2012 Canadian Jiu-jitsu Union Winter Camp Re-Cap
This year’s Canadian Jiu-jitsu Union Winter camp was an awesome success. It was held on Feb. 4-5 in Sunshine Valley RV Resort just outside of Hope, BC. It featured some of the highest ranking instructors in Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu, including, Ed Hiscoe Hanshi (9th Dan), Steve Hiscoe Shihan (8th Dan), Allen St. John Sensei (6th Dan), Phil Wiebe Sensei (3rd Dan), and me, a humble 4th Dan. (more…)
The Tao of Saying Goodbye – Part 2: Tips for Martial Arts Instructors
Last week, I offered tips for martial arts students on saying goodbye respectfully if they decide to quit or take a break from their training. Instructors, on the other side of the equation, have an even greater responsibility for responding well to students leaving. The way I look at it, martial arts instructors are leaders in the community. We should hold ourselves to the highest standards in our personal relationships, even under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Tips for Saying Goodbye as a Martial Arts Instructor
There are no two ways about it; saying goodbye to students is tough, and the longer the student has been with you, the harder it is. While the financial aspect can be a factor, more often than not, it is the personal relationship you’ve developed that makes it hard. Here are some tips for easing the process for both you and your students: (more…)
The Tao of Saying Goodbye – Part 1: Tips for Martial Arts Students
Dojo owners/instructors always hope that each new student that walks in the door will fall in love with their school and its martial arts classes and stay with them for years, even decades. Good instructors pour their hearts into what they do and want to see their students receive all the benefits of martial arts training they have come to appreciate over the years. Realistically though, this kind of long term commitment is rare, and even if students are committed, there will be times when life leads them to take breaks. Senseis must learn to accept this inevitability and be able to say goodbye with respect and grace. It’s not necessarily easy for them though, especially if the student has been with them a while, so there are things students can do to help the process.
4 Key Principles for Defending Against Larger Sized Attackers
Being a smaller woman, I’ve had to practice my Jiu-jitsu/self-defense techniques with a different mindset throughout my martial arts career of nearly 20 years. I’ve had to learn to compensate for my inherent physical disadvantages while making the most of my advantages. When it comes to self-defense though, I’ve identified 4 key principles that help provide the greatest efficiency when defending against larger sized attackers with greater strength when unarmed. (more…)
Dojo Hockey Warm-up for Martial Arts Classes
It’s important to have a wide variety of cardio warm-up options to develop different body movements, but also to keep things interesting for your students. Our traditional warm-up choices have always been skipping, stair climbing, running, and even the occasional game of freeze tag. Recently, I introduced a new game, dojo hockey, as a choice for warming up. It was something that I once did in a Taekwondo class a while back. I remembered it and thought it would be a nice change. It is now our most requested option for warm-up. (more…)
How to Breakfall Naturally
This is a bit of a contradiction in terms. Breakfalling is one of the most unnatural things we teach to new students, to consciously let yourself fall to the ground without trying to stop the fall or slow your descent. We naturally fear the threat of injury we have learned can result from impact. In truth, we are our own worst enemy with this line of thinking. But what happens when this fear is removed from the picture?
Have you every taken a fall so fast that you had no time to even recognize that you’re falling? I know I have. While I was in Ottawa over the holidays I was rushing out of the house down my parents’ sloped driveway. There was a half inch of new snow. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the new snow was covering a thick layer of ice from the freezing rain we had prior to the snow. As I committed my hurried step to the ground, my foot just slipped out from under me banana-peel style with no time to think or react. I was carrying bags in both my arms at the time too. The funny thing was that there was no “breakfalling” but I managed to fall without hurting any part of my body. (more…)
Can Older People Do Jiu-jitsu? Just Ask Rick…
Every so often a prospective student emails me and asks me if it’s realistic for an older person to take up Jiu-jitsu. Most of the time the people asking are in the 40s and overweight or out of shape. I’ve always said that it’s possible for anyone of pretty much any age and physical condition (provided doctor’s approval) to start training, but it was only after Rick Karnowski started training with us, that I had the perfect person to point toward as proof. (more…)
5 Tips for Maintaining Martial Arts Training (Or Any Hobby) as a Parent
I recently started thinking about all the parents that train at my dojo and their training patterns. Some come to class like clockwork every week. Others come more sporadically. Then there are some who sign up with the best of intentions to train regularly and then fall away from training for months at a time because of their parental commitments. Not having any children myself, this got me thinking: Is it very challenging for parents to maintain their martial arts training because of their kids? Some people seem to have no trouble, others find it a struggle. What is the secret to keeping it going? With no experience to draw on, I turned to Facebook to ask my many martial arts friends for help answering these questions. The following tips are the result of said inquiry. (more…)
Celebrating Martial Arts Milestones
It’s important to live your life on purpose. Not to go through life letting everything happen without taking an active interest, but to have intentions for yourself so you keep developing as a person. When you achieve goals, it’s important to pay homage to them and celebrate the sense of accomplishment it brings.
Taking Responsibility for Higher Level Learning
I recently graded for my light blue belt in Shorinji Kan Jiu-jitsu and I’m happy to report that I passed and am feeling altogether smurfy in my new belt. As I go up the ranks in Shorinji Kan, I’m reminded of how the nature of training and grading preparation changes the higher you get. All too often students get into the higher belt ranks in their style without being fully aware of the shifts in responsibility so it’s important to understand what this entails.
The Shift in Responsibility
When you’re in the citrus coloured belt levels, your instructor more or less takes care of you. You put complete trust in them to make sure you know what you’re supposed to know for your level so that when you’re put up for your next grading, you’re aware of what is expected of you. But when you get up to the upper intermediate and senior level Kyu ranks, the responsibility shifts. Sensei is often more focused on the lower ranks’ development and you start to play a role in their development too, running warm-ups, teaching breakfalls, sometimes even teaching techniques. As a result, you don’t always necessarily get to train some of the higher level techniques that you’re expected to learn at your belt level. (more…)
We're proud to announce that Lori O'Connell Sensei's new book, When the Fight Goes to the Ground: Jiu-jitsu Strategies & Tactics for Self-Defense, published through international martial arts publisher Tuttle Publishing, is now available in major book stores and online. More about it & where to buy it.