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| Student
Interview with Darren Pratt |
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This
month MI Magazine talks with
2nd Kyu Darren Pratt from Perth.
Darren studies at the Indian
Ocean Dojo in Fremantle under
Robert Hymus Sensei and we caught
up with him to talk about his
training in Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu
Jujitsu, grading, difficulties
in training and also the background
of his style.
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| MI:
Please can I begin by asking your age and
rank? |
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DP:
I am 34 years old and hold the rank of 2nd
kyu in Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu jujitsu. I train
at Indian Ocean Dojo in Fremantle, Western
Australia under the supervision of Robert
Hymus sensei. Many of your readers will
not be familiar with Tstutsumi Hozan-ryu
jujitsu. It is a style, which dates back
to the early 1300's in Japan and therefore
has a long lineage and tradition. Those
with an interest in history might appreciate
some of the material at http://www.indianoceandojo.com.au/history.html
Not with standing the age of the school,
successive generations of head teachers
have been careful to ensure that the classical
roots of the art are preserved whilst at
the same time maintaining the contemporary
relevance and effectiveness of the techniques.
Practitioners of aikido would recognise
the aiki principles that underlie many of
the techniques. In this regard, there are
also many similarities with the Daito-ryu
Aikijutsu that Ueshiba studied.
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| MI:
How long have you been practicing jujitsu?
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| DP:
I started practicing Tsustumi Hozan-ryu
jujitsu in 1996. |
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| MI:
How did you come to get into jujitsu? |
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DP:
Although I had always had an interest
in self-defence and the martial arts,
I spent from 16 to about 26 training
in kayaking at a high level. Toward
the end of my kayaking career, I decided
to pursue my interest in self-defence.
I wanted to learn an art with a focus
on practical application rather than
competition and I chose to train under
Jan De Jong Sensei in Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu
because I was impressed by the fact
that he had been a civilian advisor
CQB (close quarter battle), to the
Special Air Services Regiment.
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| MI:
How often do you get to train? |
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DP:
At the moment, I attend 3 classes per week.
I also try and do a private lesson with
Hymus Sensei at least every second week.
In addition, I train on my own 3 to 4 times
per week. So, in total, probably about 10
to 15 hours per week.
However, and I stress that this is just
my personal view based on my understanding
of the training regimes in different sports
and of masters in range of martial arts,
I really feel that to achieve a high level
of mastery in an art as complex and with
the breadth of technique of Tsustumi Hozan-ryu
jujitsu, one would really need to train
for more like 20 to 25 hours per week.
Which is not to say, of course, that someone
who is only interested or able to practice
a few times a week shouldn't bother. I think
that any amount of training is useful and
I have known personally of students who
have managed to successfully defend themselves
after only a few lessons.
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| MI:
Is there anything in particular that you find
difficult about jujitsu? |
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DP:
Coming from a background in competitive
sport, I find it difficult to put
aside my competitive instincts. Having
said that, my background has probably
instilled in me a good sense of the
work ethic and years of practice that
are required to achieve a high level
of mastery in an art.
The other aspect, which I have found
difficult at times, is that unlike
competitive sport, in a traditional
art there are no defined boundaries
or fixed dates. That is, when you
train for a sport, you know the date
of your major competitions and you
shape your training to prepare yourself
to the highest possible level on that
day.
In contrast, it seems to me that in
a traditional art like Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu
there is both an objective level and
a subjective level that must be achieved
before you are ready to grade. The
objective level is the minimum standard
that must be achieved by any student
at that grade. The subjective level
is all that you personally can reasonably
achieve from that grade. At times
you might have met (or think you have
met) the objective standard, but then
after a few more months of practice
you suddenly find that you have achieved
new insights and levels of skill.
This requires both that you do not
have any expectations as to when you
will grade and that you have a very
skilled teacher in whom you have absolute
trust and confidence.
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| MI:
How important is grading to you? |
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DP:
On the one hand, I have trained with people
who say that belts are unimportant and only
skill matters. There is merit in this view,
and it is noteworthy that the kyu-dan ranking
system is a relatively recent innovation
in the history of the martial arts (It was
not introduced into Tsutsumi-ryu until the
early 1900's).
On the other hand, a grading syllabus represents
a structured approach to the development
of strategy and skill that has been honed
by generations of masters. Accordingly,
I think that it is important to endeavor
to continue to progress through the ranks
so as to learn more advanced strategies
and skills. However, it is the process of
skill development that is important and
which should be concentrated on by students.
The awarding of coloured belts is merely
the outcome of that process.
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| MI:
How do you supplement your jujitsu learning
(websites, books, DVD's, ect)?
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DP:
I
read books and online journals, visit
websites (such as this one!), and sometimes
buy martial arts magazines and DVD's.
I think that these things are useful
in giving an insight into one's own
art and other arts. However, I have
seen recently some of the on-line dojos
in the United States. Whilst I can see
they might have a role in teaching basic
technique, I think that a high level
of skill (particularly in an art based
on aiki principles) can only be obtained
from years of practice under the supervision
of a skilled teacher and not from a
book or online. |
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| MI:
As a student of jujitsu, do you think
it is important to know and learn about
the history of the art? |
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DP:
I
think that knowledge of the history
of jujitsu and of other arts is important
because of the insights that it can
give into technique and strategy. For
example, I find it useful to reflect
on how different forces might have led
arts to develop along different lines:
How did traditional Okinawan karate
differ from the forms that developed
in Japan? How and why do judo practitioners
and jujitsu practitioners differ in
the way they apply some techniques?
How does aikido differ from Daito-ryu
Aikijutsu? How has competition shaped
TaeKwonDo?
The importance of a knowledge of history
one's own art and of other arts is reflected
in the Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu grading syllabus
where some ranks require students to
pass an oral exam concerning the history
of Tsutsumi Hozan-ryu and of other arts.
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| MI:
What have you got and what do you want
to get out of learning jujitsu? |
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DP:
At
a practical level, I have obtained a
reasonable level of competence and some
practical skills in self-defence.
At a more abstract level, I like to
think that I have started to assimilate
some of the mental discipline that is
implicit in our training into my everyday
life. People sometimes talk of fighting
spirit, which is a term that many people
tend to think of as just mindless aggression.
However, I think fighting spirit is
the ability to remain resolute and calm
under pressure and in the face of adversity,
to choose the most appropriate course
of action, and then to act decisively.
I'd like to think that my training has
helped me to develop these qualities.
As for the future, I hope to continue
to develop my own skills and to be able
to assist in perpetuating the art. |
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MI:
Thank you kindly for taking time to
share with our readers.
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by
Pail Swainson
© 2005 MI Magazine
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