E-Journal of Jujutsu

Modern Grappling Quarterly

Fall 2007

SYSTEM A
Its A ppeal and A pplicatio n

S hih a n Ivo Belma ns

Ba ret Yos hida Intervie w
Reflec tions on A fg h a nista n
1)(-% W rist locks for Gro u nd Fig h ting
 E-Journal of Jujutsu
Volume 1, Number 4

Fall 2007

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: ADAPTATION 3

Roy Dean

KoKoDo Master: Ivo Belmans Interview 4

Roy Dean

My Path to Systema 7
Emmanuel Manolakakis

The Finisher: Baret Yoshida Interview 15

Phillip Palmejar

Reflections on Afghanistan 19
Sheila Haddad

Wristlocks: Ground Applications 25

Roy Dean

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Julie Wilde
All content copyright ROY DEAN MEDIA and its respective authors.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited by law. 1)(-%



Roy Dean
Aikikai Aikido Black Belt
Kodokan Judo Black Belt
Seibukan Jujutsu Black Belt
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:
ADAPTATION
by Roy Dean
Photo BY RICK ELLIS
Jujutsu is not a one year martial art. It’s a system of
movement, and philosophy of life, that deepens over
time as a student’s awareness grows. The greater
your awareness, the more subtle and discerning your
perceptions. This, coupled with sensitivity and timing to
the movements of another, transform leverage based
techniques into something far more powerful, bordering
the magical.
New students to the art can have difficulty understanding
the depth of jujutsu, in it’s myriad of forms and styles.
If they’re high achievers in other areas of their lives,
impatience can get the better of them, and their initial
plans to quickly gain mastery of another domain will
fall dramatically short. More experienced practitioners
learn firsthand what is controllable and what isn’t, what
e-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN Media | FALL 2007 | 
forces are better to blend with, and which to redirect.
Sensitivity to circumstance, with good timing and clear
direction, makes all the difference in choosing tactics
and techniques to achieve a specific goal.
So it is with this Journal. Originally envisioned as a profit
share newsletter, with a roster of experts in several
disciplines (Judo, Aikido, Japanese and Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu), it morphed into a subscription based periodical
in the spirit of Crossfit Journal and Performance Menu.
The quality of the articles, presentation, and elite martial
artists interviewed are something that I have no regrets
investing in, and I would like to share this information with
an even wider audience.
As we head into the new year, a redesign on the Jujutsu
Journal homepage will be taking place, including a
blog format for new material, and increased access
to additional resources. Reader submissions will also
be carefully selected for online publication, in the spirit
of open communication with practitioners of the
yielding arts.
This last issue is a wonderful reflection of our ever evolving
world. We have interviews with a Belgian master of
a traditional Japanese jujutsu style, and a Japanese
expert in the modern Brazilian form. A Canadian
Systema instructor of Greek descent describes his path
to a Russian aiki martial art, and an American martial
artist travels to Afghanistan to help give self defense skills
to women dealing with problems a world away from
what Westerners can conceive of.
This world, and these arts, are evolving as we speak.
We can steer our way down the river, but we cannot stop
the flow of life. So let’s channel that energy, and redirect
those forces in our favor. As change is our only constant,
adaptation is the way, and the most intelligent method
we have to magnify our power.
Onwards and upwards, we move ahead. Thank you for
joining us.
Sincerely,
Roy Dean, Editor

