in China and Korea. Roseberry-Shihan presently is a 10th Dan in Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate, 7th Dan in Judo, 5th Dan in Aikijujitsu and 3rd Dan in Aikido. He served as an alternate to the 1964 U.S. Olympic Judo Team, was All-Marine Corps Champion seven times, All-Service Champion three times and was the only American to capture the All-Okinawan Judo Championship. He has been teaching martial arts for over fifty years.

About twelve years ago, Roseberry-Shihan traveled to Israel where he taught Judo for a short period. One of his students, Ido Pariente, was so taken with the art that he vowed to travel to the United States to continue his training. Ido initially intended on being here for only about six months, but stayed for years. He practiced Judo and was an excellent student.

When the No Holds Barred fighting began to spread, Ido went to Shihan for advanced training in ground fighting. This is when our Jiu-Jitsu program was born.

Ido eventually began instructing this new Jiu-Jitsu class, focusing on the ground fighting elements from Judo. With his combat experience from fighting, he was able to bring real life training to his classes. From what I’m told, the early days of our Jiu-Jitsu were pretty rough and tumble, with lots of injuries. That was the down-side. The up-side was that the program produced a handful of serious athletes, one of those being Darin Brudigan. Brudigan-Sensei was also an MMA fighter, so brought all of those experiences to the mat as well. Brudigan-Sensei was my first Jiu-Jitsu teacher.

Much of Brudigan-Sensei’s style of teaching can be seen in my approach. He was a real student of the art, and a real stickler on technique. He never sugar coated anything. If you lost a fight, he’d say, “I guess you didn’t want to win bad enough.”

So that brings us to me, and our present day Jiu-Jitsu program. Definitely our lineage is straight out of Japan, rather than Brazil. But is the Jiu-Jitsu you’re learning today, the same Jiu-Jitsu that Roseberry-Shihan taught to Ido Pariente? We’ll never know exactly what was taught or what Ido added or omitted when he taught.

There are numerous elements in my teachings that come from other sources as well. My first introduction to “small circle Jiu-Jitsu” came from my practice of Hapkido, a Korean art. More recently, it mirrors my practice of Daitoryu Aikijujitsu under the teachings of Gary Gabelhouse-Sensei. He lived and studied the art in Japan and presently is a 2nd Dan in Daitoryu. Some of the control methods I teach come from my study and practice of a law enforcement defensive tactics program. The developer of that program has an extensive background in Judo. Other techniques I’ve learned are from a Russian martial art, Systema.

So, does all of this mean our program has less of a Japanese heritage? What about the newer concepts we’ve introduced, such as from the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu system? Shall we be banished from the Dojo if others were to discover we’ve expanded our knowledge from sources other than from our Japanese forefathers? I think not.

If you’re interested in reading a brief history of Jiu-Jitsu, and even the history of Judo, John Danaher has written about this in the books, Mastering Jujitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory and Technique. In this book he writes, “The origins of Brazilian jiu-jitsu stem from Japan around the beginning of the twentieth century.”

If our system has Japanese roots, but we practice in the style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is our art Japanese Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

I for one am proud to say I am a practitioner of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. I think it would be false to say otherwise. No one in our lineage has any training in “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.” Having said that, it is important to note there are different styles of Japanese Jiu-jitsu. I once attended a ”Japanese Jujitsu” seminar at our dojo. This jujitsu was nothing like what we do.

Brent touched on an interesting point in his article when he mentioned the Samurai warrior employing Jiu-Jitsu on the battlefield. You know as well as I do what it takes to control the body of another human being. It’s not easy and takes years of practice to truly master this. Suffice it to say, a true combat style of Jiu-Jitsu, employed on a battlefield, is not a rigid, stand-up system. It would incorporate a system of ground fighting much like the system we’re learning today.

9/16/08

Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker - Double KO via InsideMMA

Thanks to Josh for passing this one along.

Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker - Double KO via InsideMMA
Legends of Fighting Championship 25, Indianapolis, IN

Ref is Shonie Carter.

