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Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
Jonesy- Posts : 1070
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afulldeck- Posts : 377
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Thanks for posting.
Cichorei Kano- Posts : 1948
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- Post n°3
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Cichorei Kano Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:19 am
Always thought he had interesting eyebrows ...
Ben Reinhardt- Posts : 794
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- Post n°4
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Ben Reinhardt Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:52 am
Cichorei Kano wrote:Always thought he had interesting eyebrows ...
I was his uke, once, for a short time. Back in mid-80s he showed up in Ft.Worth, Texas on some sort of tour. I *think* he had just gotten his 10th Dan. We were at the Ft.Worth Jewish Community Center (where there were judo classes on the weekend).
Anyway, he was a very congenial man, and quite elderly even then. Yes, amazing eyebrows too. His hands were very arthritic.
He worked out with little kids (I was a teenager, ikkyu or nikyu at the time), taking ukemi for them quite a bit. On a very thin foldout mat...
Anyway, he demonstrated some throws on me, ashi waza, particularly Hiza Guruma. The proverbial empty jacket he was, truly amazing. He then gave me some advice on my Ouchi Gari.
NBK- Posts : 1298
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Last edited by NBK on Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:18 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : deleted)
NBK- Posts : 1298
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....
Last edited by NBK on Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:18 am; edited 1 time in total
Cichorei Kano- Posts : 1948
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- Post n°7
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Cichorei Kano Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:08 am
NBK wrote:Out of the blue yesterday someone gave me some docs demonstrating a close reationship between Kotani sensei and Ueshiba Morihei. Kotani worked for the Manchurian Railroad and knew Tomiki sensei - whenever Ueshiba sensei came, they linked up.
Kotani shaped judo kata with his aikido influenced interpretations - this might explain how he came by that aikido skill.
I only met Kotani-sensei once and he was teaching goshinjutsu. I somewhere still have a very nice recording of his Kôdôkan goshinjutsu. It was impressive. Both Kotani-sensei and Takata-sensei's goshinjutsu were among the best I have ever seen. Perhaps Kotani's proficiency in this is not totally unrelated to what it is you just mentioned.
afja_lm139- Posts : 152
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Age : 83
Kotani sensei tested me for shodan in 1961. He was our hero back then. A true sensei. Hum BTW he sighed my first certificate; a keeper for sure.
NBK- Posts : 1298
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Last edited by NBK on Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:19 am; edited 1 time in total
Cichorei Kano- Posts : 1948
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- Post n°10
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Cichorei Kano Sun Mar 02, 2014 12:29 pm
NBK wrote:BTW I don't understand the subject line - Kotani sensei was promoted in 1984, 46 years after Kano shihan died, so he certainly wasn't one of the 'original 10 dan' as I would describe them as the folks promoted by Kano shihan.
I assume that what is meant is "last of the 10th dan holders who were original students of Kanô". Only 3 people received a 10th dan from Kanô himself, and one of those three never knew it since he was already was as dead as a doornail although the promotion was antedated.
Then you never know for sure; somewhere on the Internet there is a guy who claims he was promoted to nidan or sandan 8 years ago or so by ... Kudô Kazuzô ...
NBK- Posts : 1298
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Last edited by NBK on Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:19 am; edited 1 time in total
Jonesy- Posts : 1070
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It is probably unlikely that Ueshiba was directly involved as he was already 74 years old at the time of the Kodokan goshinjutsu's launch. Additionally of course Ueshiba is not listed as member of the committee that developed the kata - which is composed of 25 Kodokan high-dan holders only. On the other hand, it is quite possible that Kotani-sensei must have met him on and off via Tomiki-sensei who held the leading position in the committee to introduce the new qualities that were not in the original Kime-no-kata.
NBK- Posts : 1298
Join date : 2013-01-10
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Kotani knew Ueshiba from the 1930's.Jonesy wrote:It is probably unlikely that Ueshiba was directly involved as he was already 74 years old at the time of the Kodokan goshinjutsu's launch. Additionally of course Ueshiba is not listed as member of the committee that developed the kata - which is composed of 25 Kodokan high-dan holders only. On the other hand, it is quite possible that Kotani-sensei must have met him on and off via Tomiki-sensei who held the leading position in the committee to introduce the new qualities that were not in the original Kime-no-kata.
