I get the impression from your comments that you are itching shake things up as far as your training is concerned. You maybe want to modernize it a bit to suit the times. I totally understand this because I often feel the same way and if I wasn't such a traditionalist and under the thumb of my sensei (who happens also to be my father) I would perhaps shake up the whole curriculum. This is not to say that I want to create my own style. I just want to train more effectively. You have actually got me thinking about what a modern martial art (MMA) would consist of and what sort of people it would appeal to. I intend to look into this further and perhaps create some kind of blue print or manifesto in the future. I think it would make a fascinating e-book. You can contribute if you like, since you seem to have thought about it so much. A MMA would be very much as you described in your last comment, starting with basic strikes and such before gradually building up to more complicated techniques. For me though, it would still have to maintain the overall traditional ethos, meaning the philosophical and spiritual aspects would have to be kept. The philosophy would obviously have to be updated to suit modern times. Doing this would also set it apart from the likes of mixed martial arts, which is what it would be almost without the deeper elements. It would make an interesting exercise anyway.

Lastly I do agree that a trained person is more effective than an untrained one, of course they are. My point was that a lot of MA's think this training is enough to complete them as fighters, when it isn't. You still need that baptism of fire to give you that killer edge.

Thanks for another great discussion. Keep it coming, maybe on a different post this time. We carry on at this rate it will take people days to read this one post with all the comments!

That is another reason why locks might not be such a good idea: if he struggles and you use force to make it work you’ll most likely break something and for some reason this looks very bad in the eyes of the court (I still wonder why there would be such a big difference in breaking someone’s nose or jaw as opposed to breaking his wrist or elbow) and this is a very real possibility when using locks in a high-stress situation. Especially when used as an initial technique (atemi being secondary, lock primary): the goal of these techniques was to cause a dislocation and pain after all, not necessarily to control him unharmed. Good and defensible applications of joint-locks are – at least in my view – controlled responses to grabs (it would be overkill to bash someone’s nose in just because he grabbed your shirt in a heated argument), as a restraining technique after you’ve already beaten him into submission or as an escorting-technique (mostly for bouncers or cops).

Leaving this rather technical discussion and going right to the meat of your respons: rather traditional MA (like JJ, even in it’s modern form) are about much more than just self-defense or fighting (unlike boxing for example) and it can be argued (like you did) that given the beneficial effects of MA-training (spiritually, mentally, health-wise) the art-aspect is more important the purely self-defense part. After all it is true the average citizen does not get into a lot of fights and it makes sense to take precautions against things that are likely or at least more likely to happen than against mere theoretical possibilities. Getting insurance against fire damage is reasonable, bolting the doors every night and sleeping with a shotgun next to the bed for fear of a crazed serial-killer bursting through the door is not. Then again: most people do start MA-training with the goal of self-defense and it would be rather dishonest to accept their money and trust and not give them what they want. Hopefully they’ll stay to learn the other perks training has to offer but I found it takes years of training in a traditional MA to achieve that primary goal and only months when you train boxing, kickboxing or another striking art (excluding most of the kung-fu styles which are way too flowery and arty-farty for my taste). Given Murphy’s law the more complicated a technique is the greater the chance it is going to fail and consequently the more training you need to pull it off outside the dojo. That is why I said if I become a teacher I’ll teach them kickboxing first, before moving on to the more complex stuff. What somewhat baffles me is that traditional arts (supposedly used on the battlefield and super-deadly) are actually less effective (in general) or at least less efficient than modern combat-sports, let alone self-defense systems like krav-maga.

For one you’d have to learn much more techniques in a traditional style than in a modern one (boxing has only 6 basic offensive techniques and about the same number of defensive ones, most traditional/Asian arts contain hundreds if not thousands of techniques), the second handicap so to speak is that the traditional techniques generally take more time to learn and more skill to execute. A boxer with six months of experience will have thrown a cross thousands of times (if not more), a ju-jutsuka will have trained a straight armbar only a few hundred times and that is if the training was fast-paced and in drill-form which is not the case in most clubs. It is said that to really master a technique you must have practiced it at least a thousand times and I think this number increases with the complexity of the technique. Does that mean I advocate quitting traditional arts and taking up modern ones instead? Obviously not since there a lot of factors beside efficiency and combat-readiness to consider but it would be a good thing to realize this potential downside and to try to remedy it as much as possible. This can be done by investing more training-hours into your art (alone or with a partner, it doesn’t really matter), by combining it with training in a more modern form (e.g combining traditional JJ with boxing) or by implementing elements from these arts into your own.

