In an old Shinto temple in Nuuanu, just over a dozen women- some with their daughters- gather on a Sunday afternoon. They converge around the edges of the room, chatting before class starts. There’s a little air of excitement and nervousness. Some wonder if they’re going to be hitting and kicking each other, or maybe some large padded man, as other self-defense courses have women doing.
At 1 p.m. sharp, a black robed man strides into the room with a distinct air of authority. “OK, ladies, welcome to the Hawaii Zenyo Jujutsu Kai Womens' Assault Prevention Course. My name is Professor Steve McLaughlin, and I’m going to teach you over the next four hours how to save your own life!”
He has martial arts mats laid out in the middle of the room, and instructs the class to have a seat on the mats. His assistants, all wearing white jujitsu gi, cut an impressive profile on the side of the mat. McLaughlin, a judo and jujitsu black belt, quickly goes over the house rules, then moves onto business.
“One out of eight women in Hawaii will be assaulted in her lifetime. That is based on 30 percent of the assaults being reported. If all the assaults were reported it would be more like one in four of you. Of the 600,000 women and girls in Hawaii, we have a lot of work ahead of us. I have taught more than 5,000 women here in Hawaii in the last 15 years. Assaults against women are not going down, even in ratio. So it’s good you’re in here today,” welcomes McLaughlin.
The women are told to pair up. The class goes like this: McLaughlin demonstrates a technique, then the women practice it on each other. Women will learn what to do in a wide range of situations, whether they're attacked in home, tackled in a remote parking lot, or robbed. He teaches women how to assess, avoid, and escape many situations.
“One thing most people forget is that the bad guys don't have a schedule! They assault women for a living. I have interviewed them directly in prison and in recovery programs. You would be stunned at what they do and how they think. Most of them carry blunt-nose scissors around to help cut off your clothes,” McLaughlin asserts.
One of the simple techniques he teaches includes how to get out of a choke. He picks a volunteer from the group of women to help, and one sheepishly rises. He puts his forearm around her neck, as if he were going to drag her backwards. “Now just jam your fingers in there,” he instructs, “between my arm and your neck. And pull down hard. That’s how to get out of a choke.”
Assistant Laura Shannon-Madeja was once a WAPC student. “I took the class in 2005, and I was intimidated because I heard it’s affiliated with a martial arts school. But I was surprised at how low-tech and accessible the skills are to women of all athletic levels.”
Shannon-Madeja had never had the need to defend herself, but she wanted to be proactive and sign up. “I felt it was my responsibility to take care of myself and be informed. I’m really glad I took it. Even though I’ll probably never have to use what I learned, it makes me feel better to have this knowledge. I have confidence knowing that I have options in a scary situation. Now when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I find myself thinking, ‘Where’s the door?’ I’m a lot more aware of personal safety.”
In this class, there are women in their twenties to fifties. But he’s taken females as young as 10, and has had a student who was 80! “We offer a discount for mothers and daughters; it is important that they take the course together when possible. I have had a few mothers and daughters who were 60 and 80. I’ve also taught a class of blind women and their guide dogs,” says McLaughlin. “It’s a simple course!”
He promises this four hour course will change your life. “It is not a kickboxing workout. It is simple, easy, and you will come out of it a different person- a better and more prepared person who will be a lot safer in an increasingly violent world. I guarantee it!”
He holds the class when he has a dozen women signed up, and he likes to keep enrollment small so that everyone gets attention from the teaching assistants. “I teach it once a month and usually on the third Sunday afternoon of each month only,” he says.
Shannon-Madeja urges all women and girls to give it a look. “Even if you’re confident about your fighting skills, you can always learn something. It’s totally changed my attitude about safety. And now that I’m involved with this class on a regular basis I still walk away from it each time with a new kernel of information.”
Go to kupale.org to sign up or get more details.
HAWAII ZENYO JUJITSU KAI
In this same old Shinto temple in Nuuanu, roughly a dozen students gather three nights a week, to practice jujitsu for 90 minutes. At around 7 p.m., the senior student shows up and start setting up the thick, green mats for practice. Someone will go over to the wall where the club’s sacred scrolls hang and unveil them for the duration of practice.
(The club location)
This is the jujitsu club affiliated with the Women’s Assault Prevention Course. Sensei Steve McLaughlin teaches at this dojo, and also teaches the womens’ safety courses. He asks his students to volunteer their time as assistants at the WAPC. The dojo considers this a community service.
(Some students at the dojo)
This is a typical night at the dojo: Students trickle in and start putting on their white uniforms, or gi, and tying on their belts. In the Hawaii Zenyo Jujitsu Kai school, there are four belt colors. After the starter belt, which is white, there is blue, green, brown, and black. People start warming up and stretching.
