Tsutsumi Jugo Ryu

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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.

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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).