Shoshin Ju Jutsu is a freestyle, or ungoverned martial arts system developed by Sensei Grant McMaster and Sensei Neil Baker, based on their decades of experience in the martial arts.

The system is based around a marriage of techniques drawn from several martial arts, to a core system of Ju Jutsu drawn from the historic Yoroi Kumi Uchi (grappling whilst wearing armour) of the Hontai Yoshi Ryu (Main Body Willow System).

The system is taught in a traditional fashion with the style being tailored to the student, this means that physical disadvantages are catered for in order for the eager student to learn as much of the martial art as is possible.

Junior students learn from the same syllabus as adults within a specified framework that ensures they do not learn or perform techniques which require an adults judgement and responsibility. Adult and junior students may share the same dojo but rarely train together.

Shoshin Ju Jutsu is named from the Japanese word indicating a “Beginners Mind” this is an approach that anyone may take to learning a subject, no matter whether they are a complete novice or an expert, or as the Zen expert Shunryu Suzuki once said:

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

This statement encourages students of all ages and abilities, whether novice or martial arts veteran to approach each and every opportunity for learning with a mind devoid of preconception.

Ju Jutsu may be translated as “The way of Yielding” or the “Way of Softness”, this does not imply that the art is weak, but rather that when you meet force it is better to deflect or redirect it than to meet it head on.

The practice of a martial art stays with an individual for their lifetime. The values, philosophies, discipline and friendships forged in a good school help to develop character and define personality.

Whether you start training as a child or adult it is never too late to begin learning techniques which may protect you, or understanding philosophies which may define you.

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