Self Defence
Health / Fitness
Tradition
JAPANESE JIU-JITSU
The art of self defence
At London Budo we teach authentic Japanese Jiu Jitsu that has been passed down from teacher to pupil for hundreds of years
We aim to take the lessons from the past and apply them to self defence situations for 21st Century Londoners
The instructor learnt this art directly from the masters in Japan
WHAT IS JIU JITSU?
Jiu Jitsu was developed by the samurai during an unusually long period of civil war. The term jiu jitsu implies flexibility of mind and applying techniques that do not rely on physical strength
The objective of Japanese Jiu Jitsu is to defend yourself and those around you against aggressors who are likely to be armed
Strikes, throws, joint locks, choke holds etc are all used strategically so that a smaller or weaker person can defeat a larger, more powerful assailant
SELF DEFENCE
Japanese Jiu Jitsu is perfectly formed for modern self defence situations
Students learn to cope with a wide variety of self defence situations in a safe and friendly atmosphere
Small weapons like knives are hard to see in a self defence situation. So Japanese Jiu Jitsu always assumes that your attacker is armed and the techniques cater for the worst case scenario by default
This approach is as relevant today as it was in historical Japan. In the UK roughly half of murders involve a knife or blunt instrument and a third involve punches, kicks or strangulation. Authentic Japanese Jiu Jitsu is one of a relatively small number of martial arts that covers the full range of self defence situations
SELF DEVELOPMENT
The warriors of Japan developed unique ways to solve problems and deal with the stress of conflict
The principles of Jiu Jitsu can be directly applied to personal interactions, business situations and problem solving more generally
People training in Japanese Jiu Jitsu become more confident in their daily lives and find it easier to act intelligently in stressful situations
ABOUT LONDON BUDO
Tradition meets 21st Century London
At London Budo we're dedicated to applying the lessons learnt on the bloody battlefields of Japan to modern day situations
The head instructor has been studying Japanese Jiu Jitsu under the Bujinkan Honbu Dojo since 1990. It is incredibly hard to find authentic Japanese Jiu Jitsu in the UK so he has travelled to Japan over 35 times to learn from the Japanese masters. In 1999 he received his full teaching licence (called shidoshi in Japanese) and in 2004 his teacher awarded him the status of shihan, which roughly translates as "master instructor"
We are very lucky at London Budo because we have many talented black belts who are dedicated to helping students progress. The black belts who have achieved the level of shihan also run classes in various locations to allow students to train several times a week
In the West people often use the term Japanese jujutsu to refer to clubs that mix various styles such as judo and karate in an attempt to recreate the old fighting styles of Japan. By training with London Budo you know that you're studying authentic Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Budo with an unbroken line of student/teacher stretching back hundreds of years
We deeply respect the lessons handed down through the generations of warriors that went before us. One of these principles is to remain open minded and adapt the lessons of history to our times and situation. So our focus is to provide a program of effective self defence training whilst understanding the techniques and lessons from past generations
We are a sociable group and like to go to the pub after training
REVIEWS
Taken directly from Google
All 5 stars
I cannot recommend this club enough. There are three reasons.
First, practicality. I joined the club with 10 years of martial arts experience including Brazilian jiujitsu. The instructor was able to counter my skill, speed and strength with principles and technique that nullified any attack. It was astonishing and showed me that something very profound was at work. I felt much safer given the numbers of people who box and wrestle in the modern world.
Second, rarity. The Japanese martial arts are often represented in the West by their modern, sports-based or meditation-based iterations: Judo, Kendo, Aikido. But the traditional Japanese martial arts taught in this club are far older, and far richer. They contain much deep and rich information about human physiology, history and so on that it is extremely rare to find any Westerner practicing to any level of skill. This club does not pretend really dangerous attacks that can happen in big cities won't happen, which I'm afraid one-on-one sports have a tendency to do.
Third, it's just great fun. The club is welcoming and friendly. The instructor is a really decent man and looks out for people. He's also very funny. I've been to many clubs that had a lousy or aggressive vibe. This is quite the opposite and I made many close friends as a result.
E Price
A truly excellent class. I was pleasantly surprised at the level both of the instructors and the class in general.
