The Danzan-Ryū Jūjutsu Blog

Tough Words About Prof. Wally Jay

2011-06-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we all received the bad news about the passing of Prof. Wally Jay (1917-2011). To many people, Prof. Jay had been an influential propagator of his own unique brand of self-defense. From his studies of Judo and Jujitsu in the 1940s in Hawaii, he discovered how his techniques could be improved by the application of what he called "two-way action". (He was quick and open to give most of the credit for this to his Judo Instructor, Ken Kawachi.) This is principally done by the torqueing of the wrist when one is off-balancing an opponent, or applying a joint locking maneuver. Prof. Jay originally called his method "small circle theory", but later named his system Small Circle Jujitsu™ declaring that, "It's no longer a theory, but a fact!"

During most of his life, Prof. Jay, through his own initiative and study, honed and refined his method of Judo and Jujitsu into what we know today. During the 1960s, it was his "breaking with tradition" that allowed his Judo team to take many championships. Through seminars, books and videos, he opened up his method to the world. Many martial artists (Bruce Lee among them) sought him out so that their own techniques could be improved by his methods. It didn't matter whether you did Karate, Judo, Filipino martial arts or whatever. Everyone came away with something of value from Prof. Jay. It is indeed a true statement that the rise of interest in Jujitsu throughout the decade of the 1990s is primarily due to his efforts. Indeed, all of the practitioners of sportive Jujitsu and mixed martial arts owe him a great debt of honor.

During this decade of the 1990s, Prof. Jay realized that people were beginning to use his teachings, and improperly calling it their own. In July of 1994, he asked me to assist him in registering the name "Small Circle Jujitsu" with United States Patent and Trademark Office which I did gladly. He later reregistered this mark in 2000. Regardless of this, there were sporadic occurrences of people illicitly using this name. (On one occasion, a well-known martial arts instructor bragged to me that HE was the one that filed the trademark for Prof. Jay. Obviously unaware of the actual facts, I courteously, but firmly corrected him on this.)

As late as 2010, Prof. Jay took legal action against specific violators with mixed results. He wrote on his website, "It has been brought to our attention from our trademark attorneys that someone has chosen to trademark Small Circle Jujitsu for himself. I have sent registered letters asking him to remove his claim of trademark because Small Circle Jujitsu is already trademarked for the Jay Family. He has refused to accept my registered letters – this is unacceptable and needs to be rectified."

Prof. Jay was the author of two popular books and many videos on his Jujitsu. Shortly after his passing, it was reported that one of his books was actually the idea of another person. Upon hearing this, his family was very upset and verified to this writer that the story was not true. While he was assisted by several people in the production of these books, it can be stated categorically that the content was original to Prof. Jay.

Throughout his life, Prof. Jay had affiliated himself with several martial arts organizations. From Prof. Okazaki's original Institute in Hawaii, to his own Small Circle Jujitsu organization, many people were attracted to these groups almost solely by his popularity. It is unfortunate that one organization took the action of removing his name from their logo several years ago. Shortly after this happened, his wife Bernice told this writer, "He's not even dead yet and they're trying to take him off the patch." This was particularly distasteful of that organization.

As we prepare to memorialize Prof. Jay on Sunday, June 26, 2011, we all need to be mindful that many of the things we have learned in Jujitsu are directly attributable to him. We need to be honest about where these things came from and how we attained them. After the passing of many great martial art teachers, there have been those who came out of the woodwork and made claims that were simply untrue. To say you were a student of Prof. Jay requires some scrutiny. Did you regularly, on a weekly basis, for many years attend classes at his dojo in Alameda? On the other hand, did your instruction come from attending seasonal seminars in various places around the world? If you are in the former category, it can be rightfully said that you were a true student of Prof. Wally Jay. If you're in the latter category, you are fortunate for the experience but you should not attribute more than what you have. In addition, we all need to be mindful that Prof. Jay's signature on a diploma does not necessarily mean that he was your instructor or even knew how skillful you are. In many cases, he only did this as a witness on the certificate. Likewise, having your photograph taken with him at a camp or a convention does not necessarily imply any special relationship.

What I have shared here are indeed, tough words and may be seen as inappropriate at this time. I disagree, and indeed I was asked to write this by his family. Sometimes after a great teacher has passed away, false claims are made. As Prof. Jay often said, "If you let a lie go for long enough, it becomes the truth." Too many times, we remain silent so as not to make waves and rock the boat. I hope the reader of this will honor Prof. Wally Jay's memory by steadfastly maintaining the truth.

