Jujitsu: Basic Techniques of the Gentle Art by George Kirby

• Remember, practice, practice, practice, or good old kime-no-kata (practice the form without executing the technique).
• Pain is relative; injury is absolute!
• The white belt eventually becomes black only because of the time, effort, and experience the wearer puts into practicing the art.
• When you have become a black belt or sensei in the martial arts or at any other skill, do not keep your knowledge to yourself. If you do not help others, you have not truly learned the art.
• You don’t truly learn how to do something until you teach someone else to practice that skill or art at least as well as you do.
• Stated simply, jujitsu is the “gentle art” of self-defense. This is a very simple definition for a very complicated art.
• There are perhaps 30 to 50 basic moves that make the art so complex and almost infinite in its variety.
• By dividing the art into three general areas (jud for throws and leverage, karate for strikes and hits, and aikido for nerves and the use of attacker momentum), portions of the art became easier to teach.
• A physical confrontation should be avoided whenever possible.
• If you practice techniques and moves regularly, your proficiency will be developed and improved.
• It is essential that you take your time while learning. Rushing will get you nowhere fast. Patience and persistent practice, directed toward perfecting techniques, will bring you the confidence that accompanies success.
• Jujitsu techniques will only work if you are calm and in control of your body.
• Calmness is reflected in your ability to keep presence of mind in an otherwise tense situation--even though you are aware of what is happening or has happened and feel scared. If you remain calm, keep your presence of mind, speak in a low voice and refrain from indications of fright, you have a better chance of getting out of the situation successfully.
• Speed cannot compensate for a lack of development in the aforementioned factors. Speed is a consequence that will come naturally as proficiency in techniques increases.
• Proficiency and speed are required for effective self-defense techniques. However, speed cannot compensate for a lack of proficiency.
• Jujitsu techniques are relatively easy to learn if you approach them with an open and positive mind. If you also understand the mechanics behind the techniques, they are easier to understand and learn.
• Once you’ve learned everything right-handed, you should then learn the techniques left-handed by simply doing everything the opposite way.
• A technique used for a lapel grab also can be used for a hit, club attack, choke, etc., with only slight modifications in the initial reaction to the attack.
• The use of strikes and nerves form an integral part of jujitsu techniques, either to loosen up an opponent as part of an actual technique or as a finish to a technique once the opponent is on the ground.
• Nerves and pressure points are those points in the human body, usually at a body joint, where nerve centers can be attacked.
• Jujitsu techniques are only useful if they are automatic reactions.
• It is impossible to effectively learn jujitsu without a partner. You must work with another human body to get the feel of the techniques.
• All jujitsu techniques are taught as reactions to street attacks.
• Gravity controls which direction you will fall--usually down.
• It is important to know hot to land--how to hit the ground with proper breakfalls, spreading the shock out over your torso and extremities--to reduce your chances of injury.
• The importance of learning how to land properly cannot be overemphasized.
• JUjitsu, unlike arts that solely emphasize kata, is an art that must be learned through contact. You need to train with another person so that you can develop the feel for what is required to execute a technique correctly and for how a correctly executed technique feels. You need to know how another human body reacts to what you are doing. For this, constant training with others is the only way to understand jujitsu and its usefulness.
• Keep in mind that some techniques will be more difficult to learn than others and that none can be mastered overnight.
• Integrity can be defined as your reputation, how you see yourself and, more importantly, how other people see you. This is usually a long-term view of you based on your history.
• Humility is your ability to be humble while maintaining your integrity. You do not need to be boastful or tell people how wonderful you are or how much you know or what you can do. Although you may be quite knowledgeable or competent, it is for others to discover through your behavior; your actions and their experiences with you.
• Humility is based on your sense of integrity and respect for yourself and others.
• Respect influences your perception of yourself and how others perceive you. It is how you treat others and how they treat you. It is about how you would like to be treated by other people. If others see that you respect yourself, then they will respect you.
• Respect is never something you can innately expect or demand from others. Nor should respect be confused with obedience.
• Respect is something that must be earned and maintained by maintaining your sense of integrity and humility.
• A street-effective martial art cannot be practiced solo.