The teacher is one of those more mature practitioners that both understand the technique and temper the classes with more practical scenarios while keeping a constant contact with the techniques as they are taught by sensei in Japan year by year, and it shows in truly enjoyable lessons. None of that mindlessly copying techniques you get some places, but the more wholesome process where a technique is worked through, built up and explained where learning happens.
If you're like me, new to London and wondering if it's the right class for you, maybe looking to pick it up again after a extended hiatus, or thinking about trying out a class for the first time, I cannot recommend it enough.
Jamie Barrachina
A great club- no egos, no posing, just people keen to develop as martial artists. Its been around for awhile, so there is alot of experience, and a real respect for understanding and countering other martial arts techniques. Be prepared for a more realistic take mixed in with traditional close combat and weapons skills though.
There are now a few affiliated clubs too- instructors whom over time have set up locally, and then come in to train together
L London
LOCATIONS AND TIMES
SOUTH LONDON
VAUXHALL
THURSDAY EVENINGS
7.30pm - 9.30pm
2nd Floor at NEON Performing Arts Studios
Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre
5 Glasshouse Walk, London SE11 5ES
Taught by Dirk
Dirk started studying Japanese martial arts in 1997 and has achieved shihan level
Price is £10 pay as you go
(£5 for students/unemployed)
Each class covers warm up and basics (30 mins), traditional training (1 hour) and weapons (30 mins)
HERTFORDSHIRE
BERKHAMSTED
MONDAY EVENINGS
7.30pm - 9.00pm
The Court House, Church Lane,
Berkhamstead
HP4 2AX
Taught by Darrel
Darrel started studying Japanese Jiu Jitsu in 2004 and has achieved achieved shihan level
Price is £10 pay as you go
(£5 for students/unemployed)
CENTRAL LONDON
KINGS CROSS / EUSTON
TUESDAY EVENINGS
7.00pm - 8.00pm Ground Fighting
8.00pm - 10.00pm Japanese Jiu Jitsu
Studio 2, The Place Dance School, Flaxman Terrace
WC1H 9PY
Taught by Dunc , the head instructor @ London Budo
Price is £10 pay as you go
(£5 for students/unemployed)
You can attend any or all of the sessions for £10
We recommend that you bring a safe training knife as defending against weapons is covered regularly
The 7.00pm class requires you to bring gloves, mouthguard, jacket and pads for knees & elbows
The last Tuesday of the month will be focused on weapons training. Including defences against knife & stick attacks plus traditional weapons such as sword & bo
WEST LONDON
HAMMERSMITH
WEDNESDAY EVENINGS
7.30pm - 9.30pm
Matthew's Hall, Margravine Rd
W6 8HJ
The venue is next door to the Pear Tree pub
Taught by the club's senior black belts on rotation
All of whom have over 10 years teaching experience and have achieved the level of shihan (master teacher)
Price is £10 pay as you go
(£5 for students/unemployed)
GETTING STARTED
Feel free to come along any time to watch a class and/or chat about the training
Or even better get started with a trial class (see below)
Please note that we do not offer kids classes or private tuition
If you have any questions please contact us at
If you want to book a trial class then we ask that you register with the club here
(the £10 registration fee covers your first class)
ARTICLES
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JAPANESE JIU JITSU AND JUDO OR BJJ?
Japanese Jiu Jitsu is relatively unknown in the West. Japanese styles of jiu jitsu have a long history and share many similarities with their modern descendants such as BJJ and Judo. Exploring their methods may provide some insight into how jiu jitsu has evolved over time to meet different objectives.
A small number of Japanese martial arts such as karate and judo have been successfully exported around the world. However, there are many other Japanese martial arts that haven’t really travelled outside of Japan. They each have distinctive characteristics and whilst it’s hard to categorise them too much they can be thought of as ranging from:
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Classical Budo: Medieval battlefield systems that have been preserved. Largely focused on weapons such as sword, bow, spear etc with some grappling in armour
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Japanese Jiu Jitsu (JJJ): An evolution from the battlefield systems and focused on techniques applicable to self-defence
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Sports: Adaptions from older martial systems to make them more appealing in the modern age by focusing on sporting applications (eg kendo, judo)
Note: There are several modern styles that call themselves Jujutsu, Traditional Jujutsu etc. These have typically combined techniques from judo, aikido, karate etc in an attempt to recreate Japanese Jiu Jitsu as it was originally and are quite different from the styles in Japan that are the focus of this article.