I realize I’ve already written quite a lot (sometimes I do get a bit carried away and it is an interesting topic) so I’d like to end on a more personal note. It is true for the time being I am focusing more on the topic of self-defense in my training, I think this due to a few factors which I’ll go into shortly. For one I just got involved in training others (as an assistant) and I do think it’s my duty (naturally the brunt of the responsibility lies with sensei) to provide them with most effective tools available to achieve their goal of self-defense. Besides that there is my exposure to other arts (JKD, kali) which I consider more effective in some area’s than JJ, the art I started in, and this has led me to make adjustments in my personal style (under the guidance of sensei of course) and to the resolution to become the best martial-artist I can be and this includes make my techniques as effective as possible. I think this in accord with the ancient way of bu-jutsu or the arts or skills developed for war. Don’t me wrong, I’m not aggressive or obsessed by war or violence, I just try to understand the roots and of the MA in order to grow both physically and mentally. In the old days it was simple: either you were effective (or at least more effective than the other guy) or you died. The MA continually evolved because of this principle (survival of the fittest) and while training today is no longer geared towards warfare and killing (nor should it be) and it is very good to respect and uphold the old kata and techniques I do think it’s a disservice to the founders to just mimick what they did (which obviously worked for them but not necessarily for us today) and stop this evolution. The MA are living entities and everybody must arrive at their own way and understanding of them: what works for me in any given situation? This is important and the foundation of one’s development. The rest will come, I’m quite sure of that.

As to your remark that self-defense can’t really be learned in a dojo: I agree but only partly. Dealing with stress and adjustment to the unpredictable nature of a street-fight are things that you’ll only learn when it happens for real (it’s very hard to put fear and stress into people in controlled circumstances) but it does help to come prepared. You have to learn at least some basic techniques otherwise you won’t be very effective and learning techniques and becoming good with them will increase your confidence-level which will help in dealing with danger and stress. A properly trained soldier will always be more effective than an improperly trained one, even if he’s still green and inexperienced. This does not necessarily mean he’ll perform well (a lot depends on character and previous life-experience) but it’ll increase the likelihood. At least learn how to operate a rifle, then we’ll see what you can do with it. That’s my opinion.

I did read that article, I’ll read it again and maybe comment on that one too.

These days I mostly train for the sake of the art. The strikes and skills I need for self defense have been developed in me for a long time now and I don't really have to work on them much. Even if I quit tomorrow and never train again I will always have that skill set (I actually quit for five years once, but in all that time I still considered myself a martial artist and I never lost the skills. I went back and was more committed than ever. I think I needed to leave in order to see what I was missing from a life, which was a lot). Self defense to me is very simple and direct and to the point, technique wise, which is why I don't put too much stock in most of the JJ techniques. I know I will never use most of them, so I just enjoy practicing them (but still maintaining the edge).

I don't think self defense can really be trained for effectively in the dojo. If you want to be good at it you have to get out there and do it, confront violence on a regular basis. There is no getting around that one. Simulation, as good as it is in some cases, is never the same as the real thing. I used to kid myself that dojo training was enough, but it isn't. To be good at self defense you have to expose yourself to the pressurized conditions of a real fight until you get used to it enough were you can handle the pressure effectively and it doesn't handle you. Exposure training. That's why so many martial artists become bouncers. To test the skills and be shocked by what works and what doesn't. Did you read my last article? I think Thompson's Fence technique is excellent. I don't know how much you know about him but he made it is mission to confront violence and overcome his fear of it, which he did through constant exposure to it. From that experience he has developed a lot of self defense techniques that have been tried and tested in real situations. I recommend you check out his books and videos. He writes motivational books as well that I found to be very useful and as no nonsense as his martial arts.

As for the kata, I do them because I enjoy them and because I like to explore the more esoteric and deeper aspects to the martial arts and training in such kata helps me do that. As I have said before in my articles, how many street fights are you going to get into in your life time, unless you go looking for them? Very few. So why stress constantly over protecting yourself against something that statistically is unlikely to happen. As I say, I am prepared for that and always will be but I don't fret too much over it anymore. I just enjoy the practice.

By the way I recommend learning kick boxing. It's very good at teaching you how to move around and work an opponet and it willimprove your striking skills, cordination and timing no end. It even helps with self defense.