Kufferath 2011 International Martial Arts Symposium

2011-03-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

More than a year ago, Sig Kufferath’s daughter Leslee had the vision to honor her father’s memory by celebrating what would have been his 100th birthday. She wanted to bring a group of his students, friends and others together for an event of training and sharing. This is indeed what happened at the Santa Clara (CA) Marriott on the weekend of March 25-27, 2011.

Professor Sig Kufferath (1911-1999) had been a senior student of Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu founder from 1937 until Okazaki’s passing in 1951. During that time, he and his partner Bing-Fai Lau ran Jujutsu classes at both the Kaheka Lane and the Kodenkan Dojo’s in Honolulu. After the founder’s passing, the American Jujitsu Institute elected Sig to be the next Professor of the system in 1952. He continued to teach in Honolulu until 1957 when he moved his family to the San Francisco Bay area. On the mainland, Sig established his school and trained many students in both Jujutsu and massage until his death in 1999.

Leslee Kufferath, along with assistance of Hans Ingebretsen and others organized the 3-day event of martial art seminars and a Saturday evening Hawaiian luau buffet. There were more than 50 instructors including formers students of Sig, prominent U.S. martial artists, and a contingent of international teachers from England, Spain, Portugal, Kuwait and elsewhere. There were eight mats for adult and children’s classes, as well as a special room for therapeutic massage.

Most of the seminars went off without a hitch with students gaining valuable knowledge. Two unfortunate incidents, however, did occur. In one seminar, an exceedingly careless instructor was responsible for a student being thrown on his shoulder, breaking his collarbone and causing him to be taken to the hospital. In another distasteful display, an instructor publicly berated and challenged one of the seminar students without cause. Unfortunately, this unsuspecting student happened to be the son of one of Sig’s oldest students. In both of these cases, the instructors had studied with Sig and no doubt, he would not have been pleased.

Despite these, the symposium was generally enjoyed by the attendees. In addition to the hundreds of students, several special guests attended, including: Sig’s son Bruce Kufferath, Sig’s grandson Scott, Professor Liebert O’Sullivan, Great Grandmaster Al Novak, Senior Professor John Congistre and Professor Rory Rebmann.

A Report from the Field

2011-03-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

I recently attended the 2011 AJJF National Convention and wanted to share a few observations.

The venue was the San Ramon Marriott (San Ramon, CA) which was also the site of some previous conventions including the bellwether 1998 Ohana. As in the past, the convention was expertly hosted by Professor Rory Rebmann and his very capable team from Amador Judo and Jujitsu Studio. In addition, many other aspects were seamlessly handled by the well-organized committees of the AJJF. Before I address some other topics, it is important to note that the banquet meal was very good. The chicken was very fresh, the vegetables were tasty and the dessert was outstanding. It is sometimes said that people forget much of what is said during a banquet, but they remember the food!

This convention had an interesting variance from the norm. For the first time in recent memory, classes were taught only by AJJF Professors and in a few cases by AJJF non-Professor Rokudans. The decision to do this was apparently one made by the Board of Professors (BoP) during a meeting last year. Ostensibly, their reason to do this was to showcase the talents of the BoP alone. I asked some of the Professors whether this decision was related to some issues that arose prior to the previous year's convention. These issues stemmed from an AJJF member on the teaching roster, who was not an AJJF Professor, making some complaints about how some other convention instructors would be addressed. From the responses of several Professors, it is not clear whether this played any part in the this year's teaching roster. Regardless, the classes held this year were excellent and very well received.

One issue that had been on many people's mind was the structure of the organization in its leadership. Over the previous couple of years, some changes to the fundamental understanding of and corrections to the Danzan-Ryu kata and their translations had been brought about by some leading members of the BoP. While some were open to this change, there was and continues to be a segment of the organization that is very vocal in their opposition to this. It is noteworthy that, shortly after this reformation effort, some unrelated charges were brought against the leadership questioning their ethics. At this year's convention, some wondered who would attend and who wouldn't. The accused member was in attendance and participated in the events. While a final decision by the BoP on this matter is pending, the organization has gone forward with some reorganization of their board. The new Senior Professor was announced to be Professor John Congistre, Judan and student of Professor Ray Law. In addition, Professor Dennis Estes was announced as President of the organization. This is a position that is required for the AJJF status as a non-profit organization. Also, it was announced that individual members of the BoP would be responsible for a variety of specific tasks.