At 7:30 p.m. sharp, Sensei Steve McLaughlin rolls in on his 1946 Indian Chief Roadmaster motorcycle to announce, “Line up for warm ups.” Everyone falls into place as they follow a series of stretches that include joint locks, body pivots, and even hip rotations in the fashion of the hula. This lasts about ten or 15 minutes.
At that point, the teacher directs everyone to line up. Students fall into a square, arranging themselves by belt color and rank. The class bows in and starts practice. “Rolls and falls,” Sensei will instruct, and the students will briefly practice skills essential to all the jujitsu moves- how to fall correctly, and how to roll out of a fall.
The bulk of the class is spent learning a few new techniques off the 312 basic art forms in this system. This dojo belongs to the Danzan Ryu school, which translates to "Sandalwood Mountain School." It got its name from a Chinese name for Hawaii, which is where the school’s founder, Henry Seishiro Okazaki (1890-1951), was from. (More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danzan_Ryu and http://www.danzan.com/) Okazaki founded this dojo in 1922.
DanZan Ryu is one of the most comprehensive and widely taught styles of JuJitsu in the United States. It teaches all of the deeper elements of what is known now as karate, aikido, judo, and ninjitsu. It’s popular on the West Coast because some of Okazaki’s students moved to the West Coast in the 1930s and 1940s, establishing schools there.
What is jujitsu? Literally meaning the "art of softness", or "way of yielding," it is a Japanese martial art developed by the samurai of feudal Japan as a method for defeating an armed and armored opponent. Most people think of jujitsu as wrestling, but it also takes on the form joint locks and throws. The basic idea is to use the attacker's energy against him.
There are many variations of the art, and though it was developed to be used without weapons, there are today many schools – including Hawaii Zenyo Jujitsu Kai- that teach the use of weapons.
Jujitsu has been modified for sport practice, though Hawaii Zenyo Jujitsu Kai does not spar or compete. Jujitsu is the foundation of judo, which was developed in the late 19th century from several traditional styles of jujutsu. Judo is an Olympic sport. The traditional jujitsu is also the foundation of aikido and several styles of karate, like that of the Wado Ryu.
Another variation of jujitsu is the currently trendy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is derived from an earlier version (pre World War II) of Kodokan judo. It came about after judo was introduced to Brazil in 1914. It’s largely associated with the violent but popular mixed martial arts competitons. Sensei Mc Laughlin emphasizes that Japanese jujitsu dojos, like his, often consider themselves extremely different in philosophy from Brazilian (aka Gracie) jujitsu.
Brown belt Laura Shannon-Madeja joined the dojo in 2005, after taking the Women’s Assault Prevention Course (WAPC). “I was seeking a martial art, and the students I met at the WAPC were all kind, considerate, sharing, and patient,” she recalls. At the time, she was the only woman in the club, but currently, almost half the students are women.
This is an art that appeals to women. “Strength doesn’t matter, it’s technique,” Shannon-Madeja explains. “I have been paired with a 240 pound partner, and I can still throw him as easily as I would a petite female.” She demonstrates that a jujitsu throw is nothing more than toppling over one’s opponent over an appropriately placed body part that acts as a fulcrum.
“I also like that this can be a compassionate art. You can devastate someone with a technique, but you can also pull back your energy and simply pin a person down so that you can defend yourself and get away. It’s what we refer to as the ‘drunk uncle’ holds. You’re at a party and your drunk uncle’s getting out of hand. You can restrain him gently,” continues Shannon-Madeja.
Sensei McLaughlin, a seventh degree black belt, sums up, “This is a defensive, not offensive, art. It’s great for self protection. It’s also great for healing, because we teach students to fix what they break. Meditation and massage are essential components of our study.”
McLaughlin has been studying martial arts since 1972. By day, he’s an IT guy for HMSA. What’s kept him interested in jujitsu all these decades? “It’s fascinating. After you earn your black belt, there are 100 more advanced arts to learn. That’s where the real interesting stuff starts!”
It must be interesting - it’s kept this dojo running for nearly a century. Sensei invites prospective students to check out a class. Call him first to set up a date.
Hawaii Zenyo Jujitsu Kai
61 Puiwa Road in Nuuanu
(In the basement of the Daijingu Temple of Hawaii. Temple is pictured below.)
Biggest landmark: Nuuanu Valley Park, at the corner of Pali Hwy and Puiwa Rd.
MWF 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Sensei Steve Mc Laughlin
www.pixi.com/~mcjitsu/
mcjitsu@pixi.com
(808) 595-7175
