Being a Good Training Partner

A visitor to the Beruang Merah Cempaka Putih Dojo made an interesting observation the other day:

We still have a lot to learn about being training partners.

We tense up during Uchi-Komi, we always go all-out to stop ourselves being thrown during Randori, we rarely 'take a fall,' even if the opponent as the technique 90 % correct.

This attitude is a major hindrance to learning new techniques.

It's partly a reflection of the lack of basic Ukemi. It's partly the influence of Olympic pressures on Judo, in which the whole enterprise becomes a selection and training mechanism for athletes. Amateurs, or people who want to learn the rich, old Judo, get left behind.

So, from now on:

1. Let's learn to be better throwing partners, including cooperative Randori, and taking a fall, ie give the opponent the technique if they're trying something new and they've got it mostly right.

2. Revisit the basics of Ukemi, drilling again and again.

Interview on 'Tradition' with Ben Haryo Sensei, Godan.

Ben Haryo Sensei, the chief instructor of GBI, is one of the highest-ranked Jujutsu practioners and instructors in Indonesia, if not Southeast Asia. He holds a 5th Dan, or Godan, technically Master level. Ben Sensei's standards are high. Few make it past blue belt level, let alone to Shodan. Many of his students hold him in admiration, if not awe. It's just because of his mastery of the secrets of Jujutsu; it's also his personal charisma. In this interview, Ben Sensei dispels a few myths about tradition in Jujutsu.

Following are the edited highlights of an interview with Sumo Semar.



1. There are some fears that 'traditional' jujutsu is dying out, even in
its homeland of Japan. Do you see it as the responsibility of Senseis to
help preserve that tradition and what can students to do help ?

First of all.. which tradition? The GBI Club does not preserve pre-Meiji (1868) traditions, the so-called Koryu Budo. We preserve the civilian self-defense art of the Meiji-Taisho-Showa Gendai era, 1868 to 1949, the prewar period and maybe a few years after the war. I don't think our traditions will die out very soon :) If the Japanese youngsters are not interested in 1940s Dento Gendai Jujutsu anymore, there are many Westerners whom are willing to preserve them. Already there are some non-Japanese who has received full transmissions in some Jujutsu arts. So I'm happy.

Actually, the Japanese has founded Nihon Kobudo Kyokai & Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai organizations to preserve their traditional martial arts. So the arts will live on, at least for 20-30 more years.

BTW, what's modern will be "traditional" one day. The Wado-ryu was born in 1934, it is not a Koryu, and yet it's now considered as traditional (Dento), and is registered in the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai & Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai as a form of Kobudo, that is, old martial art. The Hakko-ryu is a form of Aiki Jujutsu which was born in 1943, even younger than the Wado-ryu, but already people consider it as a traditional martial art. So, this entire mixed martial arts movements, which was born in 1987 with the emergence of Japanese Pancrase Shootfighting organization, will be "Traditional" one day as well.

Back to your questions, I think it's the responsibility of any sensei to preserve the movements of the original Kata, as taught by the founder of the art. On the other hand, it is also important not to become trapped by the Kata. Kata are models for future applications. The Kata are set in stone, but the applications are limitless.

The students, if they really love the art as is, without any "delusion of grandeur" thinking that the art will make them "ultimate undefeatable warriors", then they will do the utmost to preserve the traditions as is, while trying to develop new applications more relevant for the modern era. Our Jujutsu has Tanjudori and Tanbodori, the applications of old Jujutsu techniques against gun stickups and single stick attacks. They were developed in the 1930s. Maybe our students in the future will develop Jujutsu techniques against laser pistols. Who knows. :)

2. What do you is the meaning of 'tradition' in jujutsu ? What is the role
of etiquette, rituals, and formalized kata in preserving the tradition ?

Tradition in Jujutsu means that we are a part of a stream which has flown from about a hundred of years. We are very strongly based on Wado-ryu, an art founded in 1934. And yet, the Wado-ryu itself are largely dependent on the movements adopted from Shinto Yoshin-ryu, an art founded in 1864. As to this day we are still doing the movements which was originally conceived in 1864. We honor the Founder by doing the Kata as he taught us, and be truthful to our student about the sources of our art. As I have mentioned, the Kata is a link to the past, and yet, it is also useful for the future. Kata, again, is a model for future applications. The Kata are to be preserved as is, but the applications are limitless.

Etiquette and rituals are meant to develop a spiritual connection between ourselves, our fellow practitioners and the spirit of our ancestors in the martial arts. Most importantly, our ritual is to internalize the ideals of the Ryuha, that is, self-improvement through martial arts training. By trying to live up to the ideals which our Founder has outlined, we are building a spiritual connection between ourselves as individuals, and the Founder. Without the ritual and etiquette, we are simply doing a self-defense course. Nothing wrong with that, but if you study GBI Jujutsu, ritual and etiquette is part of the package which you have to live with :)



3. Do you have a response to some of the critics of traditional systems ?
Some modern, competition-oriented styles have been very critical of the
traditional martial arts, including ju-jutsu.