Ivo Belmans
Menkyo Kaiden Shihan, KoKoDo Jujutsu
KoKoDo Master:
Ivo Belmans Interview
by Roy Dean
Editors Note: Shihan Belmans granted this interview
the day before his annual seminar at Yosokan Dojo
in Monterey, California. Having personally taken
ukemi for him, his techniques are remarkably clean
and effective, and possibly the finest I have ever felt,
regardless of martial arts style.
EJJ: Please tell us how you got started in martial arts?
IB: When I was a young kid, my friend’s father was a
teacher of martial arts, and he asked me to come over
and train. I was immediately interested. This was about
30 years ago. From that time, I was motivated to go into
martial arts, and am still very motivated to continue.
EJJ: Excellent. What was that first art?
IB: The first art I started was Judo. A little bit later, when
I was a older, I came in contact with traditional jujutsu.
For a time, I combined them together, then later on, I
started to focus on just the traditional jujutsu.
EJJ: What did you think when you felt the techniques
of Hakko Ryu for the first time?
IB: Don’t get me wrong, but my first idea, my first
impression, of Hakko Ryu was... I was not convinced.
Because I was somebody who was really energetic on
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the tatami, my idea about it was that it was too static.
There was not enough movement for me, so something
felt wrong.
EJJ: You studied Hakko Ryu for many years. How long
before you went to Japan for the first time?
IB: Maybe I’ll tell you a little bit further about Hakko Ryu.
From the beginning I found the flexibility, the energy,
and the movements should be different. Later on, I found
other teachers in the same organization where I saw
more movements and I found a good path. That’s when
I started to get motivated in this old Hakko Ryu. I came
into contact with Irie Sensei, and these were exactly the
moves I was searching for. I got into contact with Irie
Sensei and in 1998, after a long talk with my teacher,
I went to Japan.
EJJ: What was your first impression of Irie Sensei?
IB: My first impression of Irie Sensei was wonderful. I had
a nice contact with Irie Sensei from the first moment.
He was a person that you really could trust, and if he
were to ask me, “Go into a fire,” I want to do it for him.
EJJ: How did your Shihan training under Irie Sensei
differ from other students?
IB: I was Sensei’s first Shihan, when he just started his
KoKoDo Jujutsu. I was very proud to be his first Shihan. It
was a very nice opportunity for me because he spent so
much time on me when I went. He said, “You are my first
Shihan. You go out in the world, so it must be very good.”
So I think I’m just a lucky person!
EJJ: You have been all around the world teaching
KoKoDo Jujutsu.
IB: Yes. I think so.
EJJ: What countries have you given seminars in?
IB: In Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, the Ukraine,
Poland, Austria, France, the United States, and the
Czech Republic. It’s difficult because I really forget
some countries, and I don’t want to do this!
EJJ: Do you tend to go to these places year after
year?
IB: Yes. Usually, every month, I will be in another country
to teach. One of the next countries to go to is Russia. I’ve
never been in Russia before, and we agreed in August to
a seminar in Russia.
EJJ: Congratulations.
IB: Thank you, but before that I go to four other
countries. In August I go to Russia.
EJJ: How many times have you been to Japan?
IB: Nine times.
EJJ: Each time for jujutsu training?
IB: Yes. Each time for jujutsu training, each time for
KoKoDo Jujutsu.
EJJ: Irie Sensei has a shiatsu clinic. Do you ever
participate in Shiatsu. Is that part of your training as well?
IB: Yes, it’s part of my training as well. When I went alone
to Japan, there were several times I was helping in the
clinic with shiatsu. Irie Sensei has shown me shiatsu for
many years, and I still continue to learn.
EJJ: KoKoDo Jujutsu is beginning to expand around
the world.
IB: Yes.
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EJJ: Tell me about your future for the art.
IB: I hope that the future for the art is- let’s say, that it will
live forever. This is my hope.
“Let’s say aiki feeling is
difficult to explain. It is a
feeling to become one with
your opponent; to use your
energy but also use uke’s
energy, and try to not use
your power, but just the
opposite.”
EJJ: How does KoKoDo differ from the old Hakko Ryu?
IB: Well, in my first impression of Hakko Ryu, I was not
so enthusiastic. Maybe this sounds very weird, but it’s
true. Because I was, let’s say, quite an energetic young
boy (laughs), I found that in Hakko-Ryu the movement
are not flexible enough. Not enough moves, and not
enough Aiki feeling in them. When I met Irie Sensei, I felt
immediately “This is the right way” because he moves
just how I like it to be.
EJJ: Talk a little bit more about the Aiki feeling in
KoKoDo Jujutsu.
IB: Let’s say aiki feeling is difficult to explain. It is a feeling
to become one with your opponent; to use your energy
but also use uke’s energy, and try to not use your power,
but just the opposite. You try to use the inside feeling of
your movements, be aware of every step, and every
move you do must be in the right direction.
EJJ: So you become very sensitive to your partner.
IB: Yes. The word sensitive is a good choice. Thank you.
EJJ: Do you do any other kinds of training for KoKoDo
Jujutsu, like breathwork or ki exercises?
IB: I think that everyone in traditional martial arts will
work on his breathwork, will work on his ki. If you don’t
use your ki, we probably can’t do our techniques right.
EJJ: In regards to more modern martial arts, like Judo,
or some of the mixed martial arts on television: Do you
have any interest in following these new martial sports?

