# You folks do fun stuff!



## Shuto (Aug 24, 2007)

I've been studying Budo Taijutsu for about a year and last night we had a guest instructor give a seminar on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Gracie).  I have to admit that I was not very enthusiastic about attending.  In fact, I was sorry that I had signed up because I'm very sore from my other training,  but I'm very glad that I perservered and went to the seminar.

I really liked the way that the instructor organized his class.  He would have us start out in a particular position and show a technique.  Then he would show a counter for that technique and then show a counter for the counter and so on.  Step by step, we would build up a series of ~half a dozen moves.  I found this style  of teaching very practical and helped me to understand some of the strategy behind it.  

We do some joint manipulation in our style and so I was familiar with the basic concepts, although I have never worked on ankle manipulations before.  Something that I've never done, however, is chokes.  I was amazed at how subtle and effective they are.  I say subtle because they really don't hurt in the same manner as a joint manipulation.  I found myself feeling the pressure but not a lot of pain when suddenly I was starting to see stars.  If I hadn't tapped out, I would have blacked out.  Cool stuff.

Before attending this seminar I appreciated the practical aspect of knowing grappling techniques but I didn't have a strong desire to practice them just because I liked them.  This seminar changed that.  I had a lot of fun last night and I would really enjoy doing it again.  I now have a greater appreciation for why one would study this art.


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## MattJ (Aug 24, 2007)

Glad you enjoyed it. After a while doing striking arts, I took the plunge into formal BJJ instruction in January 2006. I have enjoyed it immensely, and can already see a huge improvement in my groundwork.


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## Shogun (Sep 1, 2007)

glad you liked it. like you, I studied Bujinkan before BJJ.


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