About Us

Rogers Zen Ha Kenpo Jujitsu Association

Welcome to Zen Ha Kenpo Ryu Ju-jitsu Association. Zen Ha Kenpo Ryu is a large and widely recognised group within the British Ju-Jitsu Association (BJJAGB); the governing body for Jujitsu in this country. Zen Ha Kenpo Ryu Jujitsu are honoured and proud members; highly respected within the B.J.J.A.(GB). Governing body chief coach is Shihan Martin Rogers (7th Dan B.J.J.A(GB)), he is a senior technical board member of the governing body, senior examiner and senior weapons coach. Shihan Rogers also holds senior coaching certificates in the B.J.J.A.(GB). He is a qualified judge and referees in sport jujitsu with both national and international experience. As a member of The Zen Ha Kenpo Ryu, you will also have the opportunity to meet and train with top instructors from overseas at national and international events; one of which hosted by ourselves in early October. All Zen Ha Kenpo Ryu instructors are fully qualified coaches and are CRB checked. We aim to promote a friendly atmosphere amongst students and between clubs where everyone mixes together. There are also numerous social events throughout the year where you can meet and make new friends.

What is Jujitsu?

Jujitsu is the oldest documented form of Japanese martial art. The word ?Ju? means gentle, supple or to yield, while ?Jitsu? (or 'Jutsu') simply means art, skill or science. Thus, Jujitsu is also known as the gentle skill or the art of yielding. However, students would agree that there is not much ?gentle? about the martial art; the meaning the word ?Ju? is conveying is that Jujitsu does not use strength against strength, but uses an opponent's strength and force of attack as a weapon against him, thus enabling a stronger or bigger attacker to be subdued. It was originally developed as the unarmed combat system of the Samurai (Japanese warriors), to enable them to continue fighting if they lost their weapons or for situations where weapons were not warranted. Today, contemporary Jujitsuka (Jujitsu practitioner), practice developed syllabi which are based on defence against different types of attacks that can occur in everyday situations. You will learn a variety of skills which include break falling, evading, striking, throwing, locking and holding down (restraint). Recent years have seen the development of Sport Ju-Jitsu, an exciting format to test the all round skills of the Jujitsuka at both national and international levels.

History of Jujitsu

The origins of Jujitsu are lost in the clouds of time, but what we do know is that old records show that the art has been practised as far back as the 8th Century (over 1200 years ago). From the 8th to the 16th Century, Japan was in constant civil war. The Samurai always fought with a variety of weapons, including sword, spear, bo and halberd. There were times when a Samurai would be unable or would not choose to use his main weapons but would grapple empty-handed to take his opponent prisoner or to restrain him. These type of techniques had names such as Taijutsu, Yawara-ge, Kumi-Uchi, Wajutsu and Torite. At the beginning of the 17th Century, peace came to Japan; this was known as the Edo period and the power and prestige of the Samurai gradually declined. Weapons were no longer so important to them and they began to develop their un-armed techniques. It was during this time that the name Jujitsu was derived and came into general use, the common people of Japan (previously forbidden to own or train with weapons), began to study it as well. During this period of it?s history, Jujitsu was predominantly a grappling art. Japan began to adopt the striking skills from China's ?Ch?uan fa (fist way), known as ?Kenpo? (fist law) in Japanese. Jujitsu first came to Britain in the mid 20th Century, at the end of World War II, after Japan had lost the war in the Pacific. American forces declared it illegal for any Japanese to practise martial arts. At this time, many Jujitsu schools disappeared and the ?Do? arts became prominent. Whilst the interest in Jujitsu continued to decline in Japan, it was seeing its rebirth in Europe and America.