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What form of Jujitsu do you subscribe to:
If you practice Jujitsu for its art form, you will have a
very different outlook on it than if you practice Jujitsu for self defense or
for combat purposes. The art form of Jujitsu focuses on escapes from attacks
and either control or dismissal of the assailant. The self defense form of
Jujitsu tends to focus on the dismissal of the assailant and much less on
control. Now, why is this, and why should that be so? When practicing the art forms, we are concerned with
understanding the principles of Jujitsu and need to perform certain body motions
in slower motion, with a willing Uke, in order to learn the basics of Jujitsu’s
body mechanics. The slow movement learning process requires that Uke will need
to maintain a somewhat unnatural body position, to allow the full process to
develop. Clearly, in real life, an assailant will very quickly move from one
position to another, or sometimes entirely change direction in midstream. Once the student has learned the basic body mechanics, and
can react to the various offenses in a natural and subconscious level, he will
be able to blend his reactions smoothly into a flowing response to any changes,
and start to use his “slow process training” in a real time fashion. The good part of this natural process is that the defender
will not think of the various moves. They simply happen. The bad part is that if
the student has trained for the art of Jujitsu, he will automatically tend to go
for the “Defend and Control” mode. Most people, who have been in a fight, will recognize that
during the fight, the defender became so focused on the attacker, that he would
block out all other outside influences, and be unaware of his environment,
noises around him, bystanders and/or onlookers. Well, guess what? Some of the bystanders or onlookers
could have been friends of the assailant, ready to jump into the affray, when it
looked like their buddy was in trouble. So, when you are proudly controlling
your assailant, his buddy can and will slip you a solid punch in the mouth, kick
you in the head, grab your head from behind, etcetera. So, if you are learning the form of Jujitsu that leans
towards self defense, recognize that in a fight outside, you must dispose of
your assailant, to have your hands free to deal with assailants number two and
three. Thus, when learning Self Defense Jujitsu, do not focus too
much on the “control” techniques; rather, learn to quickly dismiss your
assailant. Do not get tempted to follow your assailant to the ground for a hold
down, or even strangulation. Let your subconscious defense strategy be one of
“Defend and Dismiss.” There is no “Ippon” in Self Defense!
2003-03-03
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