I assumed the Ueshiba he cited was Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Ueshiba sensei's son, and the then head of the Aikikai, as Kotani sensei didn't seem to use honorifics one would expect him to use to name Ueshiba Morihei the founder of aikido.
Jonesy- Posts : 1070
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Did you know I assumed it was O-sensei not the son. I just saw "Ueshiba" and assumed the founder........NBK wrote:Kotani knew Ueshiba from the 1930's.Jonesy wrote:It is probably unlikely that Ueshiba was directly involved as he was already 74 years old at the time of the Kodokan goshinjutsu's launch. Additionally of course Ueshiba is not listed as member of the committee that developed the kata - which is composed of 25 Kodokan high-dan holders only. On the other hand, it is quite possible that Kotani-sensei must have met him on and off via Tomiki-sensei who held the leading position in the committee to introduce the new qualities that were not in the original Kime-no-kata.
I assumed the Ueshiba he cited was Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Ueshiba sensei's son, and the then head of the Aikikai, as Kotani sensei didn't seem to use honorifics one would expect him to use to name Ueshiba Morihei the founder of aikido.
Cichorei Kano- Posts : 1948
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- Post n°15
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Cichorei Kano Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:56 am
NBK wrote:Kotani knew Ueshiba from the 1930's.Jonesy wrote:It is probably unlikely that Ueshiba was directly involved as he was already 74 years old at the time of the Kodokan goshinjutsu's launch. Additionally of course Ueshiba is not listed as member of the committee that developed the kata - which is composed of 25 Kodokan high-dan holders only. On the other hand, it is quite possible that Kotani-sensei must have met him on and off via Tomiki-sensei who held the leading position in the committee to introduce the new qualities that were not in the original Kime-no-kata.
I assumed the Ueshiba he cited was Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Ueshiba sensei's son, and the then head of the Aikikai, as Kotani sensei didn't seem to use honorifics one would expect him to use to name Ueshiba Morihei the founder of aikido.
Are you sure that the information you cite is more than merely anecdotal ? I am not sure how influential Kisshômaru technically was outside of the Aikikai, especially while his father was still alive and especially in the light of people like Tôhei Kôichi and Shioda Gôzô. Sure, after Morihei's death he became of course the dôshû, but it is also after his death that various of the schisms occurred particularly involving relationships with those people who technically were the most senior. People 'knowing' each other is one thing, but is there any evidence whatsoever of Kotani actually practically studying aikidô until some level of seniority ? Kimura Masahiko knew Shioda Gôzô very well too, but that doesn't make Kimura an aikidôka whose jûdô would have been inspired by Shioda's aikidô. Where's the cause/effect here ? A and B simultaneously occurring doesn't imply that they have any cause/effect relationship.
NBK- Posts : 1298
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Last edited by NBK on Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:20 am; edited 1 time in total
Cichorei Kano- Posts : 1948
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- Post n°17
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Cichorei Kano Mon Mar 03, 2014 12:23 pm
NBK wrote:And for CK, I would expect that Tomiki's aikido knowledge and influence would be enough to suit anyone - Tomiki was history's first aikido 8dan (the ultimate dan grade), personally promoted by Ueshiba in 1941 IIRC. Around this same time, Tomiki is already teaching and developing Ueshiba's prewar aikibujutsu into what became Shodokan Aikido, a.k.a. 'Tomiki aikido'. And there is a ton of info about Tomiki's intent towards Goshinjutsu written by him, very explicit info.
Why would anyone look beyond the obvious? It is clear that aikido-type techniques and thought influenced Goshinjutsu. I just thought it was an interesting aside that Kotani had more knowledge of aikido than is broadly known, and his mention of Ueshiba participation at any level was news to me. (In fact, now that I think of it, I would believe that Tomiki and Kotani would interact with Ueshiba Morihei, not his son - discussing, demos, etc., - not the old man showing up at the Kodokan for regular meetings and drills.....)
Beyond that, I cannot help you as you seem to think personal interactions and history can be reduced to a psuedo scientific dialectic - the people I know don't work that way. And all the more interesting for it, I reckon.