I know kenpo-karate is different but traditional Japanese karate is just too slow: retreat, block, counter… way too slow and when using force against force the little guy will always lose. It is possible to damage the guy’s arm with blocking but then you’d have to actually hit the arm with your fist or elbow, preferably while parrying at the same time as in panantukan. To achieve this with the forearm as in karate is difficult unless you’ve seriously conditioned your forearm or are much bigger than him. I do agree with you on your statement that JJ-defenses or blocks against strikes or kicks are usually inferior to those of pure striking-systems (no surprise there), usually uke-waza is about the weakest part of the system. Don’t get me wrong, I still love JJ but there are parts that can and should be improved and that’s were cross-training comes in. Traditional JJ-schools should pay more attention to developing decent striking-skills and adjust to the modern world: learning defenses against weak, telegraphed or slow strikes will produce low-quality defenses and it would be a damn shame to get hit or defeated just because you failed to adapt. While I think most ju-jutsuka’s will do fine against the untrained (most of them anyway, some people are just naturally gifted or very aggressive or overpowering) they will have great difficulty against somebody with even the most basic training in boxing. It’s impossible to grab a boxer’s arm, impossible, and you can forget about taking away his balance. Your best bet would be to either kick low or shoot in and take him down, if you try the traditional stuff you’ll be toast. Unless you happen to be wearing a katana or hidden weapon of course. I think this is at least one reason for the rather defensive attitude towards striking in the Japanese MA: in the old days you wouldn’t want to try to kick or punch a guy wearing a sword and if they did catch you unaware you’d want to disengage as fast as possible to draw your weapon and even things out.

As to your question about kata: in our old dojo we used to practice kata on occasion but kata were really only for the advanced students (at least first Dan). In my new club I haven’t seen it and I do seriously doubt practicing them will have any impact on your fighting-skills. Most of the techniques in kata are out-dated anyway (sword-defenses? Kneeling defenses? Overhead strikes?) and while it’s nice to respect tradition and I’m pretty sure it worked in the old days it’s really not a mandatory skill and should only be practiced by black belts who already have a solid base in self-defense. Kata are more artful and meditative than useful or practical. That’s at least my view.

As to your comment on effective defense and striking: I wholeheartedly agree. Good striking (at least with the hands) and adequate defenses are the basis of effective self-defense and the heart of the martial-arts, at least the practical ones. If you cannot defend a strike (i.d preventing it from making contact with your face) and you can’t hit hard and fast enough to contact and at least daze him you’re no good and this may be fine for a beginner but it’s completely unacceptable for someone who calls himself a martial-artist.

Yet you see a lot of this: people being sloppy while defending or just waving in the general direction of the target… this will simply not do and whenever I see that I have the tendency to either counterattack or resist any techniques he might try. Yet when I do this a lot of times I get to hear nonsense like ‘you’re resisting too much’ (duh, what do you think a real opponent will do? We’re not doing ballet here), ‘this is too difficult’ (no it isn’t, you just need practice, whining about it is not going to change anything) or ‘this doesn’t work’ (no it does, just not the way you’re doing it). It was difficult for me too in the beginning, everybody pays their dues but if you practice hard and with intention you will get there and you will be effective. However, the first step to becoming effective is to learn how to strike hard, fast and with accuracy and to react correctly and instantly to attacks. First reaction and a couple of good blows on vulnerable targets are of the utmost importance, I cannot stress this enough. This is why we do a lot of first reaction drills: you take a stopwatch and let students attack oneanother with a certain strike or hold and train interception (so just the first stage of the defense: release, evasion or parry with atemi) over and over again, as much as possible in the given time. This teaches you speed and it drills the movements into your body so they’ll become instinctive (after a while at least). Another thing I’d like to do when I’m teaching is to practice striking with contact for at least a few rounds on the focus-mitts or the heavy bag.

This is one thing we never did in our old dojo: strike or block training was inadequate and too infrequent and we always just hit the air… Last thing I heard they still do it at my old dojo and the results are disastrous: blue belts or even higher that wouldn’t be able to stand up to a good striking combo or give one back is just shameful and only old ladies, completely inexperienced people or giants will attack you with simple holds… That’s what you get when you start emphasizing artfulness or tradition over effectiveness and self-defense. Yet they feel safe, proficient and secure, go figure. The first time I ever sparred with boxing gloves it came as a nasty surprise to me that I couldn’t hold my own: it just happened way too fast, my blocks were inadequate and as a result of being way too defensive I got hit all the time. I simply wasn’t trained or prepared for it and it was clearly something I needed to work on. Thank god I found this out during practice and not on the street! Luckily my new sensei actually has experience with kickboxing so he can teach me and work around some of the weaknesses in the old system.

I like your curriculum idea. For developing well rounded fighters it sounds very good. The problem I have with classic JJ is that basic striking techniques are often shunned in favor of wrist locks and the like. Blocks especially are often woefully inadequate in these systems, which is fine on the mats, but not on the street. We always try to drum into new students the importance of good hard blocks (which double as initial strikes) and effective strikes. Without them there would be no opportunity to apply half the techniques that JJ teaches.

I'd like to ask, do you bother much with kata? We basically have three kata that we practice: Uke no Kata, Kime no Kata (required to pass 2nd Dan) and Nage no Kata (required to pass 3rd Dan). I love doing these katas and they teach you quite a lot about technique and the martial arts in general. All your knowledge and experience has to be brought into play to perform them correctly, especially with the last two katas.