IB: To be honest, I almost never watch television, so it

is difficult for me to answer. And I am happy if a person
comes in their gi on the tatami, because at least they
have a little bit of the feeling of interest I have, so I’m
very happy to see all martial arts. Of course, I’m very
dedicated to KoKoDo Jujutsu because this is, let’s say, a
very, very large part of my life. I don’t have much time. I do like to ride my bicycle; my
son, a few years ago, convinced me to go for skiing, so
now I’m trying to beat him! (laughs). So every kind of
EJJ: There is a lot of debate in the Aikido community
sport: I like to swim, I like to walk, but let’s say, the bulk of
on why modern Aikido practitioners are not like Morihei
my time goes to KoKoDo Jujutsu.
Ueshiba. He had the skill, but his students are missing
something, and they’re not sure what that is. Some “My teacher’s dream is
people say it’s internal power, some people say it’s hard to bring out his KoKoDo
training. What are your thoughts?
Jujutsu to the world, and
IB: I cannot interrupt in the Aikido world, but I think my dream is to make
if somebody feels good in their art, I think you feel
the dream of my teacher
it completely in your body. I feel extremely good in
come true.“
KoKoDo Jujutsu, so all the moves I’m doing are related to
KoKoDo Jujutsu. This is not just on the tatami. If you make EJJ: What would you like to see happen in the
movements with your arms, or with your legs, it should martial arts community? Would you like to see further
be in the same idea. So I think it’s difficult to discuss growth of KoKoDo Jujutsu? I know your schedule is
about other people’s opinions. It’s their opinion, it’s not very busy, but would you like to raise another generation
my opinion. of instructors?

IB: I hope we will find young people who have the same
feeling for that art as I have, and Irie Sensei has, and
hope that they’ll continue with the same martial art. My
hope is Irie Sensei lives forever, so that I can forever be his
student. My teacher’s dream is to bring out his KoKoDo
Jujutsu to the world, and my dream is to make the dream
of my teacher come true.

EJJ: Thank you very much for granting this interview.

IB: It’s my pleasure. Do itashimashite!

EJJ: Do you like to do activities other than martial

www.kokodo-jujutsu.com
arts?

