How We Teach
Each class consists of warmup exercises, footwork and striking practice, groundwork, and kata training. Students work in small groups with one another, under the guidance of more advanced students and black belt instructors.
Mistakes are viewed as a natural part of training, and as an opportunity to learn more about the techniques and their possible variations. The mistake of today is the art of tomorrow.
As you progress, we will ask you to teach other students what you have learned, perhaps before you feel that you have fully learned it. We will be there in the background if your student has questions you can’t answer, or if you’re still having trouble with the arts yourself, but we want to give you and your students room to explore on your own. Cooperative learning gives you a greater depth of understanding of the arts you are learning, and it helps to slowly ease you into the greater responsibility that comes with greater rank.
Jujitsu (literally, the technique of flexibility or yielding) is not an art which every practitioner does in exactly the same way. Each person’s body is different, and each person thinks about the arts differently. There is no one perfect technique and no one perfect way to do each technique. Keep an open mind, experiment, and find ways to adapt the pure kata art to your individual body and style. In the words of the late Professor Pat Browne, "e;That’s why it’s called martial arts, not martial Xeroxing."e;