Impressions of Danzan Ryu?

**jujitsuka** · 11-19-2010, 16:24

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about joining a Danzan Ryu Jujitsu dojo, and I am wondering what your perceptions/opinions are about this ryu.

I've been studying gendai Jujitsu for 7 months at a different school which emphasizes practical self-defense, but does not include kata or meditation training. Also, my current school does not teach the Japanese terminology for techniques, which I would like to know. I find myself really missing those elements, which is why I am drawn to Danzan Ryu.

So...I know what is most important is whether I like my local Danzan Ryu dojo. But aside from that, I would also like to how this style is perceived in the larger martial arts community.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Rebecca

**Webmaster** · 11-19-2010, 18:32

Rebecca, Danzan Ryu is a gendai style of Jujutsu. Meditation is not necessarily a mark of "traditional". In fact, I would say the opposite since Budoka of old were far more concerned with prevailing in battle, and spiritual development was something that they didn't have time to deal with. As far as kata is concerned...anytime you are performing a prearranged waza against a prearranged attack, you are in effect, doing kata. The difference is that the kata in Danzan Ryu are formalized and taught uniformly from dojo to dojo.

As far as Danzan Ryu is concerned, I have a pretty good opinion of the art, and those practitioners I have met. Like all groups, you will find really great folks, and you'll find the dirtbags as well. As always, be cautious, use good judgment and hopefully you'll find a martial arts home you are happy with.

**Abbax8** · 11-19-2010, 19:09

I have only see DZR JJ on the web and to my eyes it looks a lot like judo, and as a judoka that is a good thing to me. Go and train and if you like it then enjoy!

Dennis

**Tony Dismukes** · 11-19-2010, 22:14

I trained in an off-shoot of DZR for a few years. I don't know how much they actually changed from the original curriculum, but it seemed like a decent system.

**jujitsuka** · 11-19-2010, 23:41

Hi Robert!

Originally Posted by Webmaster

Rebecca, Danzan Ryu is a gendai style of Jujutsu. Meditation is not necessarily a mark of "traditional". In fact, I would say the opposite since Budoka of old were far more concerned with prevailing in battle, and spiritual development was something that they didn't have time to deal with.

I understand that Danzan Ryu is a gendai style. It was founded in the 1920s by Henry S. Okazaki. I was not assuming that it was a koryu ryu, or that all koryu styles contain a spiritual element. My intention in my post was to compare the eclectic 'no nonsense self-defense' style I am studying now to the more formalized Danzan Ryu. I don't know much about Danzan Ryu, so I thought I would ask around....

Anyway, I appreciate your response. You're right, the most important thing, as is always the case, is to check out the particular school and teacher, and see if they are a good fit. I was just wondering how Danzan Ryu is perceived by other martial artists.

Everyone on your forum here is so knowledgeable. I figured I'd see what you guys think, because I've gotten some really good advice here in the past. So thank you for administrating this site!

Rebecca

**jujitsuka** · 11-19-2010, 23:44

Cool. Thanks, Tony!

Rebecca

**jujitsuka** · 11-19-2010, 23:45

There does seem to be a good amount of time spent on nage techniques, if that's what you mean, Dennis. That definitely makes it look like Judo. I think the style's founder was trained in Judo, so that shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Thanks for responding to my post!

Rebecca

**Webmaster** · 11-20-2010, 08:32

Good morning Rebecca,

I figured you had done your homework, but offering clarification is often a good idea since not everyone does so.

Oh, and thank you for the compliments!

Anyway, let us know how you like your new dojo should you decide to take the plunge. Over the years, I have found that it's usually the dojo and the instructor that matters most and not the style itself.

**jujitsuka** · 11-20-2010, 13:22

Will do, Robert!

Thanks again for your input!

Rebecca

**Mekugi** · 11-21-2010, 05:34

Originally Posted by jujitsuka

Hello everyone,

I am thinking about joining a Danzan Ryu Jujitsu dojo, and I am wondering what your perceptions/opinions are about this ryu.

I've been studying gendai Jujitsu for 7 months at a different school which emphasizes practical self-defense, but does not include kata or meditation training. Also, my current school does not teach the Japanese terminology for techniques, which I would like to know. I find myself really missing those elements, which is why I am drawn to Danzan Ryu.

So...I know what is most important is whether I like my local Danzan Ryu dojo. But aside from that, I would also like to how this style is perceived in the larger martial arts community.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Rebecca

Danzan Ryu is a good school Okazaki had a very good vision and I too have have excellent dealings with them and hold high opinions of the quality of people that they have as members.

I don't believe Mr. Okazaki was too concerned with Japanese vocabulary when he created the school. It was intended for his new country, not the old one, so there might be something there. That is to say, I don't believe he had a lot of Japanese words in his system and didn't name things when teaching for the most part (other than formal names and maybe some words that are universal Japanese).

That being said, it doesn't need it. If you want to learn Japanese words for things you might do well to look into Kodokan vocabulary. It would be something you could use and everyone would understand (Judo is popular) and it would be a great start!

-R

**wab25** · 11-22-2010, 12:31

I may be a little biased here, but I enjoy Danzan Ryu quite a bit. Sorry it took me a few days to find the thread.