IB: Yes, I like to sport all the time, but unfortunately,

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Emmanuel Manolakakis
Chief Instructor, Toronto Fightclub
MY PATH TO SYSTEMA
BY Emmanuel Manolakakis
I’ll start with a little background about myself. I’m born
and raised in Toronto Canada. My heritage is Greek, my
father being from the island of Crete, and my mother
being from the middle of Greece, or what’s known as
Sparta. As you well know from movies like 300, Spartans
have a heralded history of warriors and fighters, heroism,
and all kinds of things. It’s actually the same, where my
dad is from, from the island of Crete. They were reknown
in World War II as amazing fighters, and there was a
wonderful recorded history of the Battle of Crete in WWII.
You could say fighting, or martial arts, or those kinds of
things are in my blood.
My martial art experience started in 1985-86, when I took
Karate. I took those for many years, a couple of different
types of Karate, including the harder (Okinawan) styles
of Karate. While I was going through high school, I did
Olympic Freestyle wrestling, and going through university
and partly through high school, I played rugby and
boxed quite a bit. So I had those three elements in my
past and I enjoyed them all.
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I enjoyed the Olympic Freestyle wrestling immensely, as
well as the boxing, just because of, you know, there was
a lot more contact and it felt like you really were put up
against somebody and got that good spirit. With Karate,
it felt a little different because there wasn’t enough
contact and I failed to see it’s application, to be honest
with you. Not to bash Karate, but that was my experience.
The school I attended at the time, unfortunately, didn’t
fulfill the need I wanted but when I wrestled and I boxed
I felt amazing. So these things were huge influences on
me, early on, and actually they still are. I totally enjoy
wrestling, as well as boxing, even to this day.
As I progressed on, I finished high school, attended York
University in Toronto, where I subsequently graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts. It was a great University, I played
rugby while I was there, and it was a phenomenal
experience. I mean, I wish I could put rugby down as a
form of self defense training. To be honest with you, it was!
I learned just as much in that sport as I did in any other
sport in terms of self defense, just because there’s 15 guys
on one side of the field, there’s 15 guys on the other side
of the field, and when the game was played there was
a lot of times where you had to protect yourself! It was a
lot of fun and I did learn a lot by playing that sport, at the
varsity level for sure.
I found Systema just after I finished University. When I was
attending York University I had access to a facility where
they used to train Olympic level athletes. I attended
University in 1987-88, and if you remember 1988 was
the Olympics with Ben Johnson, Oliver McCall, and
Michael Smith (a decathlete); all these athletes were
training at the facility that I was at, and it was amazing
to attend University and train in an environment where
you were side by side with Olympic level athletes. So it
was a phenomenal time for me. It changed working
out, particularly, and just how athletes train. To watch it
firsthand was a treat. I learned a tremendous amount on
what hard work and dedication actually meant, when
you watch some of these athletes training six hours,
seven, eight hours a day. It was pretty impressive.
After I finished University, unfortunately I didn’t have
access to this facility- so I asked myself, “OK, What do
I want to do?” You know, I hadn’t taken martial arts for
some time, and I said, “You know what, maybe for a
change I’ll try getting back into it.”
I didn’t want to get back into the belts, and katas, and
routines of those kinds of martial arts, so I kind of stayed
away from it for a little while and was in limbo for about
six months. Then I read in article in the Toronto paper
that talked about a school of Russian martial arts, and it
was located in an area of Toronto that was very close to
where I lived with my parents.
Another thing that impressed me a lot was the fact
that the head instructor, who was Vladimir, was not just
walking around, but he was actually involved, and he
was working with everybody, and he was coming around
to all the students and working with us. In my previous
experience with instructors, martial arts instructors that is,
the high level instructor usually just walks around, doesn’t
pay much attention to the new students, you know it’s
a very respectful thing, he’s like an icon more than he
is a person in most clubs. Whereas Vladimir was very
personable, he walked up to everybody and worked with
everybody, and had hands on with the head instructor,
which is just amazing. When you can walk around and
walk up to the head instructor, and ask him a question,

So I said, “Well, let me go check this out.” What initially have him demonstrate it on you, and be so hands on, it

caught me was the fact that there’s no belts, no katas, was amazing. So I really enjoyed how hands on Vladimir

just real practical and exciting training. So I said, “Let’s was, in those days, for sure.

go have a look and see what this is all about.” I walked

into this gym in northern Toronto, and was greeted by
what was going to be my instructor, Vladimir Vasiliev.
He spoke a little English, it was broken at best, with a
nice smile, and he said, “Come on in, try a couple of
classes, and see how you like it.”

I walked into the gym, there were a handful of people

there, and the training began. After taking one class,
I knew right away that I wanted to stay with this art
for a long time. Right away, I was hooked as a
student, immediately.

What drew me to the art was, one, how hands on the

training was. You walked in there, and I mean, you
were thrown in immediately into situation like “OK,
somebody grabs you and figure out how to get out of
it.” The instructor wasn’t spewing out a technique, or he
The other thing that attracted me as well, in that first
wasn’t showing you ABCD, he was just saying, “Here’s a
class, was the variety of topics we’d covered. Grabbing,
problem. Solve it.” I mean, in Toronto, in the early 90’s,
punching, kicking, wrestling, knife work- and this was
say 1992-93, to be safe, there were NO schools doing this.
all in the first class! I mean, it was incredible what we
Not when you walked in off the street, there wasn’t. So it
covered in an hour and a half. I seemed a little chaotic,
was very refreshing, I was like, “Wow, this is hands on!”
especially the first day, but you could see that there
Somebody just grabs somebody and figures out how to
was a method to this. It was incredible the amount
get out of it- that was really a shock, to be honest with
of topics we covered. Other martial arts I had done,
you. But it was a pleasant shock to say the least.
you walked in, there was 10-15 minutes of stretching,