John Danaher, co-author of 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory & Technique,' has
said that the traditional systems are confused about whether or not they're
a way of life, or combat, or philosophy. Some followers of that style have
been even more critical in online forums. But given your formidable
street-fighting skills, are the criticisms fair ?

My survival on the streets was more of good luck rather than skills :) I'd rather not talk about it :) But anyway, Yes, the critics are very fair. I think the critics are correct. Some of the traditional martial artists still stick to their marketing ploy that "our art is ancient, pure, undefeatable and incredibly powerful.." I think this kind of marketing trick, in the long run, will hurt the credibility of the traditional martial arts.

John Danaher maybe correct, but in my case, I am very certain of what I am doing. I teach Jujutsu as an useful activity to do in our spare time. It is a vehicle to attain self-improvement. It is the WA=Ten Chi Jin No Ri=DO philosophy that we are teaching. By self-improvement, it means improving your attitude as well as your skills. If your overall personal quality are improved, naturally your self-defense skills will improve as well.

We know that, in a real fight, it's never about yourself, it's about your opponent. If you are better than your opponent, you may win. If you are not, you may lose. We are all humans, we are better than some people, but lesser than some other people. It's God's will. So, all this talk about which art is better, is all nonsense..

My advice to fellow traditional martial artists, is to concentrate in preserving traditions and self-improvements. Let's forget the "we have an ancient secret undefeatable martial arts of 1000 years old" marketing ploy. That will do us no good. We all know that there are no such thing as "ultimate undefeatable martial art". Let's not buy into that delusion. Japanese martial arts didn't help the Japanese won the WWII. Chinese martial arts didn't help them to win the Opium Wars. Indonesian martial arts didn't help us to prevent Dutch occupations in the 19th century. And the illustrious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu did not enable Royce Gracie to win against Sakuraba, nor Helio against Kimura. No art is undefeatable. We're all just humans after all.

In short, rather than wasting your time trying to find the "ultimate undefeatable martial art", I would advise you to train in an art that you actually enjoy doing, be it BJJ, Krav Maga, Karate, Kungfu, Jujutsu or whatever fits your fancy. The traditional arts has become well established with millions of practitioners. So enjoy them for what they really are.

To me, the most decisive factor to determine the worthiness of the art, is the attitude of the practitioners. If the art helps the practitioners to become better, kinder, gentler, more humble, more considerate, more generous and more intelligent human beings, then the art is worth learning.


4. The 'master' is a central figure in traditional jujutsu, it seems. In
the old days, students had a lot of obligations to the master. Could you
explain what reciprocal obligations there are in the 21st century, as we
grapple (no pun intended) with modern problems using traditional methods ?

I am rather uneasy when people calling me a master. A teacher maybe, but not a master. I think the teacher has the responsibility to teach the students according to the syllabus and grade them fairly according to their skills, while the students has the responsibility to obey the teacher in martial arts matters, and to support the teacher financially (especially in professional dojos).

Are there simple ways in which students can receive the benefit of the
Zen-style training methods of serving the master, perhaps designed to combat
egoism, a hindrance on the martial-arts path ? In other words, how can the modern student serve the modern master.

Without a doubt, a good student will find a good teacher, just like a good teacher will eventually find a good student. Finding a teacher worth following is like finding a bright candle in the dark. I have been training with Taman sensei for years, and I am still thankful to God that I am his student.

On the other hand, we must be wary of teachers with psychological problems. If you find a martial artist of very high skill, but lacks humility and consideration for other people, then he/she are not worth following.

The Upended Umbrella

Yesterday,

I lost the second umbrella in three months.

This has taken quite a toll on me.

Those umbrellas are not your usual run of the mill umbrellas.

They are sturdy, rigid, and eponymous. Being an umbrella, that is.

Quite such self-defense tools, there umbrellas are. And I lost one in arguably a self-defence situation yesterday.

Well, if you can call helping a small mob capture a petty pickpocket a self-defence situation, as in tripping the pickpocket (he did a nice zenpo mae ukemi, though failing miserably at the rollout) as a defence for whom pocket was picked. Whatever.

Yet, I find that I need to reassert my position on self-defence.

I can't stop thinking the the pickpocket needed self-defence in a grander scheme of things more, compared to my petty needs.

Keep safe.

Meanwhile, I'm in the market for a new umbrella. One that has to prove to be somewhat longer lasting than the last two.

Multiple Targets

Salam Budo!

