Well done to our Bright and Super Stars who graded for their new belts on the weekend. I know you all worked extremely hard, not just to get to grading but also on the day.
Now it’s time to reset, refocus, and start working towards your next belt. In the words of Confucius “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop”. Keep chipping away, be consistent with your training but don’t be in a rush to learn it all at once. Don’t worry about those around you, focus on your own goals and the work you’re going to do to achieve them.
HAVE FUN
For the rest of the week (and hopefully beyond), try to look at the lighter side of life. Quite often we get bogged down with how serious everything seems, in work, in school, life in general. Take a step back and just smile. For no reason at all, just smile. Don’t wait until you’re in a good mood or having a fantastic day. Stop, take a deep breath, look around and just smile. Chances are if someone is looking at you they’ll smile right back. Make your day, make someone else’s day, just smile 🙂
A reminder that this is our last week of kid’s classes before we break for the school holidays, so please take note of the following Term dates:Final Class Term 2: Wednesday June 27First Class Term 3: Tuesday July 17
AUTHENTIC JU JITSU – THE JAPANESE ART OF SELF DEFENCE
A great explanation of the importance of striking in our self defence system from the founder of Northstar Ju Jitsu, Sensei Andy Dickinson:
All the traditional and modern systems of Ju Jitsu teach both throwing and ground moves from the beginning of the student’s journey. The Northstar Ju Jitsu style is a little different. Though greatly influenced by traditional Japanese Ju Jitsu, throws are not taught until the student has been training for at least 6 months. In the meantime, the beginners are taught a very comprehensive syllabus of striking techniques. So the initial defence to break balance is an immediate strike without getting tangled up in an attempt to lock up, throw, or go to ground. This 6 months gives a base level of being able to defend yourself whilst remaining standing and a strong foundation to refer back to whenever the more advanced techniques do not work.
From this grounded and stable base the throws, locks, and other moves can be added on once balance is broken. Continuing to train and improve, the strikes are interwoven with movement and techniques that complete the application of Ju Jitsu moves. Most of the modern Ju Jitsu systems that I have observed are hybrids of Judo, which was the first modern interpretation of traditional Ju Jitsu. Not to say that they are not effective, but most “put the cart before the horse” in that only include the striking to break balance as an afterthought.
MONDAY MOTIVATION