One part of the convention that is eagerly anticipated every year are the black belt promotions. I was particularly interested in the new Shodans because of my work with the Danzan-Ryu Lineage Tree. This year, more than 70 names were announced for all of the rank promotions from first through fifth rank. Congratulations to all. I was curious, however, that no ranks above Godan were announced since this has normally occurred in past years. While I was not given any definitive reason for this, some speculation was that the recent reorganization may have necessitated maintaining the status quo.

As a final observation, I would like to address the fundamental foundation of any Jujutsu class...the mats! In previous conventions, the mats used for classes have ranged from vinyl wrestling mats, hard plastic jigsaw puzzle mats, two-inch foam mats, 2 millimeter nothing mats and even authentic tatami. The mats used this year were, by far, the best ones I have seen at any convention. They were the Swain Flexi-Roll© System with a Tatami surface. In my opinion, they had just the right amount of balance of firmness and give. They also were much easily transportable than other mat systems I has seen. Good job on choosing this type of mat for the convention.

Color Okazaki Picture Usage

2010-09-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

The image seen here is currently on the opening page of my website, The Danzan-Ryū Jūjutsu Homepage. I created this image by taking a scan of the original 1941 graduation photo of Steven J. Byzek and through many hours of work created this colorized version. It is for use ONLY on my website and publications and no other usage is permitted.

Since posting this image on my website, I have encountered several instances where people have used this image without expressed permission much less without giving me the proper credit. Here are three examples:

I walked into a Dojo and saw this picture prominently displayed at the Shomen.

I attended a national convention where many 8.5" X 11" copies of this image were distributed to the seminar classrooms at the hotel.

I recently purchased a video that was emblazened with this image cover.

None of these were authorized.

Let me make this clear. This image is not for use outside of my website and publications, unless I have given expressed written permission to do so. To date, I have not issued this to anyone. If you are using this image in any way, please cease any such use immediately.

Ohana Future

2010-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of August 20, 2010, I attended the Ohana convention sponsored by the Shoshin Ryu Yudanshakai at the Sheraton Park in Anaheim, CA. I taught a well-received seminar on the Danzan-Ryu composite self-defense course known as, Fusegi Jutsu. It was great, IMVHO. To be certain, the Shoshin Ryu Yudanshakai did an outstanding job in all aspects of the event.

In 1990, Mike Chubb, Bill Fischer and other leaders from the Shoshin Ryu Yudanshakai held the first Ohana, a convention meant to bring all of the disparate DZR organizations together in the spirit of family and sharing. This event allows students to see a wide spectrum of instructors. It allows them to fellowship with students from across the world and meet well-known celebrities. It gives them a wider view of the Danzan-Ryu world. I believe that the original intent for this event remains good and altruistic. I hope this continues. I have attended all of the Ohana conventions since 1994 and have seen some trends that may indicate that it may not. Let us be clear. I am not referring to how good the banquet meal tasted or whether someone was offended by some words or actions. No, I am referring to something much more damaging to the Ohana.

One trend that I have seen over the years is how the "ohana" or "family" has become increasingly uninterested in reuniting. There are a couple of specifics:

In order for this cross-organizational event to be a success, it is important that organizations minimize their own individual events so that their members can afford the transportation, lodging and admission to the seminars/tournaments. Over the past several Ohana's, it has been apparent that this has not been a priority. Since the Ohana sponsor organization changes from year-to-year, one can plainly see this and who is not attending. Now, to be fair, there are some organizations that have made it a priority to raise funds and set aside their own events.

In any organization, the membership generally follows what their leadership does. If their leadership actively campaigns to boycott an event or simply does not find the event a priority, then the membership will act in accordance. As a former organizer of an Ohana, I have directly seen this. On the other hand, where those in leadership positions show a sense of enthusiasm and motivation, their members recognize this and make the Ohana a priority.

Will Ohana continue? As a representative to the Ohana Alliance (a committee set up to promote the Ohana), I have seen that there is the potential for the event to continue for the benefit of future DZR generations. The last meeting of the Ohana Alliance was held on the Monday morning after the 2010 Ohana. Plans for future events were made and agreed to. Will they come to pass? In my view, this depends on the "buy-in" of the various organizational leaders.

Danzan-Ryu Bookstore

2010-08-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce The Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu Homepage Bookstore. This section of the website highlights Danzan-Ryu related books I have written as PDF downloads. I am especially excited to introduce these works in a high-quality, trade paperback format. For a long time, people who have enjoyed the electronic versions of my books have requested hard copy versions. This is now possible through my affiliation with CreateSpace, an Amazon.com company. They produce beautiful, 8x10 versions of these books and deliver them directly to you. I have already received copies of the books and I am very impressed.

