The Danzan Voice
March 2000
Updated
March 11, 2000
Prof. James Marcinkus Laid to Rest
|
Prof. James Marcinkus was laid to rest at Holy Cross
Cemetary in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 12, 2000. The funeral mass and graveside
service was attended by many of Jim's family, friends and students. He was remembered by
his teacher, Prof. Bill Randle as someone whose life was all about commitment and service.
It was evident of the impact that he had on many lives. Jim was the founder of the Penmar Jujitsu Kai in Santa Monica, CA as
well as the Southern California Jujitsu Association. His school produced many fine
instructors and many of these people returned to give their final respects to their
teacher.
Through his excellent Jujitsu teaching, his exemplary
military service and though his selfless practice of the law, Jim left his mark. He will
truly be missed.
There is a special remembrance section for Jim on this web site.
If you have any special memories or photos that you would like to include, please e-mail them here and I will add them to the
article. |
Reunion 2000 - The Women of Danzan-Ryu
The Shoshin Ryu Yudanshakai Reunion 2000 will be held
this year in Palm Springs, CA. This year's theme is "The Women of Danzan-Ryu"
and will recognize those people who have carried the system, both from on the mat and off,
to where it is today.
Plans are underway to produce an expanded
brochure/catalogue and Shoshin-Ryu will be asking all of the Danzan Ryu organizations to
contribute photographs and bios of practicioners, wives, etc. for inclusion into the work.
If you can contribute material to this effort or you need more information, please contact
Prof. Bill Fischer.
Mystery Photo Contest
Speaking of women in Danzan-Ryu, here is a question to
ponder. Click HERE
to view a photograph and then correctly answer the following 4 questions:
1. Who is the woman performing the throw?
2. Where is she doing this throw?
3. What year is it?
4. Who is the person being thrown?
E-mail your answer to: danzanryu@yahoo.com
The first person to correctly answer all four
questions will receive a special gift from The Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu Homepage. Good
Luck!
AJJF Convention in Boise
The American Judo and Jujitsu Federation (AJJF) will
be holding its annual convention on March
31-April 2 in beautiful Boise, ID. The convention host this year is Sensei Lee Dudley of
the Tekio Seishin Kai. The featured
instructors will highlight the AJJF Professors and a group of other DZR luminaries
including Profs. Ramon "Lono" Ancho Jr., Jack Wheat, Imi Okazaki-Mullins, Clyde
Zimmerman, Tony Janovich and many others.
Quality Martial Arts in Film
Aside from the trampoline antics seen in many
action-genre presentations, there are some films which contain some "real"
martial arts. Below is a short list of films that have good stuff. I invite readers to send in their favorite picks.
| Blood on the Sun |
James Cagney takes on Tojo, in the cheap video section, good Judo moves by
Cagney, |
| Iron and Silk |
Mark Salzman goes to China to learn martial arts, finds more than just
Wushu, true story (re-enacted), (Check the knuckles on Master Pan.) |
| Bad Day at Black Rock |
One-armed Spencer Tracy vs. a small town with a terrible secret. (Prof.
LaGue's favorite!) |
| Above the Law |
Segal's first. First intro to Aikido for many. (It didn't hurt Jujutsu
schools, either.) |
| Sanshiro Sugata |
The Judo Saga, quasi-historical treatment of Jigoro Kano and Shiro Saigo |
The Boards and the Other Stuff
When one sets off on their journey to explore the
martial art of Danzan-Ryu Jujutsu, it soon becomes apparent of the system's structure. In
fact, it is this structure which has contributed greatly to the proliferation of Prof.
Okazaki's Jujitsu. In his dojo, Okazaki wrote up his technique lists on large, whitewashed
planks of wood and thus these lists are often called, "boards". The Jujitsu
curriculum at the Kodenkan dojo included Yawara, Nage, Shime, Oku, Kiai no Maki, Shinnin
no Maki, and Shinyo no Maki. There were also boards which were titled Self-Defense Course
1 & 2 (Fusegi Jutsu) and these were taught both as part of the Jujutsu
curriculum as well as short courses to those did not want to, or not have the time to
devote to the longer period of training.
Prof. Okazaki also developed several composite courses
for groups of people based upon special needs. For example, there was a Police course for
law enforcement officers. This course consisted of about 120 techniques that were
primarily taken from the "core" lists. This course also had techniques which are
not found on the basic boards. Another course was the Commando course. This curriculum was
developed with those special operation military personnel in mind. This course differed in
scope from the Police course in how the person should deal with the adversary. Obviously,
the policeman could not "take out" a criminal, but this was not necessarily true
for the Commando. The Commando arts deal quite a bit more harshly and often terminally
with the opponent.
After many years of studying, you may learn and master
the techniques shown on the boards. You may also learn the composite courses. Does this
mean that you have the whole system? Is there other stuff? Prof. Sig Kufferath often noted
that there were many variations for each technique. With this in mind, it is important to
keep a firm grip on the framework that Prof. Okazaki laid out, but also seek out and
explore the myriad of "tweens".
Want to sound-off on anything you have read. Please click here to write any comments. I will be
glad to post them if you so indicate.
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Copyright © 1999 - George E. Arrington III