Broadly speaking BJJ evolved from Judo which evolved from Japanese Jiu Jitsu which evolved from the battlefield systems developed during the long period of civil war in Japan. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, said that the jiu jitsu he learnt was violent and the practitioners received many injuries. At this point in history (around 1880) jiu jitsu was looked down on by society as a brutal and unpleasant activity and not many people were interested in training in jiu jitsu. Around this time several Japanese martial artists adapted their styles to make them more appealing in the modern age.
Jigoro Kano took elements from the jiu jitsu styles that he had studied, removed weapons, striking and the more dangerous techniques in order to create a sport, judo, that required skill and was good for developing physical fitness. From this point on Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Judo began to evolve in different directions. Japanese Jiu Jitsu focused more on self-defence and given the high injury rate the emphasis on sparring was reduced over time. Judo focused on developing successful strategies to win in the competition format, increasing the amount of sparring and reducing the emphasis on self-defence.
Jigoro Kano originally structured his style in two parts: Sporting contests (sparring techniques and training) and self-defence drills (essentially a simplified JJJ syllabus). He felt that his students should study both in equal measure and whilst the focus has dramatically moved away from self-defence the Judo/BJJ curriculum still include these techniques.
The early judo practitioners were defeated by a style of jiu jitsu that focused on fighting on the ground. They quickly assimilated ground fighting into their curriculum and around this time judo, with ground fighting as a core skill, travelled to Brazil where the ground fighting was further refined and it became BJJ as we know it now. More recently the Kodokan Judo ruleset in Japan changed to disadvantage ground fighting and judo’s focus shifted more towards takedowns and throwing techniques.
How is Japanese Jiu Jitsu different from Judo or BJJ?
The underlying principles of JJJ are very similar to Judo or BJJ. However, the objectives of JJJ are to survive a dangerous attack or defend someone from an assault. The idea of a fair fight or rules of engagement are entirely at odds to these objectives. The difference in objectives between JJJ and BJJ or Judo has a big effect on the techniques and training methods used.
JJJ provides an integrated system that includes striking and grappling. The arm is struck to strip grips, sweeps are exchanged for kicks, the chin is struck to break posture and so on. The lack of gloves, the freedom to strike anywhere and the use of a gi means that the striking methods used are quite different to those seen in kickboxing, MMA etc.
In serious situations human beings typically fight with weapons and experienced assailants will often hide their weapon. The assumption in JJJ is that your opponent is always armed and there is no technical distinction between unarmed and armed situations. The distancing from strikes or any uncontrolled hand is larger to account for the possibility of a blade, emphasis is placed on controlling or attacking wrists and often control/pressure is sacrificed for mobility. The preference for mobility means that JJJ only controls the opponent long enough to apply a joint dislocation or deliver a strike. As a result, the ground fighting curriculum was not developed to the sophistication that we see in BJJ or Kosen Judo.
Many JJJ techniques are designed to cause injury in as efficient a way as possible and are inappropriate for a sporting context or a roll in the BJJ academy. People training in JJJ will spend as much time refining their methods to set up and strike the groin or neck as a BJJ player will spend learning how to maintain a good guard. There is an equal level of technical sophistication for locking the fingers and thumbs as there is to applying armbars in BJJ. This limits the amount of sparring that can be done safely and the training is a mixture of drills and exercises to learn how to apply your techniques against an unpredictable and resistive opponent
In Summary Japanese Jiu Jitsu has an incredibly comprehensive curriculum for self-defence scenarios. It includes many effective techniques and points of detail that are not present in the self-defence curriculums of Judo, BJJ and other popular styles in the West. Sports focused martial artists may find that JJJ provides a more comprehensive self-defence system to complement their training and some important concepts/adjustments to consider in a self-defence situation.