Welcome to the new site for the Cambridge University Jiu Jitsu Club. The club has a core of experienced instructors and we train novices and grades three times a week. You can come along to any standard session to try out Jitsu – see the training page for more information.
What is Jiu Jitsu?
How does Jitsu work?
Why do Jitsu?
Is Jitsu like any other martial art?
Do I have to be fit to join?
What is the Jitsu Foundation?
Jitsu is an abbreviated form of our art's full name, Shorinji-kan jiu-jitsu. This is a martial art descended from traditional Japanese jujutsu. Jitsu is a self-defence martial art based on using whatever the opponent attacks you with against him. Rather than directly fighting with an attacker in a “strength verses strength” situation, Jitsu aims to redirect the attack, allowing the defender to deal with the situation without having to beat the attacker at his own game.
Jiu (joo) n. 'Soft', 'Pliant', 'Adaptable', 'Yielding', 'Harmonious'
Jitsu(jit'soo) n. 'True', 'Technique'
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Jitsu works by either escaping, locking up (restraining) an attacker or by throwing them to the floor with force. If a weapon is involved, it can be disarmed and in some cases used for self-protection against any further attackers. Jitsu allows for a wide range of responses to threats, so that a minor violation of your personal space doesn’t have to be dealt with using a near-lethal technique.
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There is no doubt that training in a martial art will give you added confidence and self-defence ability. What we aim to do in our art is to practice against attacks you are likely to face in a real situation. From the first lesson you will learn how to deal with a variety of attacks, including grabs, strikes and weapons. The primary emphasis on all this training is safety, so you will not be asked to do anything beyond your level of competence.
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Jitsu is based on traditional Japanese grappling, so in some respects it will resemble judo, traditional jujutsu and aikido. Our art has also been said to resemble shorinji kempo, though we are not sure if that is due to coincidence or influence. We do not much resemble karate, as we do not practice many strikes in our system.
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No. Jitsu becomes a very good form of exercise when trained enough though, and this tends to build up fitness levels. You do not have to be able to do 50 pushups or leap 6 feet into the air from standing to practice our art, all you need is to come along regularly and train well.
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The Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu style was founded by Riukiu Mura, a policeman and unarmed combat instructor in the Tokyo Police Force. He had grown up with Martial Arts, studying Jiu Jitsu, Kodokan Judo and Shorinji Kempo. He later combined his knowledge of Jiu Jitsu and Shorinji Kempo (meaning 'Shaolin Fist') with his Police experiences of street fighting to form his own style, which he called Shorinji Kempo Jiu Jitsu. Matthew Komp, a German working in Japan after the 2nd World war, studied both Jiu Jitsu and Shorinji Kempo under Riukiu Mura's tutelage. Komp was a highly graded martial artist who had previously studied Judo, Aikido and Karate, and he further developed Mura's style, taking it to Australia in the 1950s, where he founded a school in Footscray, near Melbourne.
One of his first students was Brian Graham. Graham returned to England a 5th Dan in Jitsuka and 2nd Dan Judoka and renamed the style Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu, establishing the first Samurai Jiu Jitsu club in Keighly, Yorkshire. One of Brian's first students, Peter Farrah expanded the style, literally and geographically starting his first collegiate club at Plymouth Plytechnic. Peter Farrah's students moved & spread the style rapidly throughout Britain. To cope with the administrative and organisational demands of the growing clubs an association was formed called the National Samurai Jiu Jitsu Association.
The growing demands within the organisation for further expansion of Jitsu clubs internationally and for courses to be made available to the commercial sector led to reorganisation, when The Jitsu Foundation, under Directing Tertiary Peter Farrah, was formed in 1990 from the National Samurai JuJitsu Association. The reorganised Foundation was composed of three arms:
- The Jitsu Association, for promoting the art
- Studio III, for community work
- Research and Development, exploring the boundaries of Jitsu.
When instructors leave the country they often start new clubs in the countries in which they settle. The first was Cyprus in 1989, then Canada in 1993, and the U.S.A. in 1994. More recently, clubs have also opened in Greece, Holland, Belgium, Australia, Germany, and Japan, placing Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu at an international level.
Matthew Komp visited the UK in 1997, conferring the rank of 6th Dan Shihan on Brian Graham. Sadly in 2005 Shihan Brian Graham passed away.
Find out more about Jiu Jitsu at The Jitsu Foundation's website.
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