Absent from today’s June 16, 2007 training session were several Beruang Merah club members who missed out an interesting session on wristlocks, sasae tsuri komi gaeshi, striking drills and multiple opponents.

Regular warms ups on kuzushi and stand up throws which is one of Beruang Merah’s club trade mark were replaced by striking drills divided in four phases. Listed below are the striking drills and their corresponding phase:

Phase 1: Precision/ Focused Striking

The aim of the first phase is to learn the motion of the strike and to understand the dynamics of the strike itself. Proper technique and body motion is monitored in order to achieve the best result which in turn equals damage for the opponent.

Phase 2: Speed striking

Delivering full power the trainee executes five to ten consecutive strikes while maintaining proper technique and breath control. At this phase there is a tendency for the trainee to soften up on the strikes due to improper breath control or fatigue beginning to settle in. Interestingly after a two or three time repetition, the gross motor movements are recorded which its benefit will be apparent during the fourth phase.

Phase 3: Combo striking

Under a two minute time limit the trainee delivers a barrage of striking techniques which may include any of the following:

• palm heel
• jab
• straight punch
• chop
• elbow smash
• head butt
• knees
• and kicks

At this phase, the drill will be quite demanding on the trainee’s physical stamina which will affect the striking power and focus.

Phase 4: Multiple targets & multiple opponents

The last phase which is highly demanding on the trainee’s physique and to a certain degree perhaps even more tiring than randori, the reason for this is that since the last phase is a “Live” drill; the targets and the opponents are constantly moving. The trainee simultaneously must also be on the move always repositioning either his position or the opponents making sure that no one comes around from behind to “Tag” him which is obviously lethal in real life.

Lessons learned:

1. Keeping your strikes simple not only shortens reaction time which is valuable in a real skirmish but constant repetition also programs the body muscles and memory to move without hesitation.
2. In a multiples situation move your opponent to form a single line thus decreasing the likelihood of them flanking you or by aggressively moving towards one, seizing, grabbing or controlling and using the opponent to shield or obstruct his tag team.
3. Attack, attack and attack! In fact do not stop until you know for sure that your strikes connected enough to stun or KO your opponent giving you the opportunity to escape and reach for safety.
4. When seconds count technical simplicity is gold

Jujutsu Tradition: Don't Teach To Non-Japanese

I'm just reading through 'Small Circle JuJitsu,' by Professor Wally Jay. (1989, Ohara Publications). On Page 16. it describes how Okazaki, the main teacher of Wally Jay was "ostracized," by the Japanese for doing "the unthinkable - he offered to teach Baron [a Caucasian] jujitsu.' The author continues,"In those days, judo and jujitsu were taught to the Japanese only. Systems and styles were closed to all but a select few."

Furthermore, "defying the traditionalists, Okazaki, for a time, was ostracized. He had broken tradition by teaching non-Japanese."

So a call to the traditionalists:

* If you received your belt from a non-Japanese: Give it Back. Only Japanese should receive ranks in jujutsu, jujitsu, or jiu-jitsu (I don't know how to write the Kanji).

* If you're really serious, behead with a Samurai sword any commoner who doesn't bow to you.

* Finally, work out which Shogun who owe loyalty to and then commit Seppuku , or ritual suicide, necessary to restore your and the Shogun's honour. (They all lost face after the U.S. turned up with gunboats and triggered the Meiji Restoration in Japan).

Triangle Choke

And here we have a good example of self-submission. TEH TRIANGLE COHKE!!



Gotta say Carl, that's fine that you got yourself perfectly set up for the choke, but dammit, get his--I mean your--arm across his--I mean your--throat for it to sink in! No judge will even give you osae-komi for that!

Tradition or Confusion ?

It's 1592. You're a Japanese foot soldier, part of an advance unit sent to capture a strategic mountain pass in Korea. Farmer-warriors stare at you from behind rocks and trees, armed only with crude iron swords and tools. Steam rises from their breath and their sweat in the icy dawn air.

Many leagues behind you, Samurai General Toyotomi Hideyoshi is commanding a 160,000-strong force that is steadily advancing over Korea towards the eventual goal of China. Right now, you're outnumbered.

The Koreans have fought bravely to defend their huts, but your your superior weaponry, strategy and above all, European-designed Arquebus, a flintlock rifle that hit Japan 49 years ago, is turning the tide. Soon, this mountainside will fall to the Japanese, as will the whole of Korea.

Suddenly, Hideyoshi appears in full Samurai helmet, blasting orders from a loudspeaker. "Ok, boys, drop the Arquebus and the new military strategies."

The the clinker: "They're not traditional. We can't betray the fighting traditions of our Samurai ancestors."

He adds: "In fact, even the Katana is only few hundred years old -- so you'll have to use sticks and stones."

