As we pursue our goals in life, whether it is our career or martial arts training, obstacles inevitably appear and make an attempt to short circuit our endeavors. It is important to understand that these interruptions are not necessarily signals that we are on the wrong path but more often are just the normal and expected “bump in the road” that may require us to slow down and evaluate our course of action before continuing our journey.

After training in the martial arts for almost 40 years, I relocated from New York to Texas which displaced me from my training and teaching of Hakkoryu Jujutsu. I questioned whether I would again have the opportunity to continue my study and sharing of Hakkoryu Jujutsu. Not losing hope and maintaining perseverance towards this life-long passion, I had the good fortune to meet Shihan John Cole and began training with him at his dojo, Hakkoryu Ken-nin Dojo in Austin, Texas.

Resulting from this association was an even greater opportunity: official recognition of my dojo by the Hakkoryu So Hombu in Omiya, Japan and Nidai Soke Okuyama. Hakkoryu Nintai Dojo has been granted the honor of providing instruction in Hakkoryu Jujutsu in the greater Houston area. I am honored to be given this opportunity and consider myself very fortunate to now be in a position to continue my training of Hakkoryu Jujutsu and at the same time share my knowledge of this very unique martial art.

I welcome interested individuals to become part of this very special circle of learning and enjoy the fulfillment from studying this very special art form.

Avoid battle whenever possible.

When confronted by an aggressive individual, try to stay calm and passive. Be apologetic without sacrificing your principles. This may have a positive effect on the attacker and it may deescalate the potential altercation.

Of course, if the individual continues to pursue his/her attack, a more dominant and defensive approach would be necessary. This is where knowledge of self-defense techniques is important.

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

This quote has relevance in self-defense applications. Controlling an attacker is more feasible the closer he/she is to you. If confronted by and individual with a hand gun, I would much rather have it placed by my body or head than a long range threat.

The untrained cynic who questions a person who trains in a martial art asks “So what are you going to do against a gun?” My response is … “ A lot more than you can do!!”

The only hope against a long range gun threat is to reason with the person or close the gap so that there is an opportunity to control the weapon.

Being attacked by someone with a weapon is certainly a scary situation but at least the trained individual has a chance while the untrained person would most likely succumb to the attacker.