Several versions of this clip are already available, but this one is taken from InsideMMA and features comments from Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice, along with a hilarious reaction from Tim Sylvia. The voice in the background is the interpreter for Fedor Emelianenko, who was also in the studio.

Honoring the J in Jiu-Jitsu

As we study Jiu-Jitsu, we tend to think of the issues surrounding our art, such as MMA, self-defense on the street, etc. We also tend to think about the "talk" about our art-what we say about it, what others say, how it compares to other arts, etc. One issue that has been on my mind is the different (or at least perceived as different) "kinds" of Jiu-Jitsu. Humor me while I discuss an issue that is, while not hotly contested, yet somewhat debated in the Jiu-Jitsu community.

I'm talking about the notion of "Brazilian" Jiu-Jitsu being widely perceived as "the" Jiu-Jitsu, or at least a superior form of Jiu-Jitsu. Note that I take no issue with any Jiu-Jitsu tradition, but with the mythic discourse of some forms being better. Rather than engage in a worthless "this form is better than that form," I simply want to try and put things in perspective-historical perspective. Indeed, one could argue that Sakuraba's dismantling of 4 Gracies (2 via submission) shows that the Japanese tradition is better. On the other hand, there are perhaps no better Jiu-Jitsu practitioners active today than Roger Gracie, Xande Ribiero, Marcelo Garcia, and Jacare. Again, such discussions are irrelevant. My point in this paragraph is to demonstrate that it is the practitioner that determines the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu.

What I'm getting at is that it is crucial to remember the significance of what I would, perhaps boldly, call the true foundation of Jiu-Jitsu-its true grounding. Indeed, while the Gracies made the martial art famous at an international level, it was the Japanese that created the art.

If you have not taken a look at the "Kosen" Judo, you can watch demonstrations of the art here: Kosen Judo Video. What is demonstated on this video is some highly advanced Jiu-Jitsu-much of which I do not even understand yet. It is all groundwork and certainly "the" Jiu-Jitsu.

What worries me is that the martial arts world has forgotten the Japanese in Jiu-Jitsu. Having trained a year of both Brazilian and Japanese systems, I genuinely see no difference. They are the same art! So what has puzzled me for so long is why people engage a discourse of superiority when aligning themselves with a Brazilian (and especially a Gracie) academy. The truth is that such an identity is a facade. With Shihan and Conan demonstrating the most intricate details of effective grappling in instruction, I am confident in my learning from one who learned the art from the originators: the Japanese teachers that created the philosophy.

My point is that it does matter that we recognize the Japanese roots of Jiu-Jitsu. Having heard differently elsewhere, the tale go as follows: "the Gracies learned Jiu-Jitsu, then radically changed it to make it much better!" The reason I write this in the first place is because, as I have now trained under both traditions, I disagree with this notion. There is no difference in what we practice at Sho-Rei-Shobu-Kan than at Gracie affiliated schools, except that we often use the Japanese name in reference to moves.

Yet we can never forget the significance of the Brazilians helping the art to explode worldwide. We must appreciate the role that any tradition plays. Yet it is the Japanese that created the self-defense moves that all practice. In essence, I have decided to continue to learn more about the true beginnings of Jiu-Jitsu and to share it with others. If you have not heard Shihan or Conan tell the story of the Samurai employing Jiu-Jitsu in the battle field, ask them to do so. I wish we could sit around a campfire and hear Shihan tell us the stories. They are fascinating.

My goal with this post is to recognize the importance of the Japanese authors of the great martial art. With malice toward none, I simply hope that all will see our art in true historical perspective. I am trying to understand that history myself.

9/15/08

James Harrington Won His Fight!

James won his Northwest Fight Club fight on Friday September 12, 2008 at the Maryville Community Center in Maryville, MO. His opponent was Dayton Chaney. Win by armbar submission, 51 seconds in the 1st round. Jiu-Jitsu at its finest!

You can check out a few of the photos from the fight here.

As James put it, the pictures tell the story. Congratulations James!