Excited and scared just like how I always feel every time I’d do something new. Joyce invited me to try on a martial art, Jujitsu. I know very little about it. My limited understanding came from watching too much videos from Youtube. According to the instructor, Jujitsu means gentle art or technique. Huh, gentle.;) It was developed in the earlier times in Japan to conquer armed and armored opponents using one’s own body force.

 We waited anxiously while we watch a man and a woman grappling on the floor. In our minds were our usual question, “Are we sure we can do this?”

 We were there for trial before we decide if we want to continue to sign up. It started with the usual warm up; running around the gym, toning exercises and stretching, just like what we’ve done in Krav Maga. We did different types of push-ups; using our palms, wrist in different positions and the worst of all, fingers. Wow, my fingers cramped after that but I was kind of gratified because I was able to do it. We also did rolling, I’m not very sure about a more formal way to call it but it looked like an eggroll, only it’s used to break falls.

 Then the instructor, Sub, taught us how to break falls correctly. It was different from what we’ve learned from Krav Maga. In Jujitsu, they taught us to use our palms to break a fall. It was like slapping the floor once our back, not the head, reaches the floor.

Basic stuff was part one, striking. We were taught how to punch and kick from the front. I was comfortable with these because I’ve learned it before. Then, part 2 was throwing an opponent. I had a hard time with the techniques because it’s completely different from what I learned before. In Krav, after a block, we were taught to neutralize the opponent with multiple, short, medium and long range strikes. In Jujitsu however, after a block, we were expected to throw the person from behind. I practiced with the instructor while Joyce with another beginner.

 We were also shown how to throw in different ways. After a long 2hours of training, we were asked to spar. I got a chance to spar  two times, one with the instructor, the other with the  other beginner. I also got thrown twice..lol ouch

 Anyway, it was a fun experiment. I’ve to say, I really like these kinds of activities, physical, and challenging. After the training I suddenly missed Krav Maga, no rules just plain fighting for survival. I’m really intending to go back to self-defense in preparation for my solo trip to India next month. hay

So, these are my Jujitsu souvenirs;