Kyushu-Ryu Ju-Jitsu Blog Posts
Here are some great Ju-Jitsu blog posts you may find will help your understanding of Kyushu-Ryu Ju-Jitsu.
We hope you enjoy them. Check our archive for older posts.
Fall 2016 Term
Summer 2016 has been an amazing summer for Johanne, but I always look forward to the fall term. This is the term were kids return from the summer break excited, and ready to go. I love watching our returning students to see how tall everyone has gotten during the break. I often wonder who is more excited the kids or me?
The fall also, is one of the three times a year we take new students and I love to see the excited but nervous kids (and adults). They often are worried about the instructors and how hard or tough it might be. I am very proud of the instructor groups, we are not militant nor are we a push over, we have a lot of fun with the kids and we ask the adults to push themselves but not to the point of being hurt. It doesn’t take long before the new students settle in and start their journey on the martial arts path.
Frank Zinck
Sword Class
I always try to do sword class a couple of times a term. My students for the most part seem to enjoy swinging a bokken or wooden sword whether an adult or child there is just something fun about it. Bokken class offers a different kind of focus from regular training. Distances are different and things change when have a weapon in your hands. I love the moving meditation aspect especially when it comes to partner practice.
At the beginning of bokken class I usually play some Kodo drum music and students lay on their back on matts while I give them an imagery story about being a samurai hundreds of years ago. I have several stories I cycle through all designed to see yourself in a warrior state. The kids love this practice, I have actually had a few adults fall asleep lol.
Sword and children can be a challenge, especially if they are excited as they usually are. Safety is priority but they have a good time.
At some point in a martial artists career whether they are youth or adult, something just clicks. It’s magic really and when “it” clicks, the learning and progress goes through the roof.
The “it” is more mental than physical and anything physical is more effort than talent. “It” is a point when the martial artist pushes through frustration, exhaustion and muscle fatigue. They discover great joy in pushing beyond what was once thought their limit.
I love seeing my students find “it”. As an instructor it’s so rewarding but in the end I can only guide them, it’s up to the student’s self discovery to make things click and find “it”.
Jujitsu is hard enough, add to that years of abuse and an aging body things just don’t work so well or things pain a lot more and injuries seem to take a lot longer to heal.
I suffer from osteo arthritis and its seems even worse with these Nova Scotia winters. You can’t stop a sunrise and there’s only one way to stop aging…. And I don’t see death as an option lol. So I play with the best of my abilities, have fun, stay fit and enjoy the martial arts but even more so enjoy the students especially the kids. My body may be aging but my mind is still young that’s for sure.
I played a game with the kids last night where I showed them a complex move only twice and they had to figure it out with their partner. They had two minutes to work the technique and then they had to show me if they figured it out. It was a lot of fun.