At this time, there are four titles available, as seen above. I am planning to add new titles and may even be adding new authors. Interested authors should contact me for more information. Stay tuned for future updates.

I hope you will check out the new bookstore and get your copies of these books TODAY!

George

Rip-Off

2010-03-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

Several upcoming events are using the name "Okugi" 奥義 as it relates to the teaching of the advanced boards of Danzan-Ryū Jūjutsu. Be it known that you are stealing this term from Professor Tony Janovich. Whether you call it ABC-Okugi or XYZ-Okugi or whatever-Okugi, you are using it without permission. If you believe that you are using this term because Professor Okazaki used it for his 1948 class you are sorely mistaken. He actually called it the “special black belt class” and contained special teachings given only to students of Nidan (second-degree black belt) and above. If you claim that an Okugi class was given in the early 1960’s, you are are perpetuating a falsehood and do not comprehend the curriculum.

In point of fact, this term was first used in 1993 for the class given by Professors Sig Kufferath and Tony Janovich. The name was coined by Professor Janovich from the Japanese text contained on the certificate that Professor Kufferath received when he graduated from the 1948 class. Those who can read Japanese will understand this.

Further, the recent classes that falsely bear the Okugi name do not contain the same curriculum as the legitimate 1948, 1993 and 2003 classes. They only have an abbreviated subset of the proper 皆傳. Those who take these classes are, in my opinion, being severely short-changed in the instruction they receive and wasting their money.

Those who are participating in this charade should be ashamed, for you do not uphold the ethical and moral integrity that you purport in your organizations by-laws. That is, of course, unless you really are a thief.

AJJF Senior Professor Succession

2009-09-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks has been difficult in the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation (AJJF). On September 10, 2009, the Senior Professor of the AJJF, Lamar N. Fisher passed away in Chico, CA. Having started his study of Jujitsu in the late 1940's with Prof. Bud Estes, Prof. Fisher has been a stalwart in the world of Jujitsu training. At his funeral the following Tuesday, he was mourned and remembered by many of his friends, family and students.

In too many instances of the passing of a martial arts leader, those who have left behind fail to act in moving ahead. While we want to wallow in our sorrows, I believe that the departed would have wished us to forge on. The AJJF has acted in a way that has paved the way for future progress.
The weekend after Prof. Fisher's funeral, the board of Professors met on the issue of succession and issued the following statement:

American Judo & Jujitsu Federation, Inc.

Board of Professors

September 17, 2009

Subject: Sr. Professor Succession

The American Judo & Jujitsu Federation Board of Professors announces the succession of the title ‘Sr. Professor’ upon the passing of our esteemed leader, Sr. Professor Lamar Fisher, Judan.

The successor is: SR. PROFESSOR TOM BALL, KUDAN.

The AJJF BOP further created a Sr. Professor’s Council. Two additional Professors will serve as advisors to the Sr. Professor. The advisors are:

Professor John Congistre, Kudan

Professor Jane Carr, Hachidan

PROFESSOR HENRY S. OKAZAKI proclaimed the advancement of Danzan Ryu through the ‘credo of the gentle way’.

Following the tradition of our Founding Fathers and preceding Professors, Sr. Professor Tom Ball will fulfill Professor Okazaki’s dream realizing:

