THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Jitsu Club fought its way (literally) to a medal place in its governing body’s National Event last weekend. On November 13, 32 members of the club travelled down to Telford along with the MMU Jitsu Club for a weekend-long course and competition. The Atemi Nationals is one of the two yearly events organised by The Jitsu Foundation (TJF), the largest single style jiu jitsu organisation in the country to which the club is affiliated. Clubs from across the UK attend the two-day event to be taught by the TJF’s top senseis (instructors) and to compete against fellow jitsuka.
After a few drinks in the local Wetherspoon’s on Friday night, we were up bright and early on Saturday morning, arriving at the Telford International Centre ready to put the mats out at 8.30am. The morning was taken up by training with over 600 jitsuka from around the UK, providing an opportunity to size up the competition and be taught by senseis from all over the world.
After a quick lunch the first heats of the competition began. The competition consists of two parts designed to show off your technique and ability to cope under pressure: the ‘gauntlet’ and a ‘V’ or ’square’. A panel of senseis watches you compete and awards points based on your performance. The ‘gauntlet’ is made up of two lines of attackers, which the competitor has to walk through whilst dealing with a variety of attacks based upon ability, ranging from punches and kicks to wooden swords (bokken) and plastic chains! The ‘gauntlet’ is controlled allowing the jitsuka to show off by performing their best throws, locks, disarms and strikes. The square is the second part of the competition for the novices where the competitor stands in the middle of four people and has to deal with random attacks. Grades have to perform a ‘V’ where the attackers fan out in two lines forming a V shape and the competitor stands in front and is attacked in quick succession. Both squares and Vs are much more intense than the gauntlet with an emphasis on survival rather than perfect execution of a technique.
The novices were up first performing to an extremely high standard, with Jonah Kennedy getting through the first two rounds to the final the next day. Of the grades, Jamie Durrand (purple belt), Neil Deacon (light blue belt) and Sean Baxendale (dark blue belt) went through to the finals. Once the competition heats were over it was time to relax with a meal with other clubs from the North West and drinking in Wetherspoon’s (again!).
Luckily we only needed to be on the mat at 10am on Sunday so we got more of a lie-in. Sunday morning was again time for training before the finals of the competitions in the afternoon. We had a bit of a surprise when someone dropped out of the light blue final which meant our Secretary Rebecca Kendall was told she was competing a couple of minutes before the final started. Everyone performed to a very high standard with Sean coming fourth in his category and Kendall winning bronze (and getting two medals – one TJF and one BUCS!). The weekend finished off with the open competition, which is a chance for the browns and dans (black belts) to show off and do some really impressive jitsu. Then it was time for the drive home and a well-deserved dinner in Fuzion.
All in all, it was an excellent performance by the University of Manchester Jitsu Club and a good introduction for the novices of what will be expected in the grading in December. Bring on the Randori Nationals in March!
The University of Manchester Jitsu Club train Mondays 8.30-10 pm and Wednesdays 8-10 pm in the Conference Room, Armitage Centre. Beginners are welcome all year round so if you fancy a go just turn up to any session in loose clothing or contact us at manchesterjitsu@hotmail.com.
For more information, visit manchesterjitsu.org.
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