Tsutsumi Jugo Ryu
The Tsutsumi Jugo Ryu Jujutsu system ("TJR") is a modern martial
art and sel defence system. It traces its origins clearly to Jan de
Jong Jujutsu, the jujutsu of Minoru Mochizuki and according to oral
tradition Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu jujutsu, a system dating back to
around late 1300 or early 1400 in Japan.
TJR is the creation of Peter D Clarke, a student of the late Jan
de Jong. Peter completed the grading system of what was then "Jan
de Jong Jujutsu" in February 1999. In 2003 Jan de Jong
awarded him a 6th Dan in "Jan de Jong Jujutsu" before he died later
in that year.
Tracing back the history and development of martial arts systems
is often difficult. Jan de Jong was born in Indonesia and he
told of being trained in the Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu system of jujutsu
under two Japanese brothers, S. Saito (8th Dan), and K. Saito (7th
Dan), in Indonesia. Jan de Jong said that he
started at the age of seven and graded 3rd Dan in 1939, just before
leaving Indonesia for Holland. Whilst the background of his
instructors is sketchy at best, he understood that their instructor
was Maseo Tsutsumi. This was the oral tradition
enuciated.
Jan de Jong spent the Second World War in Holland as a member of
the Dutch underground and taught jujutsu in Rotterdam during part
of this time. After the war, he returned to Indonesia as a
physiotherapist with the Royal Netherlands Indies Army and then
migrated to Australia in 1952. He started teaching martial
arts in Perth upon his arrival and the school that he developed
became his full-time occupation in the 1960s.
Other than his original instructors, the other main influence
was the jujutsu (aikido) of Minoru Mochizuki. Jan de Jong
trained briefly in 1969 at Mochizuki's school in Shizuoka
Japan. Minoru Mochizuki was a very famous and well respected
Japanese martial artist with extensive experience. Jan de
Jong was a student of Mochizuki whilst on a brief visit to
Japan. Whilst there, Jan graded 1st Dan in Yoseikan
Aikido and 1st Dan Shotokan karate. One of Mochizuki's senior
instructors migrated to Perth and taught at Jan de Jong's school
for a period around 1972/3, before sending up his own school in
Perth in 1974.
The first time Peter attempted syllabus development was at the
request of Jan de Jong to create a syllabus for black belt gradings
of the Australian Ju-Jitsu Association. This was developed by
Peter in the late 1980s. It was used by the association for a
number of years until Jan de Jong ended his involvement with the
association.
The school Southern Cross Bujutsu started in 2001.
Initially it was a junior programme only; an adult programme was
developed in 2002. The adult programme has become the TJR
syllabus. It was an opportunity for a fresh start and to take
the experiences of those who had gone before and build upon those
efforts.
Tsutsumi Jugo Ryu means Tsutsumi jujutsu from Australia.
It acknowledges its foundation in Tsutsumi Hozan ryu and
that its more recent genesis is from Australia with the
contribution of Jan de Jong and his varied background in martial
arts. TJR is not a traditional style and varies considerably
from anything the traditional school of Tsutumi Hozan Ryu which
reputedly continued in Tokyo Japan until the 1980s. Precisely
what comprised Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu that was passed on by the Saito
brothers to Jan de Jong remains a mystery and a source of some
speculation. The influence on Mochizuki was profound, as was
the experience in the Dutch underground and training in
Europe. The fashioning of these disparate sources was "Jan de
Jong Jujutsu" the name used from about 1998 rather than the
previous "Tsutsumi Hozan Ryu Jujutsu". It was upon this
foundation that TJR was built.
TJR is all about teaching a modern, relevant, strategic and
systematic method of self defence. It is not about sport or
competitive forms; nor is it about preserving traditional
approaches for the sake of doing so. It is about teaching a
modern self defence system capable of being learned by anyone in
the most effective and quickest way. The system is constantly
evolving to find better ways to achieve the desired results of
developing an effective self defence capability. The desired
results are to be effective in self defence in an ever changing
world.
TJR's main distinguishing feature is its focus on teaching a
quite unique approach to matters of position and movement by using
defined setups of body positioning and movement from those setups
to implement self defence strategies. Peter considers that
jujutsu schools over emphasize the accumulation of vast numbers of
techniques without paying enough attention to the planning of
strategies and tactics of self defence relevant to a modern
society. There are people who have spent considerable time
training and know many techniques but still struggle when it comes
to defending themselves. A structured system needs to address
the planning of strategies and tactics needed for self
defence. Further, the techniques need to be arranged, taught
and developed in a way that is consistent with that approach.
TJR includes techniques for dealing with bladed weapons, sticks
and firearms. Weapons used in the system are primarily tanbo
(short stick) jo (4ft stick), hanbo (walking stick), jujutsu stick
(pocket stick) manriki kusari (weighted chain), and bokken (wooden
sword).