Each week, our entertainments reporter tries out a new activity. See the latest How to.. This page last updated: Thursday, March 23, 2006 .
How to do.. jujitsu
IT’S the modern nightmare – you’re sat in the pub having a quiet drink and all of a sudden somebody from across the room takes a dislike to you and decides to come at you with a pool cue.
The instant solution to the problem, according to sensai Paul King, leader of the Goshin Ryu Kempo Jujitsu, is to run.
But if you can’t do that, Paul, and his wife Lesley, can show you a thing or two to stop your assailant in his tracks.
The school, which meets on Tuesdays in the Dogsthorpe Martial Arts Academy in Dogsthorpe Road, and on Thursdays at the Community Centre in Market
Deeping, is a class for adults aimed at teaching self defence, taking in the
realities of modern life.
Aside from a traditional opening series of bows before the class warm-up, the whole feel of the class is very relaxed. Both Paul and Lesley ensure that even the warm-ups are changed around each week to keep the class fresh, and a lot of emphasis is put on finding the right way to do things for yourself.
Whenever I come to a martial arts class I always find them very friendly – despite the fact I know many of the practitioners could fold me into some strange form of origami model.
And the jujitsu class was no exception – I was teamed up with two relative beginners to go through some basic defence moves, and we received a lot of attention from Paul to ensure we got things right.
The 28 years as a student and five years of tutoring Paul has under his belt was clear to see as he took me slowly through the best way to fall without hurting yourself by starting from a seated position, and ensured we went through each move until we were certain about what we were doing.
The different skills I learned included how to stop someone in their tracks if they were aiming a punch or about to attack with a stick or machete, as well as the outside hock – the most basic throw which sends your assailant sprawling on their back. All moves used simple holds and basic physics to help you get the better of your opponent.
I also learned the areas to aim for if you ever were attacked – to affect the assailant’s sight, breathing or ability to run after you – as well as the amount of restraint you should use to ensure you didn’t get into trouble afterwards.
The class was split into groups according to skill and experience, following the moves necessary to go up to different coloured belts, all overseen by Paul and Lesley.
And this week there was the chance for class members to put what they had learned to the test with two minutes of random attack.
This exercise, which is thrown into sessions now and again, essentially tested what the class knew by putting each student into the centre of the circle and calling out for a couple of classmates to attack them one at a time.
Through exercises like this, each member of the class was encouraged to think on their feet – as they would have to in an actual attack – without actually causing their assailant any real harm.
After the class Paul said: “We do it for pure self defence rather than competitive sport. We work on what works for you – to ensure if you get attacked in the street you do what comes naturally.
“We have taken everything we have learned as a traditional martial art, and hope we have evolved it in the right direction to try to make it as safe as possible to execute it without putting yourself in a vulnerable position.”