“Leadership is the influence of others in a productive vision-driven direction and is done through the example, conviction and character of the leader”.

~~~

I applaud the actions of the AJJF Board of Professors and their decisive action.

Transition

2009-09-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

It is the eventual terminus for all of mankind that we enter into that long sleep. So it was with the recent passing of AJJF Senior Professor Lamar Fisher in Chico, CA. A fine tribute was given by his long-time student Prof. Geoff Lane who noted that, in his last days, Prof. Fisher wished to attend his own funeral and express his affection for everyone. Indeed, the large gathering of his friends at Prof's services recalled that love of more than sixty years of service and "had a good time."

Any time there is such a loss of a leader in our Danzan-Ryū family, several things happen. We certainly mourn the loss. We remember the one who has passed. We revisit our training under him/her. One thing that we must do, albeit sometimes uncomfortable, is to move forward with next steps. This last point is essential. In an ideal situation, the passing of a martial art leader opens a position for the next one to step in. In the past, such transitions have been handled in a variety of ways; some smooth and others not so good.

In the past couple of decades, it has been my observation that the AJJF has developed a coherent corporate structure with well-defined policies, procedures and oversight. It would certainly be a great tribute to the memory of Prof. Fisher that this transition goes well. I suspect that it will.

The Next Generation

2009-08-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

The year was 1993 and a special gathering was held by a group of nearly thirty people to bring a focus back to many disperse ideas. The event included a set of training sessions designed to propose the statement, "Here is the truth." Some eventually let this knowledge lapse into the annals of time, where others nurtured the seeds and harvested them into abundant fruit. At that time, I observed that those who attended that class would form the core of the next generation of Danzan-Ryu leadership. This has come to pass.

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure to attend the "Summer Slam" kata and Sumo tournament in Woodland Hills, CA. The event was sponsored by Sensei Greg Poretz and his Kenshokan Dojo. The atmosphere outside was warm (over 100 degrees) and a little overcast (smoke from the La Canada fire near Burbank). The atmosphere inside was exciting. The competition ranged from pee-wee white belts to master black belts. The competition was tight and the presentations were all enjoyable to watch.

I had come down from the bay area to this event because my two original teachers: Mike and Steve Belzer had decided to compete in this tournament. They had been two of the leading competitors in the 1970's and 80's in these types of contests and having them back on the mat after nearly 30 years was an event I could not miss. The brothers did not disappoint. Their presentation was exciting, dynamic and real. It was a true pleasure to see them perform again.

Headin' South

2009-08-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, my original Sensei, Mike Belzer (a.k.a. Malasia Mike, a.k.a. Menkyo Mike, a.k.a. Butch the Mugger) told me that he and his brother Steve would be heading back to competition.

Many years earlier (more than forty), Steve and Mike (along with their father, Bob) had been students at the famed Penmar Judo Kai under the late James Marcinkus. While there, the brothers were well-known as laser-sharp technicians at kata competitions. They often took honors with their partners Geoff Kyron (Steve) and Dave Marcinkus (Mike) and sometimes partnering with each other. Their performances contributed to the notoriety of the Penmar dojo. But that was long ago.

When I heard that the Belzer brothers would be competing at the Kenshokan "Summer Slam" (hosted by Sensei Greg Poretz), I knew I had to be there. In fact, I plan on driving down there in the next day and attend one of their practices prior to the event. To be sure, I will have a camera or two to capture and archive images of this historic event.

For those interested in attending this contest, see the following flyer:

http://www.burbankjujitsu.com/Dojo_News_files/summer_slam_packet_final.pdf

I hope to see you there.

Mokuroku and Kaidensho e-Book

2009-08-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

In 1993, I saw the catalog scroll (Mokuroku) given by Professor Okazaki to Sig Kufferath upon his graduation from the Kodenkan. Over the next three years, I set about the task of translating this and a couple of other scrolls. I also worked on translating the complete transmission certificate (Kaidensho) that I received at the 1993 Okugi class. (This certificate was identical to the one awarded by Professor Okazaki to a special black belt class in 1948.) Since these documents were written in old-style Japanese, this was no easy task. Despite that I wanted to learn EXACTLY what these documents said.

In 1996, I published my book, Mokuroku and Kaidensho: The Official Documents of Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu. This book provided a line-by-line exposition of these documents including the following: 1. image of the line, 2. printed kanji version of the line, 3. Romanization of the kanji, and 4. direct translation of the line. This type of translation makes these documents accessible to anyone regardless of their knowledge of the Japanese language. This makes this a valuable book for any martial artist and an essential resource for students of Danzan-Ryu.

The current 4th edition is a vast improvement over previous versions including improved, cleaner kanji fonts, a rigorous overhaul, and new material about the Okuden and Koden techniques past those in the Mokuroku. In the new e-Book PDF format, the reader can easily search the document for any word or phrase. This is very valuable for any type of research.

I hope you will take advantage of the new discounted price of $27.00 for this updated e-Book.

Purchase it at: http://www.danzan.com/HTML/BUY/buymoku.html

Thanks!

Do we have enough techniques?

2009-08-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Teachers of Danzan-Ryū have sometimes been presented with the problem of having a student who has learned "everything". Specifically, the student has reached a level of learning where they have gone through all of the techniques for their rank. This presents the greatest difficulty when the student is a black belt at about the Nidan or Sandan level. The apparent problem is that the student will lose interest if they continuously are required to do the same arts over and over.

One way that teachers have approached this problem is to add requirements to, or "pad" their testing requirements. In some cases, this padding has come from other non-DZR martial arts (Karate, Judo, Aikido, Eskrima, or whatever.) Another way that this has happened in the past is for a teacher to create a new board and proclaim inclusion in Danzan-Ryū.

There are martial arts which contain only a handful of techniques and are very effective with their short curriculum. The proper approach (in this writer's view) is to do what the Professor laid down for us. The collection of techniques found in the boards should not leave us bored.