Rebecca: What particular dojo are you looking at? Who is the instructor? One of my good friends, that I studied DZR with, has moved to your area in the last few years, and was associated with a DZR dojo there for a while. I know she checked out the whole DZR scene there. If I knew which school, I could probably get some feedback from a good friend, who has done DZR since she was 7 or 8 years old.

As far as Kata goes, kata DZR is usually not like Karate Kata. In that, it is not a long series of moves done solo. Most DZR kata are short and require two people. Ogoshi would be one example of a DZR kata. Tori throws Uke using the Ogoshi or a major hip throw. Done.

Okazaki was ranked in Judo, he received a Sandan and Mokuroku (sp) from Kano, while visiting Japan. Okazaki's main study was Jujitsu, Lua and Kung fu.

That is to say, I don't believe he had a lot of Japanese words in his system and didn't name things when teaching for the most part

I would like more information in relation to this comment. I do know that the Ryu is broken into a set of lists. All the lists have named arts, 20 - 30 arts per list. All these names are Japanese. We do bow to Shomen (sp) and Sensei and to our partners before working with them. Every technique I have been shown, has a Japanese name. That being said, I do not know if the names came from Okazaki or some well meaning Sensei that followed him. I had just always assumed that the techniques and names were from Okazaki. If you have some other information, about this, I would love to hear about it.

**Mekugi** · 11-22-2010, 12:49

Originally Posted by wab25

I would like more information in relation to this comment. I do know that the Ryu is broken into a set of lists. All the lists have named arts, 20 - 30 arts per list. All these names are Japanese. We do bow to Shomen (sp) and Sensei and to our partners before working with them. Every technique I have been shown, has a Japanese name. That being said, I do not know if the names came from Okazaki or some well meaning Sensei that followed him. I had just always assumed that the techniques and names were from Okazaki. If you have some other information, about this, I would love to hear about it.

This wasn't clear, let me rehash it:

(other than formal names and maybe some words that are universal Japanese).

"Formal names" should be read as "names of the kata in the mokuroku", etc. Words that are "universal in Japanese" should be read as words like "shomen", "rei", "Shomen ni rei", all that jazz. That is to say he taught in English and from what I have seen from his mokuroku, wasn't using any special vocabulary that so many ryuha have along with the kata names. Nothing like "tenouchi" used in a special way, or "gyakute" or "honte", things like that. He was using basic words found in Judo and the like. This doesn't mean he didn't know them, probably just didn't use them. Now that I think of it, he probably used a lot of words from Amma to describe anatomy and kyusho...so that is something else to look into.

**wab25** · 11-22-2010, 12:59

Thanks Russ! I get what you were saying now, and I agree fully.

I was actually hoping you had some new nugget of information, regarding Okazaki or DZR.

**Mekugi** · 11-22-2010, 20:21

Originally Posted by wab25

I was actually hoping you had some new nugget of information, regarding Okazaki or DZR.

I wish that too. Specifically, he says that he learned from some old school Jujutsu people over here, I would really like to know who those folks were and dig up some info on that, but, wish in one hand....

Incidentally, something that might be relevant to this thread:

http://www.danzan.com/HTML/mokuroku.pdf

http://www.danzan.com/HTML/VOCAB/dzrvocab.pdf

**Ranbou Senshi** · 11-23-2010, 17:27

From what I've seen from video clips awhile ago looked pretty good. Anytime I see an old man slinging young guns through the air, there is obviously some really good technique or really nice Uke. From what I saw it looked like it was some good technique. And then I also met a Danzan ryu jujutsuka. The way he showed me de ashi barai was ok, but wasn't really my cup of tea. But the thing is that my cup of tea might be different than your cup of tea. So the only real way you can find out if you like Danzan ryu is by making communication with them, and asking when you can come visit for a free class or watch. As far as respect wise; I think Danzan ryu has very high respect in martial arts community.

**jujitsuka** · 11-26-2010, 13:04

What you're saying makes sense, Russ. Learning Kodokan vocabulary in conjunction with Danzan Ryu training would be really cool. Thanks for the suggestion!

Rebecca

**jujitsuka** · 11-26-2010, 13:06

Thanks for your response, Justin. I am planning to visit a class to see for myself whether I am interested in Danzan Ryu training. You're right--that is the only way to really find out what I like!

Rebeccca

**jujitsuka** · 11-26-2010, 13:07

Hi William,

Steven Blazac teaches in my area. He and his students are who I would be studying with.

Who is your friend? Is she still in Boston?

Rebecca

**Abbax8** · 11-27-2010, 07:29

Originally Posted by jujitsuka

What you're saying makes sense, Russ. Learning Kodokan vocabulary in conjunction with Danzan Ryu training would be really cool. Thanks for the suggestion!

Rebecca

Here's a link with the Japanese/English translation, also click the hyperlink to see the technique

http://www.lakenormanjudo.com/techniques.html

Dennis

**wab25** · 12-01-2010, 15:04

Originally Posted by jujitsuka

Hi William,

Steven Blazac teaches in my area. He and his students are who I would be studying with.

Who is your friend? Is she still in Boston?

Rebecca

That is one of the schools she trained at. My understanding is that his school is geared towards those at MIT. She was attending Brandies (sp) at the time. She helped to set up a school closer to Brandies, so there are two to choose from, depending on your location. I am trying to get some info on the other school as well, but she is out of the country at the moment... so it takes a while.

Have you tried out the class yet, or looked in on one? I would be curious as to your thoughts, if you have.