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Show Not just self-defense Ancient art teaches harmony 2 1 H ': ? j ill? a Jj yu I Y ( ; ' rA 'I; ' l ; t 'a : r i.A v I (J y ; VV" f t ! -JZr"" t V V Ik ; r v j v I 'V ! By LINDA HARRIS If you are looking for improvement withing yourself, greater peace, more self-confidence, or as parents, a way to teach your child respect for teachers, parents, and self, the art of jujitsu may be the means to accomplish it. Ancient Kodenkan Jujitsu is now being offered in Pleasant Grove. It centers not only on self-defense, but self-mastery and harmony with others. The Estes Bushido Jitsu Kan, or the School that Teaches the Art of the Ancient Warrior, opened in Pleasant Grove Sept. 7. It is the third such school opened by Third Degree Black Belt, Arthur Estes and his son, Dennis, and is run by Rich Lambert, a 15-year veteran in judo and jujitsu who holds a first-degree first-degree black belt. The Estes' also have schools in Lehi and Price. The 2,000-year-old art teaches a path ultimately leading to mastery of self and inner peace. It has been said that the primary objective of judo, the refined form of jujitsu, is perfection of character. In order to perfect one's character, one must be grateful for the abundant blessings of Heaven, Earth, and Nature, as well as for the great love of parents; one must realize his debt of gratitude to teachers and be ever mindful of his obligation to the general public. "If someone conies here with the intent of learning how to harm others, their ideas are reversed," says Art. 'The art of jujitsu and judo is to serve others." On the mat, the sensei (instructor) seeks to teach oneness with one's partner, a flowing harmony that never opposes the opponent's force, but instead seeks to blend with it and redirect it. The goal is to put oneself in harmony with the attack in order to neutralize it, thus giving the attacker a chance to calm down and consider a peaceful way of resolving the dispute. In the dojo, (practice hall) students of the "gentle way," as judo is translated, learn life habits of respect, discipline and concentration. Respect is given to the sensei in the bowing ceremony. As you bow to him, you are also bowing to all those sensei who have gone before him back to the very first instructor of jujitsu. You also learn respect for inferiors rank-wise in the dojo. "The more you respect others, the more you will earn the respect of others and consequently, you will advance in the community and in the world" by the respect you show, says Bud Estes, one of the original instructors of Kodenkan Jujitsu in America and a distant relative of Art. Students are also taught to govern themselves a process which requres strict discipline. "You learn discipline by disciplining yourself. That takes years to understand and feel what it means," says Rich Iambert. On the mat students must learn to control themselves, otherwise they are not worthy of trying to control others, says Bud Estes. "If you have not learned discipline, then when a desire comes, you just go with the trend," he adds. Rich instructs new students in the art of concentration. "Imagine you have a string right through the middle of your head. Your weight is right over your tended, right here. That's where you want to center all your thoughts," he says. The Japanese say "tanden" is the spot where all life is supposed to eminate. When you concentrate on tanden, you remove yourself from external stimuli. Kodenkan jujitsu was first introduced in American around the turn of the century by Henry S. Okazaki. He taught not only the art of self-defense but also of restoration and treatment. "We must know how to restore anything that might be dislocated," says Art, who has been teaching jujitsu for about 25 years. Standards of skill, knowledge See Jujitsu on page 12 THE GRACEFUL yet effective art of jujitsu is demonstrated by student and sensei of the Estes Bushido Jitsu Kan school in Pleasant Grove. Jujitsu (Continued from page 1) and proficiency have been established for the Kodenkan system by the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation. These standards or levels of achievement are represented by the various colors and ranks of belts and signify accomplishment of a number of techniques that include holds, releases, throws, kicks, and strikes. "There are some exercises that only the masters are allowed to see," says Estes. The basic course starts out with the technique called "Katate Hazushi ichi" and goes through about ten hold and release techniques and about ten basic lock techniques. It takes about three months to achieve a blue belt, and to gain a black belt one must know about 125 techniques. . The Pleasant Grove dojo is located at the corner of 200 South J and State Street in the Dancergenics building. Classes are ' held Wednesday night from 7 to 8:30 for children and 8:30 to 10:30 for adults. On Saturday intermediate (teen age) classes begin at 10 a.m. and finish at 11:30, then advanced classes run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The price is $12 a month and family rates are $19 a month for two and $26 a month for three. , ; Further information can be obtained by calling Art Estes at 756-4209 or Rich Lambert at 768-3696. |