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10-15 minutes of calisthenics, there were some katas,
and then you got maybe a little sparring, or maybe a
topic covered and that’s it. We covered everything, and
not just covered everything, but you worked with a lot of
different people, so that was also impressive. You didn’t
work with somebody just your own size, you worked with
somebody smaller, shorter, fatter, taller, you worked with
everybody, and I thought that was a really good training
approach as well because that’s how it is on the street.
You’re going to see a lot of different people, different
sizes and shapes, so the variety of topics covered, and
the variety of people worked with within that same class
was just amazing. That’s not what I had experienced at
other martial arts. At other martial arts, you got paired up
with somebody, about your size, and usually stayed with
them all class. This was a totally different experience.

The other thing that struck me, along those same lines,
you know, you had senior students, and new students,
working together. You had new students and new
students, senior students and senior students, all these
combinations, you switched partners all the time. Every
10, 15 minutes you got a new partner. And it was incredibly
refreshing- you learned from everybody. Somebody
showed you something all the time, and it was a really
good approach to learning, to be honest with you,
away assume you don’t know how to do something
where it’s more of a community feel where everyone is
because you don’t do it their way. Vlad, or that school,
teaching everyone, and that responsibility doesn’t just fall
definitely did not assume that. They assumed “Here’s a
on the instructor, the head instructor. It’s like everybody
problem, and let’s see what you can do.” And if you did
can show something or explain something, so you have
a good job and you got out of it, then that was fine. In
all these mini instructors, or micro instructors, all over the
other words, they were focused much more on the end
class, as well as the head instructor, so that was a really
result than on the technique. They were always open to
nice touch that I enjoyed a lot, too.
showing you something that worked better, or easier,
but they never assumed that you didn’t know, and
The last thing, it’s an overlying premise that I picked up
that overlaying concept, I think, is powerful. Because I
from the first day was, that Vladimir, when he walked
do think that people know how to protect themselves,
in, he didn’t assume you didn’t know how to defend
it’s just a matter of being awakened to the possibilities.
yourself. He assumed that you did know, and if you
So those things are what really impressed me within the
didn’t or had trouble with something, he would explain it
first couple of classes of studying Systema and Russian
or show you. That’s very important because I had done
martial arts.
quite a few martial arts and I know how to take care
of myself. You walk into some places, and they right

