dojo – Page 2 – Not Quite A Black Belt

Is Knife Defence Any Good?

Defence techniques from an attacker carrying a knife is a big thing in martial arts and I have learnt a few of them. However, the reality is that most of them will not help you in a real life situation.

Is Chi Real?

Chi in Chinese or Ki in Japanese is something that you will hear about on social media when it comes to martial arts. But is it real? The answer to that is an annoying absolutely not but well yes.

Respect – The Most Important Word in a Dojo

For me the most important thing in a dojo is respect. Respect for the dojo where you train, respect, for your teacher, the teacher having respect for their students. respect for your training partners, respect for other club members. Showing respect for all these is why we bow at the beginning and end of each training session.

Favourite Martial Arts Channels On YouTube

I spend probably too much time on YouTube watching various martial art videos some are good, some are very good and most are terrible. Here is a list of 5 of my favourite martial YouTube channels.

Support During Lockdown

As you may or may not be aware the UK, on Tuesday, started a new full lockdown for between 4 and 7 weeks depending on the where in the UK.

This means we can’t see our friends and families like we normally do. As such loneliness can be a problem. Human beings weren’t put on this planet to be alone.

Ju Jutsu v Ju Jitsu v Jiu Jitsu

When writing in this blog you will see that I am using the spelling of Ju Jutsu when talking about the martial art I do.

One of the oddities of Ju Jutsu is that you will see different spellings at different dojos. You can see Ju Jutsu, Ju Jitsu and Jiu Jitsu. All of the are correct, just about.

Martial Arts v MMA

One criticism a martial art often gets is “it won’t work in MMA” as if in some way if it doesn’t work in the octagon then the martial art is no good.

I have never understood this argument. Firstly I will state the obvious that MMA is not a martial art, it is sports fighting. Also it is Mixed Martial Arts, clue in the name. Fighters who complete in MMA use a mixture of martial art techniques to win a one on one refereed fight where the winner knocks out, submits or the referee steps in to stop the opponent for their own protection.

Martial Arts v Self Defence

When a martial art federation or dojo is selling what they do one of the selling points is learning self defence. I absolutely hate this and I really think it is a bad thing to do.

Before I explain why I will explain what I think self defence is. Martial arts isn’t self defence. Self defence is creating a space so you can escape an attacker.

How To Choose A Martial Art

So you have made the decision to do a martial art. Good for you! You have made the first step in a journey that you won’t regret.

Why Take Up A Martial Art?

For me the best part about martial arts is that dojos are extremely positive places. I have never gone to a dojo that or been to a Ju Jutsu course where the people have not been friendly or encouraging or welcoming. The chances are you will make new friends.