I beg your pardon ? You seem to have misunderstood my post. Of course the Tomiki link is obvious, and of course the aikidô-influence is obvious. Where else would kote-hineri and kote-gaeshi come from as they do not exist anywhere else in Kôdôkan jûdô. The reason I wrote my last post was solely because of you mentioning Ueshiba Kisshômaru. I found the suggested influence of Ueshiba Kisshômaru surprising (not the influence of Tomiki or of aikidô which should have been obvious since we have talked about this dozens of times, including the discussions about Tomiki's book, and including the film I personally sent you in which Tomiki was doing goshinjutsu). I have never heard anyone or never read any authoritative about Ueshiba Kisshômaru potentially influencing Kôdôkan goshinjutsu.
The further innuendo is unnecessary. when someone who is interested asks you about an entirely new avenue you present and inquires as to where is the cause/effect (that is between Ueshiba Kisshômaru and Kotani's goshinjutsu) angrily sneering at me is not helpful. What would be helpful would be to elaborate on what evidence you have to support your assertion. What you suggested (Kisshômaru --> Goshinjutsu --> Kotani) as far as I am aware of does not even amount to 'hearsay', but seems a personal speculation solely based on a document you found that describes that the two apparently new each other and might have been friends. Is it that outrageous of me to inquire on what the cause/effect deduction in that speculation is based on, or who or what else supports that view ? For example, did even Tomiki himself ever suggest such a cause/effect relationship between Kisshômaru and Kotani and Goshinjutsu ? Why would it even be necessary now that Tomiki was actually teaching at the Kôdôkan and on its teaching staff, was part of the Goshinjutsu committee, had been ordered by Kanô to investigate aikidô, was demonstrating Goshinjutsu at the 1956 Kagami-biraki ? I think it is interesting to know that Kotani and Kisshômaru knew each other, and I think that is the important part of your contribution as this probably is not common knowledge, but anything beyond that (specifically with regard to Kotani's skills as related to Kisshômaru --we are not talking Tomiki or aikidô in general) to me does not seem anything more but mere speculation.
Richard Riehle- Posts : 79
Join date : 2013-06-22
Location : California
- Post n°18
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Richard Riehle Sun Mar 09, 2014 12:47 am
I had to opportunity to study Aikido directly with Tohei-sensei and his best students. I also attended classes given directly by Shioda-sensei. Finally, I was able to watch Kissohomaru demonstrating Aikido. Of those three, the least skilled, in my view, was Kisshomaru. Tohei-sensei was amazing, almost mystical in his abilities. He placed great emphasis on the notion of Ki, and that led to difficulties with Hombu and Kisshomaru. Those difficulties involved a certain amount of jealousy and pettiness. Gozo Shioda was also an amazing talent. He never mentioned Ki directly that I could notice, but when doing his Aikido, he also seemed to invoke some kind of internal power that made him more powerful than his tiny slender frame would have suggested he could employ.Cichorei Kano wrote:NBK wrote:Kotani knew Ueshiba from the 1930's.Jonesy wrote:It is probably unlikely that Ueshiba was directly involved as he was already 74 years old at the time of the Kodokan goshinjutsu's launch. Additionally of course Ueshiba is not listed as member of the committee that developed the kata - which is composed of 25 Kodokan high-dan holders only. On the other hand, it is quite possible that Kotani-sensei must have met him on and off via Tomiki-sensei who held the leading position in the committee to introduce the new qualities that were not in the original Kime-no-kata.
I assumed the Ueshiba he cited was Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Ueshiba sensei's son, and the then head of the Aikikai, as Kotani sensei didn't seem to use honorifics one would expect him to use to name Ueshiba Morihei the founder of aikido.
Are you sure that the information you cite is more than merely anecdotal ? I am not sure how influential Kisshômaru technically was outside of the Aikikai, especially while his father was still alive and especially in the light of people like Tôhei Kôichi and Shioda Gôzô. Sure, after Morihei's death he became of course the dôshû, but it is also after his death that various of the schisms occurred particularly involving relationships with those people who technically were the most senior. People 'knowing' each other is one thing, but is there any evidence whatsoever of Kotani actually practically studying aikidô until some level of seniority ? Kimura Masahiko knew Shioda Gôzô very well too, but that doesn't make Kimura an aikidôka whose jûdô would have been inspired by Shioda's aikidô. Where's the cause/effect here ? A and B simultaneously occurring doesn't imply that they have any cause/effect relationship.
