Training Times:

Training Venue:

Getting to the Sports Centre
From Square 3 head towards the South Towers (through the gap with the Security
Office just on your right and the stairs to the Student's Union corridor and Sub Zero
to the left), and go along the path up the hill, past the LTB on the right, going left at
the fork and continue until you get to the Sports Centre.

What We Do:

The Essex University Jitsu Club teaches Jiu Jitsu to anyone who wants 3NzaWJsZSB3aGlsZSBiZWluZyBoaWdob is to teach new Jitsuka (people who practice Jitsu) some basic self defence for use in different situations.

Jiu Jitsu - meaning "The Yielding Art" - is a Japanese martial art designed to, in essence, defeat an opponent by using the opponent's attacks against them using as little effort as possible. As you progress in the sessions throughout the year you will be taught more advanced methods of defending yourself against different types of attacks – starting the year with defences against being grabbed and moving on to punches, kicks, coshes (sticks) and knives, and the futher advanced grades learn to defend against baseball bats, chains and even swords. We use traditional training methods to teach technique which (again) requires as little energy as possible while being highly effective, as opposed to using brute force. Such techniques include, but are not limited to, an array of throws (taking down the opponent), joint locks and ground submission holds. Our website explains further.

Our number one concern is for the safety of ourselves and the safety of others training on the mat. Because of this one of the things we teach at the beginning of the year is how to fall and roll correctly so that pain and injury are very minimal, if any at all.

Who Can Do Jitsu and Why Bother?

It is one of life's sad truths that most of us will face physical aggression at least once in our lives. The aim of our club is to teach anyone of any shape, size and gender how to improve their odds and win in these situations. We have some fun and make some friends while we're doing it too. We are a very social group as we will get to know each other through the year while training and at other events (they keep our spot for us in the SU Bar... or at least we hope they do, the barman was laughing at the time). I can also say with some conviction that ours is the only club whose members (after plenty of practice of course) can comfortably dive over things like chairs, tables, or perhaps just a random person, land and roll out of it and want to go again.

Regional Activities:

During the academic year there are several opportunities for Gradings – physical tests by a senior black belt – through which you can earn the next belt above you and be deemed safe and competent enough to learn more advanced techniques. To do this we go to Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, a town just a short minibus ride away, at least twice a year – before the Christmas break and before the Easter break. We also participate in Regional Training days where our club and several others in East Anglia meet at Chelmsford and spend some of the day training together before some social time afterwards. Most of the Jitsu clubs near ours are similar to us because they're mainly also University-based clubs.

National Activities:

We also compete in two national competitions, the Randori Nationals and the Atemi Nationals, both of which as part of BUCS. These are always a two-day event; on the Saturday and Sunday morning we train with other Jitsuka from all around the country, being taught by some of the best teachers (Sensei) in our Foundation, and in the two afternoons are the competition, heats on the Saturday and finals on the Sunday. The Randori’s are judged by the skill of your throwing and locking technique and the Atemi’s are judged by your skill as a ground-fighter, aiming for the successful pin – the Atemi’s are considered a Judo-style competition.

Our Foundation:

We are governed by The Jitsu Foundation (TJF), a national body that is “the largest single-style Jiu Jitsu organisation in Britain”, comprising of a large amount of universities. The instructors, insurances, regional and national events and gradings are provided by TJF. The style they teach us is called Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu.

I expect you will have noticed the use of foreign words here, specifically the Japanese. This is because we use Japanese words and phrases all the time, from the names of techniques to commands given by the Sensei (the instructor). Don’t worry, it’s easy to pick up and remember – we’re not asking you to learn to speak the whole language, merely and handful of words.