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I think what else helped me, and I’ll digress a little bit,
but... we are made up of personal experiences. Martial
arts, obviously, molds us, but our personal experiences
also mold us. And they make us the people were are, as
well as the fighters and martial artists that we are.
Just to give you a little bit of background about my, I’ll
say, real life experience: I’m not a military person. I’ve
trained a lot of military people, but I’m not a military
person, so I can’t attest to that, but I will attest to my real
life experiences. I’ve worked, and I’ve been active in the
bar and nightclub scene in Toronto for over 10 years, so I
had seen my share of fights, as well as participated in my
share of fights. You could only imagine how many. It’s not
a weekly thing, it’s a daily thing when you’re involved in
the bar scene with drunks and testosterone and women.
You get all kinds of problems that occur. So I had a lot of
experience to pull on working in the bars and nightclubs
for 10 years. I’ve also done bodyguarding for three
years, not as a full time thing, but definitely as a part time
thing, so I had also seen my share of encounters through
bodyguarding, as well as just talking to people that have
been victims of violence in those years. Countless sports
that I played involved a lot of unfortunate fights. Rugby
in particular. There were quite a few problems in rugby
and some fights, more fisticuff things during the game.
It was a violent sport to say the least. A beautiful sport,
but it could be violent, especially in the North American
version. Those three things: working the bars, as well as
being a professional part time bodyguard, and as well
just being a sportsman, and seeing the fights that come
in a result of the combative sports, has given me a lot
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of my experiences and shaped me in many ways. They
provided me with the kind of glue that made me and
makes me believe that Systema is such a powerful thing,
and not just a kind of a... it is definitely very powerful. And
these experiences have given me belief in it.
At the core of Systema- there are a lot of core principles-
but at the core of it, what I enjoy and what I like a lot are
that it considers the individual. In other words, it allows
for somebody to interpret it their own way, and that is
profound and powerful. Think of a teacher, if you will,
at the top of a classroom, and he or she is explaining
how to write the letters of the alphabet. No matter how
hard the teacher tries to explain this is how an “A” is
made, and this is how a B is made, and this is how a C is
made, every student will come up with their own style of
writing that letter, and that character. It will look similar,
but they’ll never be exactly alike, for any student, no
two students can copy that exactly. So martial arts is the
same, and Systema is the same, even though an idea or
a technique is shown to you, the way somebody does
it is going to be unique. So Systema accepts that, and
embraces it. There is power in our individuality, and our
creativity. So it really embraces the fact that I interpret
Systema one way, and another person might interpret it
another way. Somebody might like the wrestling aspects
more than somebody else, somebody might like the
weapons applications more than me. Everybody has a
flavor, or everybody has a like, or has a preference. That’s
life, that’s not just fighting, and that’s not just martial arts,
that’s life. So Systema embraces that, and really allows
for a lot of personal interpretation. Obviously following
the principles and general ideas, but there is a lot of
room for the individual to exist. I think that’s amazingly
powerful. So anything that I tell you now, and anything
that I’m telling you, is my interpretation of Systema, and
it’s my interpretation of Russian martial arts. I like the fact
that it accepts the individual.
What else I like about Systema, and it helped me,
especially working in the bars, is that it develops survival
skills much more than the competitive ones. They are two
separate sets of skills, in that certain skills are great for
competition fighting and competitions in general, and ground that are wrestling and now throw in a knife. All of
other sets of skills are just amazing for survival. This is a a sudden, again the dynamic changes.
big difference, when you really look at Systema’s history,
it’s more of a military art. In the military, in combat, it’s This is what it’s like in combat, this is what it’s like in
not about competing, it’s about surviving. There’s an old streetfighting, the variable change quickly, there are no
adage that people say, “Soldiers don’t hate what’s in rules in that respect. If somebody wants to train for those
front of them, they just love what’s behind them.” I don’t kinds of situations, then your training has to be like that. I
know who said that, or where I heard the quote- I do hope that makes sense.
remember it, and that struck me exactly how it is: You’re
in fear of your own life. You don’t really care about the “Systema training deals
person in front of you, you just want to make it through quite a bit with multiple
that situation alive, or in one piece. So it develops the attackers.”
survival skills by not letting competition exist. There’s no
Another thing that I enjoy, that Systema does, is that it
tournaments that Systema goes to. It really tries to focus a
focuses a lot on the internal development of students.
lot more on survival skills, in many different ways, and we
I’m sure other martial arts do as well, but from my
can talk about thousands of them, but it’s good enough
experience, even in sports, as well as other martial arts,
to realize that the focus is a lot more on survival than
I’ve never seen anything that even comes close to the
competition. And I have seen many a good martial artist,
internal development. It’s very common in a Systema
when I was working the bars, fight in bar fights. And they
class to talk about fear, and to hear them talk about the
didn’t do that well, because it’s not like a competition.
ego, and to hear them talk about pride when they’re
The rules, and the mindset, and the psychological
working. And these are traits that people have that are
development, is all different for competition than it is
important to understand. But what Systema really does is
for survival or streetfights. It’s quite different. So it really
put people in a position to see their own fear, to see their
develops survival skills.
ego, to see their pride. Understand it. They’re very soft
things: how do you talk to somebody about their ego,
Systema training deals quite a bit with multiple attackers.
how do you talk to somebody about their pride, or talk
Meaning, there is one on one training, where one guy
to somebody about their fear? But these aspects are
hits or punches or grabs or kicks, or stabs, against one
incredibly powerful when it comes to fighting. The ego,
person. But there’s a large focus on multiple attackers,
you know, is really bad. Last time I heard when somebody
3, 4, 5 people attacking one person. And when you train
say, “Oh, you’re full of ego,” that’s not a compliment. So
like that, you realize that it is about survival, and that
having pride is fine, having some ego is fine, and having
type of training is not done just once a week, multiple
some fear is fine as well. All these are good, but what
attacker training can happen anytime. You’re sitting
there, you’re wrestling with one guy and all of a sudden,
you get in groups of threes or fours and start to wrestle in
groups of threes and fours. And it changes everything.
The dynamic is completely changed. It’s incredible by
just adding another person how much it changes. I’ve
seen it firsthand at my school, and I’ve seen it firsthand
at my instructor’s school: two people wrestling, and you
see one person dominating another person. All of a
sudden, you add a third person into the mix, and you’re
not sure who’s dominating who. Again, competition skills,
compared to survival skills. You take three guys on the

