Goshin Ryu Jujitsu
The news about violence, unreasonable attacks and dangerous situations are becoming more and more frequent nowadays. Do you ever ask yourself: ‘’What can I do if I find myself in a situation like that? How should I react?”.
In order to protect others and ourselves, a perfect defense system against the attacks has been found. That system relies on a traditional Japanese art Jujutsu, but it has been modernized and adjusted to the current life conditions.
It is a style called Goshin Ryu Jujitsu, which we can simply describe as ‘’a traditional Ju Jutsu in a modern way’’.
The founder of this technique is Steve Barnett from the United Kingdom.
Goshin Ryu Jujitsu came from a traditional Ju Jutsu technique and it provides a complete training for a defense in every situation, and the student goes through the whole process gradually and thoroughly until he is formed into a complete fighter.
The student learns techniques which can be used against various types of aggression and violence and in the most diverse attacker-victim situations. There is a precisely defined defense when the attacker is at a different distance (short, quick, middle and long-distance), when the attacks are on a different stadium of aggression (discomfort, violent attacks…), and there are also level-defined responses to the attacks (control, immobilization, failure…).
Within the technique the student also masters how to accordingly respond to the attack with the right amount of control, how to move during the defense (tai-sabaki), how to fall down safely (ukemi), how to keep the balance (kuzushi) or how to keep a safe distance from the attacker (maai).
The advanced part of the training includes perfecting more complex techniques of throwing, blocking, immobilization of the opponent and also learning the certain vital points of the opponent’s body whom we can disable by pressing on them. One of the most important things a student must learn is to be completely aware of the situation he’s in and to be able to completely perceive all possibilities of defense so he could properly react.
The main difference by which the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu style stands out from the traditional Ju Jutsu style is that the focus is on the complete defense in present, contemporary situations (various life situations in which we have to defend ourselves or an attack with a modern weapon…).
It’s important to mention that the specificity of the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu style techniques is that they are applicable in a real situation and that every technique is performed quickly and strongly, with a strong punch and immobilization of the opponent. In other words, this style is meant for students who want to learn practical and efficient defensive technique, and for those who also love traditional fighting ways which are applicable in Japanese Ju Jutsu.
Aside from learning techniques and respecting the discipline, during the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu training, the students also learn about the history, culture and tradition of the Japanese martial arts. Also, while training, Japanese terminology is used.
In Goshin Ryu Jujitsu style, the ranking systems which are used are Kyu and Dan systems, and students wear kimonos of different colors depending on the belt; those ranked below the black belt wear a white kimono, while the holder of a black belt (judansha) wears a black kimono. The kimono features only the emblem of the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu. In order to a more realistic approach to the situation, it is very often trained in the lower part of the kimono and t-shirt.
The founder of a Goshin Ryu Jujitsu style, Steve Barnett, is born in 1945 in South Shields in England. He started training in 1960, when he joined in the British army while being only 15-year-old. There he met the instructor who taught him Defendo (a martial art which we call Ju Jutsu nowadays), and he also started learning Karate. He spent 25 years in the army, on the battlefields all around the world, in an elite unit of the army called SAS, but he was also a part of the English Queen’s security. With such military experience, in 1970. He became one of the main instructors in the army, and that’s when he also started teaching martial arts. He ended his military career in 1985. As a holder of 5° Dan Ju Jutsu and Karate and in 1986 He established his first school of martial arts in Harrogate, England.
He is appreciated as a master across the world and he is considered a teacher of ‘’the old school’’, but at the same time he has a modern approach to the martial arts and combat.
His trainings are demanding, very useful and they do not contain techniques which are not useful and applicable, because Barnett always accentuates the direct approach to a combat. He trained with some of the best masters in the world, but he still remained humble and considers himself a student. He is a technical director of the World Alliance of Martial Arts, and he upgraded the association of the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu Kai, so now besides the Jujitsu techniques, some other techniques are taught. Anyone who wants to learn can become a member, no matter what styles they use or if they are a member of some other club or association.
Steve Barnett hold several international seminars during the year, and he is a sought-out teacher around the world. He is a very quiet man and he practice Zen Buddhism. He has a master’s degree in Psychology, Sports Science and Human Resources.
Sensei Borko Radovanovic is the only Barnett’s student in Serbia and he holds the highest tittle of the Goshin Ryu Jujitsu style in this part of Europe (he also has a master tittle 7° Dan for Goshin Ryu Jujitsu and a Kyoshi tittle). Because of that he is the only authorized trainer for that martial art in Serbia, with the permission to teach Goshin Ryu Jujitsu and assigns ranks.