Philosophy
The Martial Arts
Techniques that are used must work in the real world. If some "traditional" moves are inadequate we change them to what we see as more effective. This may seem disrespectful to the more traditional, but so be it. We only ask one question of any technique. Does it work? Techniques must work today. If the ancient masters were living today, maybe they wouldn't be too concerned about what would happen if they were dismounted in battle and lost their steely sword.
Perhaps they would be more interested in what to do in a subway being surrounded by three guys - maybe one's got a knife...
Professor Wally Jay, founder of small circle ju-jitsu once said "Learn from all of the arts, find the techniques that work for you and never concern yourself with criticism"
The Club
The club is run based on friendliness and openness. Giant egos and the "hard man" mentality are not tolerated. Instead we encourage healthy competition and fellowship.
Learning potentially dangerous skills means there is only room for respect and helpfulness. The standard at our club is proof that you can have fun and still excel..
This is especially true in the case of the juniors' class.
There are no politics in Satori Ju-jitsu Club.
Just a code of conduct based on martial art values and modern safety practises.
Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, I learned in nursery school. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandbox.
These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Stick your tongue out at them when they turn around. Wash your hands before you eat. Learn and think, draw and sing and dance, and play. Take a nap in the afternoon. Don't pee your pants.
If you do pee your pants, do it in the afternoon rather than the morning.
When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick
together. Don’t moon or be mooned at. Remember the little seed in the plastic
cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up, and scientists know why. But kids
don’t.
And then remember the book about Janet and John and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The golden rule and love and basic hygiene, and looking up Janet's skirt.
Think of what a better world it would be if we all had biscuits and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. I still do that. But my boss gets a bit upset.
When you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together. Don’t moon or wet yourself.