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happens is most people don’t understand how much of a
role these elements, or other elements can play. Systema
really tries to put the students in an environment where
they can see these elements play out. They’ll have a
student, and you’ll see some of the clips of people hitting
each other in the stomach. Hitting each other so deep
that they might be winded or they might be worried if
they see the panic coming of taking a deep punch.
When they see this, they have to look at fear straight in
the face. And you are not trying to overcome it, as much
as understand it.
I don’t think anybody wants to get rid of fear. A good
amount of fear can help you in a fight, even a good
amount of ego might be able to help you in a fight, as
well as pride might be able to help you in a fight. The
problem is, you have to understand them first. Most
people don’t understand them, they just develop it and
they don’t understand the role it plays. Too much fear will
overwhelm you and you won’t be able to react properly.
Same with ego, same with pride. So these topics, these
kind of internal soft topics, kind of heebie-geebie topics,
are really talked about quite a bit in Systema. And
they’re not talked about four or five years into training,
they’re talked about right away. I mean, you’re exposed
to them, in any literature you’ll see they’ll mention it. It is
a big deal. So I enjoy the fact that it talks about those
things. Again, going back to working the bars, and the
night clubs, and the fights we got into in sports: that’s all
I ever saw.
What did I see? I saw fear in people. I saw people’s
pride get the better of them. I saw somebody with so
much ego they got stabbed. I saw multiple attackers.
One guy’s ready to square off with another guy and all
of a sudden four of his buddies jump him. I saw a guy
throwing these beautiful roundhouse kicks in the air
trying to scare a guy off, you know, trying to show him
his competition skills. Then all of a sudden the guy just
looks at him, a guy half his size, just looks at him and
lunges forward and grabs the guy’s throat and pulls him
to the ground. Again, survival vs. competition. Multiple
attackers vs. one on one. Ego, fear, pride, all these things
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playing out, as much as the punches and kicks. This is a
big thing that martial artists struggle with: it’s not about
the punches and kicks, it’s not about the armbars, it’s not
about the ankle lock. It’s about you. How good do you
understand yourself?
If you understand how your body works, if you
understand your weaknesses, if you understand your
fear, if you understand the situation, how serious it is, if
you understand psychology: all these things play out in
an instant in a fight. And that’s what it’s about. It’s not
about the punches and kicks. The punches and kicks
are semantics. There’s tons that goes on behind the
scenes, before a fight, during a fight, after a fight. There’s
a million things that go on. This is, again, working those
bars, doing the bodyguarding, seeing those fights in
those sporting events. All this stuff involved all the things
I just talked to you about. All of it. It involved everything.
I mean, in the bars, I rarely saw one on one fights, and if
it did start one on one, it quickly became a mass thing. I
saw so many people that would not back down from a
fight because their girlfriend was there. Because of the
pride, and the ego. “I can’t back down because my
girlfriend is here.” You know, I saw people get into fights
just because their friend got into it, ‘cause they feel an
obligation, because my friend is fighting now I have to
fight, even though the reason is stupid. So all this stuff
played out in bodyguarding. I had to protect a couple
of women from deranged husbands. Why? Because
the husband’s pride was ruffled. The woman had fear,
the husband had pride. “How dare my wife leave me.
I’ll show her!”
I saw another guy at a bar, and a woman threw a drink
in his face. It wasn’t the fact that he got wet. It was the
fact that he was embarrassed, not by anybody else but
a woman. There’s nothing worse for a man than to be
embarrassed in public by a woman. It’s really bad, and
he got so mad he started a fight. He couldn’t handle it. He
couldn’t handle his pride and his ego, it took the better
of him. He couldn’t admit that at that moment, he made
a mistake. He said a wrong comment to a woman, and
deserved a drink in the face. But he wouldn’t admit it to
himself at that time. His pride was hurt. So these things
played out, and every time I would see it so clearly. I
never saw this in other martial arts. They never talked
about it like this.
All of these experiences I had, this is all in the training of