For the second way I picked up techniques from JKD, panantukan and krav-maga: what comes naturally for me is to intercept and punch (preferably at the same time to deny him the opportunity to defend or retaliate) then clinch and start kneeing and applying elbows/hammerfists. This approach comes from krav-maga and I like it because it’s very simple and direct and most people simply aren’t used to clinching and once you’ve got them in a good hold (I usually use a modified kumi-kata from judo: one hand controlling his arm, the other controlling his neck so he cannot turn or punch effectively). From there you can start firing away those knees: groin, plexus, thigh… doesn’t really matter aslong as you do it hard and fast and keep driving them backwards. Once he’s softened up you can let go of his neck and with that hand start hammering away at the side of the neck. Instant knock-out, even against the strongest man. Another cool way of taking him out is to simply step on his foot (the upper part, otherwise it won’t work) and push firmly onto his chest. He’ll fall and break his ankle in the process.

Naturally from that clinch-position you can also perform a throw (o-soto-gari would be most appropriate) or lock him (ude-garami from the back for example) if you’d rather control than demolish. If I ever become a sensei (god willing) this is how I would organize my curriculum: for yellow belt I’d focus mainly on boxing (defenses, attacks, conditioning) along with basic wrist-escapes and breakfalling. For orange and green I’d take the krav-maga approach in teaching defenses against all types of attacks, along with basic ground-defenses. For blue, brown and black I’d focus on classical JJ and controlling-techniques, aswell as weapon-defenses. It’s quite possible and even likely I’ll change my mind about this but in my view this would provide a basic self-defense capacity as early as possible while still allowing people to grow in the art and explore the more complicated issues once they’ve mastered the basics (winning against the common streetfighter).

I presume I’ll be using kicks more when I get better at them but for now they’re just not a very important part of my arsenal, except knees of course but for me that’s another category entirely. They’re more of a close-combat weapon together with elbows and head-buts. It is true that most people do have a preference and a natural inclination towards either hand or foot techniques, for me I think it’s a combination of morphology (I’m pretty tall and not that limber, I do have great reach and power with my punches) and previous MA-experience. It’s not very common for JJ-dojo’s to train kicking a lot and it’s only when my current sensei started his own club that more emphasis was put on that. If you truly want to learn how to kick hard, fast and accurately there’s no substitute for agility and form training at home (what I’m doing now) and taking up some type of kickboxing or karate (what I’m hoping to do starting September).

Years ago when I practiced Kempo karate I used to do kicks in the manner you described, very slowly and deliberately. I agree it does wonders for your overall kicking skills. Kicking is a lot about control as well. With proper control you can perfectly place your foot wherever you want to or even follow a target before striking, especially useful in sparring.

As you say, kicks are just cool. They look good and you feel good doing them, For these reasons amongst others I will always practice them. I look forward to the day when I'm 75 and I can still kick someone in the head. That will be cool!

Years ago when I practiced Kempo karate I used to do kicks in the manner you described, very slowly and deliberately. I agree it does wonders for your overall kicking skills. Kicking is a lot about control as well. With proper control you can perfectly place your foot wherever you want to or even follow a target before striking, especially useful in sparring.

As you say, kicks are just cool. They look good and you feel good doing them, For these reasons amongst others I will always practice them. I look forward to the day when I'm 75 and I can still kick someone in the head. That will be cool!

That being said your pointers on developing a good kick are right on: the single most important aspect of good kicking is balance, if you don’t have it you’ll be ineffective and vulnerable. A good guard is always important: in offense, defense, while kicking, punching… If you don’t keep your hands up you will get hit, that’s a given.

The last couple of weeks I’m systematically working on my kicks: while I do not own a heavy-bag there are some very useful exercises to develop good form and flexibility. The single best way to developing a good kick is to practice it in the air but in stages and fairly slowly: raise the leg as high as possible, aim and shoot, retract while keeping your balance and slowly put your foot down. Do this 20 times for each leg and I guarantee you will feel the burn. I’ve been doing this every day for about a month now (alternating types of kicks) and I’m already seeing results. In reality I’ll never use kicks aimed above the waist but it’s cool to be able to do it and it’s good exercise. Unfortunately we do not train kicks a lot at our dojo (unless to the groin in application) but it’s always cool to practice them on the heavy bag or thai-pads. This is one of the reasons why I’d like to start training in JKD: basically it’s a very practical form of street-kickboxing, it’s far more offensive than JJ and so would make a nice complement. Mix this with the weapon-drills of kali and you basically have all your bases covered. Lets hope my schedule is a bit more reasonable next year (less classes in the evening).