FAQ's

What do I need to wear?

When you first start, we recommend that you wear a loose t-shirt, jogging bottoms and train with bare feet. When you are ready for your first grading only then will you need to buy a Gi, the white suit worn by people who practice martial arts.

What age can I start training?

This is a discipline that is suitable for all ages up to and beyond 80. For children we recommend that 6 is a good age to start, as you are able to follow instruction and comply by rules.

What is a DoJo?

A Dojo is the name given to the gym or room that training sessions take place.

What is a Sensei?

Your Sensei is the person who is teaching you your new skills.

I would like to learn a martial art for self-defence is ju jitsu good for this purpose?

As for self defence, good kickers will place themselves at the right distance to fire off a good kick, punchers will place themselves closer for a good punch and grapplers/judo people will generally go for the clinch – there is therefore no perfect self defence position, each individual will have their own preferred distance.

My own view is that our Jitsu is the best – but maybe I’m biased! We perform a variety of self-defence type scenarios, a straight punch, a wrist grab, defence against various kicks, lapel grabs, bear hugs etc, etc. So the exponent gets used to moving in such a way that the punch is avoided, but to also place themselves in a good position to execute retaliation. We practise punching, kicking and other more subtle strikes against pads and focus only (no contact) with a partner – while emphasising the best (most vulnerable) target areas. The only downside, if we have one, is that we do not do any sparring, competitions and very little ground work (Gracie Jitsu is quite different) – this allows the student to work and learn in a non-confrontational environment.

Would I be better to come twice a week or once a week and learn kickboxing at the same time for powerful punchers and kicks or does ju jitsu have this already?

The general recommendation in the martial arts “world” is that it is better to work hard at one art than half as hard on two.

I am very interested in taking up Jujitsu. I have no martial arts experience and am 21 years old. Would I be welcome to join your training sessions, or am I too long in the tooth to start training?

Too long in the tooth??? Ah no! Well for the juniors perhaps, but not for the seniors.You’d be very very welcome to come along and have a go, just wear tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt and find out what it’s all about.

My girl friend is a bit hesitant about coming to Ju Jitsu training, even though she has always wanted to learn a martial art as she is quite small. Is there anything I can say to convince her not to be worried about coming along?

Ju Jitsu has been said to mean many things, but they are all based around the “gentle art”. It is all about attacking your opponents weakest (or at least weaker points) – and no that doesn’t mean ALWAYS kicking him in the groin!

We use strikes to numerous vulnerable points around the body as weakeners which gives us the time to perform a more “permanent” technique, like a wrist, shoulder or elbow lock to force compliance, and often take the opponent to the floor. Once there our choices are many – ju Jitsu or forms of are used by many (most) police forces, because generally you can force compliance without actually causing any lasting damage – unless you want or really need to.

All of this takes time to learn properly, but our route to the coveted black belt is only 3 years – based on training twice a week every week.

Our training is performed in a non-confrontational way, that is to say there is no sparring as in boxing or karate, there are no winners or losers, just a bunch of people learning to perform the techniques in a controlled safe manner.

Our art is based around specific self-defence type scenarios;

 - Strangles from the front

 - Strangles from the back

 - Lapel grabs

 - Wrist grabs

You get the picture, as well as a good ‘ol straight punch to the face, or karate style kicks.

There’s a hell of a lot to learn and the first few sessions will blow your mind and you won’t remember a thing!

The first session is free and will give you a basic feel for what it is all about, but the reality is that it takes about 6 sessions of ANY martial art to get a real appreciation of it.

We don’t have many women I’m afraid, but we do have one who has reached 2nd Dan black belt and that always helps to make the ladies feel more at home. 

So, come along, give it a go, but be prepared to do all sorts of somewhat odd things, and don’t expect to become an expert overnight!!

What I want to know is how do I go about starting my own ju jitsu school?

 - Achieve purple belt

 - Be aged over 16 I believe though it may be 18

 - Attend the Assistant Club Coach course

 - Complete a set number of coaching hours under the tutelage of your Club or Senior Coach, document these lesson plans and hours and have them signed off by you club or senior coach.

 - Submit this documentation to Liverpool for assessment.

 - If successful achieve Assistant Club Coach status – this only authorises you to teach within your coaches class while they are in attendance.

 - Achieve Black Belt.

 - Attend a Club Coach course then follow steps 4, 5 & 6, this time achieving Club Coach.

This gives you the status to run your own class, but to do this you also need the following;

 - Your normal training insurance.

 - PI insurance

 - First Aid certificate

 - CRB check

 - Venue Risk Assessment (if take a class for your coach they should already have this)

 - Dojo registration for each venue (if take a class for your coach they should already have this)

Once you have successfully run a class for 2 or more years, start asking your coach for a Senior Coaching Course – these are less regularly run and by invitation.

Running a class is very rewarding if done properly. It teaches the coach a hell of a lot about his own techniques and it’s GREAT to see students enjoy themselves and advance in both ability and grade.