The schism between Tohei came to a head in the mid-1970's at a Chinese floating restaurant in Honolulu harbor. I was there. The party was for Kisshomaru, but Tohei showed-up. He realized he was being pushed out of the Aikikai, and he went to the front of the room, took the microphone, and held-forth for several minutes about the injustice he felt was being inflicted on him. I saw my Aikikai instructor, a dentist whose Aikido and whose teaching skills were excellent, standing behind a pillar in tears. Tohei had been his instructor, his sensei, and now he had to make a choice: follow Kisshomaru at the Aikikai, or follow Tohei in the new school of Aikido he was starting.
I took the Tohei path. It was beneficial to me, and it was beneficial to my Judo. In fact, one of the older instructors was a former Judo sensei who held a Rokudan in Judo and Rokudan in Aikido. Sometimes, when it was just him and me in the Aikido dojo, we would take a side-trip from Aikido into Judo. I learned a great deal from him, especially about how to incorporate what I was learning in Aikido into what I was practicing in Judo.
When I was learning Goshi-jutsu in Judo, I was disappointed with the poor quality of some of the waza. In particular, the Judo waza using a staff, after having learned this in Aikido, seemed clumsy and inadequate. The notion of letting someone with a knife have that knife hand free, even for a few moments, seemed quite strange, especially after training with the more effective techniques of Aikido. I dutifully learned and practiced the Judo Goshin-jutsu as it was being taught, but I always felt it was a long way from the kind of Aikido I had learned, and not nearly as effective.
Hanon- Posts : 537
Join date : 2012-12-31
Hi Sensei Riehle.
As you may know from a rather silly young age I was teaching active service troops self defence. A lot of it was what I had learned as a child and youngster. It was called Goshinjutsu. It was NOT nice and was the antithesis of kodokan judo. I also taught judo to troops in the evenings. The difference between the two is chalk and cheese.
I am a very strong anti Kodokan goshinjutsu kata practitioner. NON of my pre WW11 DNBK sensei would have it practiced on their tatami.
There is a thread on this very subject in the kata section. I have no idea HOW the Kodokan can relate such a kata to Japanese self defence. I think that kata achieves nothing that cannot be found in the Kime no kata in fact the kime no kata to me is more advanced even though much older.
The Aikido I was introduced to very early on in my budo career was also that of Tohei sensei also Saito sensei (the elder not the son) at a much latter date. I have an original copy of the book Tohei sensei authored and all my sensei admired him and spoke very well of him. NON of them ever spoke of Kissohomaru and that silence always spoke volumes. You are extremely fortunate to have received instruction from such a legend in Aikido.
I 'think', I don't know I wasn't there' that part of the problems with the kodokan goshinjutsu kata is the fact it was devised by a panel of at least 20 Kodokan master grades. THAT concept on its own makes me ponder how they ever achieved consensus at all regarding the content.
In terms of judo the kata may have some use IF Kime no kata is not available or one only desires to practice judo as a pure sport. IF you even mention that kata to any group of SD experts they will frown BUT most of them will know and respect the kime no kata? In terms of goshinjutsu or in English, self defence, the kodokan goshinjutsu is a very difficult order to practice as it is severely limited and on many occasions suicidal for tori. I simply cannot bring myself to teach it.
Kindest regards Richard.
Mike
As you may know from a rather silly young age I was teaching active service troops self defence. A lot of it was what I had learned as a child and youngster. It was called Goshinjutsu. It was NOT nice and was the antithesis of kodokan judo. I also taught judo to troops in the evenings. The difference between the two is chalk and cheese.
I am a very strong anti Kodokan goshinjutsu kata practitioner. NON of my pre WW11 DNBK sensei would have it practiced on their tatami.
There is a thread on this very subject in the kata section. I have no idea HOW the Kodokan can relate such a kata to Japanese self defence. I think that kata achieves nothing that cannot be found in the Kime no kata in fact the kime no kata to me is more advanced even though much older.
The Aikido I was introduced to very early on in my budo career was also that of Tohei sensei also Saito sensei (the elder not the son) at a much latter date. I have an original copy of the book Tohei sensei authored and all my sensei admired him and spoke very well of him. NON of them ever spoke of Kissohomaru and that silence always spoke volumes. You are extremely fortunate to have received instruction from such a legend in Aikido.