Such is the dilemma students of the traditional martial arts. They risk preserving outdated techniques and rituals thus turning the Dojo into a museum. They risk becoming not martial artists, but instead martial archeologists.

Back when I was at University in Australia, there was a campus group called, "the Society for Creative Anachronism." (See photo above). It's members liked to dress up in mediaeval armour and clothes and have Camelot-style jousting matches.

The society has organized itself across the world into little Kingdoms where the monarchs bestow upon members the right to call themselves "Baron,'"or "Duchess," or "Lord". Their unofficial motto is,"reacreate the Middle Ages as they should have been, " i.e., without things such as serfdom, the bubonic plague, and open-pit sewers. They were odd, if endearing people.

A lot of young Japanese see traditional martial arts Budoka in the same way.

Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, didn't see a problem in tinkering with tradition. He introduced Randori so as Judoka could train against a resisting opponent. Thus when the Randori-trained Kodokan faced a group of Kata-only trained Jujutsuka, they kicked their asses.

In fact, even one of the 'traditional' Jujutsu schools Kano studied was only founded in 1832, after the period of civil war. The greater emphasis on Atemi was possible due to delicate parts of the body exposed due to the lack of armour.

Traditional jujutsuka today who only train in Kata, without any pressure-testing, reaction drills, sparring, Randori, or body conditioning are risking having their own asses kicked, thrown, and choked either on the street or in the Dojo.

So what traditions are we preserving and why ? Is Japan after the Meiji restoration ? Pre-Meiji ? Civil War period ? Kamakura ? Tokugawa ? Sengoku ?

In fact, if we're serious about respecting tradition, why not go all the way to China, hell, even India and Bodhidharma, which according to many martial arts histories is where the arts come from.

Should we be wearing Lunghis (Indian loinclothes) instead of Gis ?

Most Senseis won't have any answer to these questions: they don't know.

In reality, they present tradition as a weird amalgamation of the last 2,000 years of Japanese history, much like a chain Sushi restaurant aimed at middle America. A few Kanji characters on the wall, maybe a Hokusai print or Zen painting, lots of Japanese counting, kneeling and bowing.

More importantly, tradition - as many Senseis define it - serves for them very important roles:

* Boosting their personal authority
* Shrouding the school in vague mystique which they and they only define.

The truth is the Samurai were practical fighting men. If you're serious about honouring their tradition and legacy, keep the style realistic and effective. By all means, there's nothing wrong with the bows, Japanese names, and mat courtesies.

If you want to dress-up in Hakama, go ahead.

But for those of us who are interested in defending ourselves, and staying fit, let's remember Toyotomi Hideyoshi and those that followed him were soldiers, not archeologists.

Training With Myself

Friends,

At Cempaka Putih Dojo, we're pioneering a radical new training concept that will take one's jujutsu to a whole new level, a one-person sparring method that breaks boundaries, wrists, and elbows in search of excellence.

It's called self-submission.

Friends, this is a one-person training drill that involves applying an Americana, Kimura, Udi-Gatama, Triangle choke, or any other submission you can manage to the person who matters most: yourself.

The concept can also be extended to sparring, whereby you swipe at yourself with hooks, jabs and crosses, even Thai roundhouse kicks and knee-strikes.

We can't pretend it's 100 percent safe, but hey, this is martial arts. If you want safe, go and take up knitting or even better - play with your Dolly.

Joey Danu, ever the pioneer, added an ukemi element to the drill, called 'Superman,' where you just throw yourself off progressively higher levels of a building. (You can work up to this level by falling down the stairs).

Ok. Enjoy training and stay safe.

Salam Budo !

Kusanagi Research Project - Month 2.

The Kusanagi is a mythical Japanese sword said to be handed down from the sun-goddess Amaterasu. (See above). Kusanagi, it seems, is also a Japanese model and possibly porn star (see above). Unfortunately, we're concerned with the former.

The second month of the Kusanagi Research Project has yielded a curriculum of basic techniques for common attacks, a database of attacks and source list, or 'bibliography.'

The curriculum, which Joey Danu has set out in a chart, resembles a cross between WW2 combatives, Moni Aizik's combat jujutsu, John Perkin's attack proof, and some Indonesian spices and flavourings.

The trick now will be refine, modify, and practice, practice, practice. Drill, drill, and drill some more.

The practice will involve full contact attacks with mats, shields, and mits.

We'll also train outdoors on a variety of different surfaces. This environment training is what is most lacking in nearly all reality programs, I'm told, including the pros, that is military and police. (In fact, it seems from our research that the military and police aren't all they're cracked out to be when it comes to unarmed combat, because they're rarely unarmed. Even the special forces have to spend so much time studying stuff like ballistics and technology, they might not have time to be cutting edge in hand-to-hand stuff).