Why I Chose Dan Zan Ryu Jujitsu

Why not Brazilian Jujitsu? 

Boxing? 

Karate? 

I like the practice and philosophy of these, but it seems like there is an endpoint. Black belt, black belt instructor probably after 10 years, but then what? 

I wanted to study a martial art that covered all the nuances of self-defense and mastery. Punching and kicking? For sure. Throwing people on the ground. 

Da! This is Russian President Vladimir Putin practicing Judo. Dan Zan Ryu and Judo are closely linked. 

Sorry, today Steem doesnt want me to post pictures...

 What about sticks and knifes? Add that too. Should pistols and rifles be included in the study of how to defend one’s self and family? I think being able to defend yourself against an armed attacker should be a part of any martial art. Dan Zan Ryu has a few lists (the name of the art printed on silk scrolls or wooden boards) dedicated to defense and use of guns, swords, knifes and even iron fans. 

Then, what about healing yourself or others after the fight? Some would stop me right here and point out that medicine and martial arts are separate. The concept of battlefield medicine didn’t start with TV show M*A*S*H. It can be traced all the way to ancient Egypt, then it went to India (yoga, ayurvedic) and hopped the Himalayas to Tibet, China and Japan. Thus the healing arts of massage, herbal medicine and acupuncture became part of daily life in those times, along with the arts that are designed to break bad people. A Japanese man studied these arts and wrote them down. This is the tl;dr history of Dan Zan Ryu. 

One day I put my training partner in a particularly uncomfortable hold-down. He was flat on his stomach and I stood, holding his wrist, keeping his elbow locked out while I stepped on his shoulder. “Keep that pressure on, please,” he said suddenly. “This is helping my back.” In a moment he gently tapped out and thanked me. I had worked out a knot in his upper back.  

The instructor walked by and remarked, “You didn’t know that every one of these arts are designed to be used for healing, too?” My partner and I had been studying Dan Zan Ryu for many years. We looked at each other and shook our heads. “You didn't tell us that,” I murmured.  

“Damn. I thought it was obvious.” 

I might be lucky. My instructor is a “Professor”. He is considered to hold a PhD in martial arts (but wont get you a job at a university, only a martial arts club). He could be considered a doctor too, because he is an acupuncturist. Injuries are rare, but it is super-convenient to have a guy like that to look after your bumps and thumps after class.   His 40-something years of martial arts has earned him an 8th degree black belt. The head of the system is a 10th. 

There is a lot to learn, because Dan Zan Ryu doesn’t have limits. A student can progress to a black belt in 4 or 5 years. 4 or 5 more years and a black belt may have seen half of the 180-something ‘black belt only’ arts. Being a black belt also means you have to study how to be a blacksmith, gunsmith or healer. At some point, a black belt is encouraged to learn another martial art system. 

Above all, I love how Dan Zan Ryu is not a money maker. A jujitsu club is not meant to be a profession, but simply something you can do in your free time. The rent needs to be paid and mats need to be fixed, so everyone pays dues and/or does service projects.  

No one is getting rich off of Dan Zan Ryu. But, I’ve found that my definition of ‘rich’ changed at some point. Instead of being able to “buy all the things” 

Goddamn! Click here to see the 'buy all the things" meem since Steemit sucks today.

I want to “know all the stuff” or “take time off to do all the things.” I’m a Sagittarius so the world is an open book to me. 

Dan Zan Ryu suits me just fine. 

I think I’ll stick with it for another 50 years or so.