I 'think', I don't know I wasn't there' that part of the problems with the kodokan goshinjutsu kata is the fact it was devised by a panel of at least 20 Kodokan master grades. THAT concept on its own makes me ponder how they ever achieved consensus at all regarding the content.
In terms of judo the kata may have some use IF Kime no kata is not available or one only desires to practice judo as a pure sport. IF you even mention that kata to any group of SD experts they will frown BUT most of them will know and respect the kime no kata? In terms of goshinjutsu or in English, self defence, the kodokan goshinjutsu is a very difficult order to practice as it is severely limited and on many occasions suicidal for tori. I simply cannot bring myself to teach it.
Kindest regards Richard.
Mike
Last edited by Hanon on Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:21 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : spelling again!)
Richard Riehle- Posts : 79
Join date : 2013-06-22
Location : California
- Post n°20
Re: Sumiyuki Kotani - Last of the Original 10 dan
by Richard Riehle Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:07 pm
Hanon wrote:Hi Sensei Riehle.
As you may know from a rather silly young age I was teaching active service troops self defence. A lot of it was what I had learned as a child and youngster. It was called Goshinjutsu. It was NOT nice and was the antithesis of kodokan judo. I also taught judo to troops in the evenings. The difference between the two is chalk and cheese.
I am a very strong anti Kodokan goshinjutsu kata practitioner. NON of my pre WW11 DNBK sensei would have it practiced on their tatami.
There is a thread on this very subject in the kata section. I have no idea HOW the Kodokan can relate such a kata to Japanese self defence. I think that kata achieves nothing that cannot be found in the Kime no kata in fact the kime no kata to me is more advanced even though much older.
The Aikido I was introduced to very early on in my budo career was also that of Tohei sensei also Saito sensei (the elder not the son) at a much latter date. I have an original copy of the book Tohei sensei authored and all my sensei admired him and spoke very well of him. NON of them ever spoke of Kissohomaru and that silence always spoke volumes. You are extremely fortunate to have received instruction from such a legend in Aikido.
I 'think', I don't know I wasn't there' that part of the problems with the kodokan goshinjutsu kata is the fact it was devised by a panel of at least 20 Kodokan master grades. THAT concept on its own makes me ponder how they ever achieved consensus at all regarding the content.
In terms of judo the kata may have some use IF Kime no kata is not available or one only desires to practice judo as a pure sport. IF you even mention that kata to any group of SD experts they will frown BUT most of them will know and respect the kime no kata? In terms of goshinjutsu or in English, self defence, the kodokan goshinjutsu is a very difficult order to practice as it is severely limited and on many occasions suicidal for tori. I simply cannot bring myself to teach it.
Kindest regards Richard.
Mike
I enjoyed learning goshin-jutsu-no-kata because I had several really good Kodokan instructors who were good at it. Not every waza in that kata is bad. However, the gun defenses, the knife defenses, and the staff defenses are pretty awful. As you note, if one were to attempt those in a real-life situation, they would likely be rewarded with a quick death. So, we assume they are nothing more than a dance without accompanying music.
In my own youth, late teens and early twenties (1950's), I also learned a lot of combat fighting techniques, in part because of my particular military specialty at the time. The H2H techniques we learned were not appropriate to the dojo because they were not intended for "sport." Some of those techniques were not very effective either. It was when I began training in Aikido that I began to understand the difference between what can be effective and what is pure fantasy. Even so, much of what is being taught in some Aikido dojos also has its shortcomings.
On the few occasions I have had to engage in H2H with anyone, and there have been such occasions, I found standard Judo to be useful, especially sasae-tsurikomi-ashi a favorite technique that can be easily executed against someone not wearing clothing that one can grab. Also, ko-uchi-gari, with a lot of practice, works beautifully against a very large attacker. The point is, that when defending oneself, straightforward efficient minimalist techniques seem to be more effective than elaborately designed and complex movements. I still favor kote-gaeshi for some situations.
DougNZ- Posts : 405
Join date : 2013-01-28
Richard Riehle wrote:The point is, that when defending oneself, straightforward efficient minimalist techniques seem to be more effective than elaborately designed and complex movements.
I concur. Sadly, much of the ju-jitsu I have seen around the world has yet to work this out.
