| Getting a good Jujitsu Foundation | | | | from other styles, and focus on the basics. Jujitsu |
| Judo was the first martial art I ever learned. I was a | | | | grew out of Japan, as opposed to the Chinese Kung |
| scrawny kid, with braces. Not quite a book worm, but | | | | Fu styles I learned later, and focuses on a stable |
| rapidly on my way to being a teenaged couch potato. | | | | stance, grapples, and throws. It doesn't focus so much |
| My Dad would tell me to run out and play, and I'd stay | | | | on punches, because it was meant to be practiced by |
| inside playing on my video game console. | | | | a man wearing armor, and punches against another |
| One day I came home from school, and found that my | | | | person wearing armor are pretty futile, while putting |
| Dad had replaced the video game console with a box, | | | | him on his back makes him considerably more |
| saying "Take a shower, and meet me in the garage at | | | | vulnerable. |
| 4." The box had a martial arts suit (I later learned it | | | | It should be noted that I teach jujitsu, rather than its |
| was called a "gi") and my Dad took me to a martial | | | | sporting form, 'judo', because I want to teach the full on |
| arts class that afternoon, where we both went | | | | martial art, and give someone a basis for learning more |
| through the basics of learning judo. It was amazingly | | | | martial arts in the future, rather than a "recipe book" of |
| cool to do something like that with my Dad. I can still | | | | throws, grapples, and such designed to win points in a |
| remember the first time I threw him on the mat - he still | | | | tournament. I think jujitsu has a lot of practical use as a |
| outweighed me by a good 40 pounds then! He looked | | | | self defense martial art, mostly because it focuses on |
| so surprised to be laying on his back, then just grinned | | | | joint locks rather than throws. A joint lock is a very |
| at me. | | | | practical method of disarming someone; in its most |
| Fast forward more years than I like to admit, and I'm | | | | basic sense, it's a means of applying force to a joint in |
| thankful that my Dad dragged my sorry butt off the | | | | the way that, mechanically, it's not meant to know. |
| couch. I went from judo to jujitsu, to a bunch of kung | | | | Anyone who's had their thumb turned 'round in a |
| fu styles, and now work as a freelance journalist | | | | Hawaiian handcuff has had a joint lock done on them. |
| covering martial arts, as well as teaching those classes | | | | The nice thing about joint locks is that they even out |
| at the local dojo. Dad still does martial arts, but has | | | | strength differentials quite well - originally, they were |
| moved on to softer styles like Wing Chun, because his | | | | used to make an armed and armored foe drop a |
| joints aren't as limber as they used to be, and he | | | | weapon, making him more vulnerable on a battle field, |
| doesn't think it's as fun to be thrown on the mat now | | | | but they're quite useful for dealing with muggers, or |
| that I outweigh him by 40 pounds! | | | | bullies in a school yard. |
| And, well, as all the philosophy stuff says, things come | | | | Anyway, it's kind of neat, going back to my |
| full circle. I'm now teaching the introductory jujitsu | | | | foundations, my first "real" martial art. I'm wondering if I'll |
| classes at the school. In some ways, it's kind of | | | | see any father/son pairings at the school I teach at. |
| challenging, I have to filter out the things I've learned | | | | |