Red Dragon Jujitsu Club

**kpochocki** · Posted On: 8/16/2010 4:57pm

I have been a student at Red Dragon Jujitsu for nearly 4 years. In that time I have seen lots of people come and go.
I read through the explantions of grading and will explain each of them.

Aliveness: We practice a lot of Kata. You will Uke and Tori (recieve and give) the techniques over and over. Most of the techniques you will learn will permanently damage your body if done with wanton abandon. We take a lot of time developing our skills and practice in a way to not hurt anyone. This is for chokes, armbars, throws ect.

Equipment: We wear Judo Gi's which we have to buy our own. If you do not have one at first, try the class out to see if you like it before buying one. We have mats that are in very good condition.

Gym: We work out on a approximately 500 sq. ft. room that we use 3 times a week.

Instructors: Each class is taught by a Nidan (second degree Black Belt), and in most cases more than one black belt is present at any given class. The bulk of the instructors also have Shodan/Black Belt Ranking in additional martial arts (Karate/Tae Kwon Do).

Atmosphere: Our club is not a "grinder" nor a shrine to any one persons Martial Art ability. You will get to work with a black belt throughout the scrolls, and senior students work with lower ranking students. We learn by teaching and doing. I have always see people being instructed with the utmost respect and without judgement. This is a very supportive Dojo.

Striking Instruction: There is striking instruction throughout Danzan Ryu Jujitsu, although it is not the focus of this style.

Grappling: I don't necessarily consider Shime "grappling." There is ground work, most techniques end up there, but do not necessarily start there. This is not wrestling, nor Brazilian Jiu Jutsu (no disrespect intended to either art).

Weapons: There is some weapons instruction in the higher belts. But this is introductory and not the focus of our dojo.

I think the main reasons I see so many people come and go are: People do not like learning to fall/get thrown. It takes time to learn, and can be pretty scary at times. I had nights where I landed very hard, and jarred myself and insides pretty good. It gets easier if you "relax" and take the falls.
The second reason I think people leave is that they have a much different expectation. Most people hope to only learn "the killer stuff" or "how to hurt people" in the first class. We usually work on rolls and falls, then move onto Yawara (escapes and joint locks). I too had hoped, upon going into many dojos to train, that the instructor would single me out and say: "You are a natural, here is your black belt, just do these few things and you will have no need to attend any classes." Hasn't happened yet.
I am a Sankyu, and have taken my time learning Danzan Ryu. What seems like a few boards with 150 some techniques, is really so much more than that.
After nearly four years, I feel like I am peering over the cliff and finally seeing just how deep the canyon is.