NBK- Posts : 1298
Join date : 2013-01-10
Location : Tokyo, Japan
I've puzzled over this for some time. The European style jujutsu seems to throw in everything but the kitchen sink - kick punch stomp stomp - and there is evidence that it goes back at least into the 1930's. I've found some minor data that a handful of Japanese went to Europe and taught jujutsu. The ones associated with Kodokan judo have been fairly well documented, but there were others that only show up sporadically. I really wonder what they were teaching.DougNZ wrote:Richard Riehle wrote:The point is, that when defending oneself, straightforward efficient minimalist techniques seem to be more effective than elaborately designed and complex movements.
I concur. Sadly, much of the ju-jitsu I have seen around the world has yet to work this out.
DougNZ- Posts : 405
Join date : 2013-01-28
NBK wrote:I've puzzled over this for some time. The European style jujutsu seems to throw in everything but the kitchen sink - kick punch stomp stomp - and there is evidence that it goes back at least into the 1930's. I've found some minor data that a handful of Japanese went to Europe and taught jujutsu. The ones associated with Kodokan judo have been fairly well documented, but there were others that only show up sporadically. I really wonder what they were teaching.DougNZ wrote:Richard Riehle wrote:The point is, that when defending oneself, straightforward efficient minimalist techniques seem to be more effective than elaborately designed and complex movements.
I concur. Sadly, much of the ju-jitsu I have seen around the world has yet to work this out.
When you look at early Western ju-jitsu books, manuals and publications, they all showed much the same 'tricks' and they were all fairly simple and rudimentary. The thing is, when tricks are used in peaceful dojo where people do not depend upon them for survival, it is easy to play with them, combining and morphing them into complicated maneuvers. The greatest exposure to these Japanese tricks from 1890 - 1920 was also the vaudeville stage or wrestling hall, so I suspect that exotic and flashy combinations were what was expected by eager Westerners.
This mentality persists, reinforced by the dan-i system. Many ju-jitsu styles become more and more complicated through the grades until the moves become unrealistic and unworkable in many instances. These systems are not about becoming a more sophisticated practitioner but about collecting the most techniques. In fact, one country's national governing body asked us to consider their stipulation that, in order for a ju-jitsu ryu / system to be accepted by the NGB, it must have a syllabus to 10th dan, approved by the NGB. So the difference between being a godan and a rokudan was not a more subtle application of control or greater fighting ability or more effective teaching or a deeper understanding of the art, but another newly-invented kata or bunch of techniques to be parroted back to a grading panel.
This approach is highlighted by seminar content. Mostly, western 'masters' will teach a number of flashy techniques in their allotted hour or two. The attendees will all go "Wow, these are cool" but not practice them beyond that day because they are not written into their syllabus. So the material is poor and the learning is wasted. What I rarely see is someone teaching posture or movement or leverage or fitting or any of those things that will let an attendee improve whatever they have already learnt. These fundamentals are what I see taught by other arts but hardly ever Western ju-jitsu.
The longer I practice ju-jitsu, the more I concentrate on the fundamentals that we teach at the beginner level.
NBK- Posts : 1298
Join date : 2013-01-10
Location : Tokyo, Japan
To me, the very idea of a National Governing Body for 'jujutsu' schools is nutty, much less one that demands an ever expanding curriculum. People will do the strangest things for validation.
DougNZ- Posts : 405
Join date : 2013-01-28
NBK wrote:To me, the very idea of a National Governing Body for 'jujutsu' schools is nutty, much less one that demands an ever expanding curriculum. People will do the strangest things for validation.
Yes and no. We founded a national body in 1999 to control the sporting side of ju-jitsu. This included training referees, planning and running tournaments, and selecting representatives for World Games representation. At the time, we made it clear we wanted nothing to do with non-sport ju-jitsu activities.
The problem is, people wanted cohesion and structure. The result was a NGB founded in 2003, which continued to administer sport and which also provided non-sport services such as seminar weekends and clinics, along with the administrative support one would expect of a NGB. Of course, not everyone buys into it. A constitutional stipulation remains that the NGB cannot influence the syllabus or gradings of any member organisation.
So, yes, a NGB that tells ju-jitsu schools how to do their ju-jitsu is nutty and no, a NGB has been good for safety and transparency in sport and in creating a closer ju-jitsu community.
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