Systema. They teach you how to see fear, they teach you
how to look at ego, they teach you what your pride looks
like, and they force you to work with these internal things.
And then, to top it all off, you go to training, and there’s
tons of multiple attacker training, there’s tons of it to
prepare yourself. And there’s tons of focus on the survival
skills so that when you’re out, and a fight happens, you’re
not sitting there trying to compete with the guy. You’re
trying to survive and see the next day or be able to walk
away from the situation. That’s not to say that a lot of
competition doesn’t go on, or people don’t compete in
other capacities, at other sports that practice Systema.
They realize that there’s certain training, if you’re studying
a martial art, it’s better to train for survival. If it’s real
survival skills you want, it’s better to train that way. There’s
nothing wrong with competition, I loved it, I wrestled, I
boxed, and those were wonderful sports, and I had
tons of fun with it, but even I had to contest after some
training in Systema, “Wow, you know what? Survival skills
for streetfighting and for real application are definitely
the way to go,” and I think that anybody would admit
that in hindsight.
The last thing that I really liked was the Systema attitude
is very forward thinking. It is forward thinking and result
oriented, meaning that Systema, it’s true belief is that
it is in motion. In other words, it evolves. How Systema
was when I first started, in 93, is different now in 2007. It’s
different because time moves on. Different people have
come to the school, different people bring different
energy, different people bring different thoughts,
different people bring different experiences. And all that
accumulates, and consequently changes. So Systema is
not grounded, it’s not set, that’s the real belief.
New students coming to Systema are the ones that bring
the club forward, it’s not the senior students. New students
coming into Systema bring their ideas. They know how to
punch, or they know how to kick in a different way, or
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maybe they grab in a different way. Just think of it for
a second, there’s a new person coming off the street,
coming in to train at my club. I love working with these
people. Senior students love working with new people
because that’s their time to see if their stuff really works.
That new person is going to punch, kick, grab, stab, shoot,
whatever the training is that day, the way they know how.
Nobody punches and kicks like on the street. Everybody
is different. So senior students see the new student come
into school and they want to work with them right away,
they want to test if the stuff they learned and the stuff
they know works against somebody right off the street.
“Nobody punches and
kicks like on the street.
Everybody is different.”
What’s the point of black belts training with black belts?
They know the same things, they’ve learned the same
things, they punch and kick alike, but on the street
nobody punches and kicks alike. So it’s important for new
people, when they come, those are the people that help
validate everything. They validate what you’re learning,
and they validate how it works. And at the same time,
it allows the Systema school to be in direct relation with
what’s on the streets of Toronto now, or on the streets of
anywhere. That person coming through the door is going
to punch and kick you the way they know how, so it’s the
truest reflection of what’s going on in society. And that’s
another thing I really liked about Systema, it wasn’t black
belts just working with black belts. Everybody works with
everybody, and everybody learns something from that.
That’s really powerful. Because of that kind of thinking,
it’s simple. The principles that they follow are geared a
lot more towards results. If somebody grabbed you, and
what you did got the guy to the ground in an effective
way, that didn’t compromise your safety, that controlled
the situation- great for you. It doesn’t require more
than that.
There was a funny thing somebody once said to me at
a seminar. They said, “Martial arts is complicated. Self
defense is simple.” I agree with their statement. So I always
try to remember that and preach it to students. Think of
what you would do. Think of how you would react. Do
those things. That way, it works for you at the time that
you need it. This is also what I enjoyed about, and still
enjoy about Systema, how it’s always willing to adapt
and change as life goes on. Because life definitely goes
on. People look at this world and say “You know, I swear
to God it’s standing still.” It’s not standing still- we know
the earth moves. And you look at a person who seems to
be standing still, but they’re not standing still. They have
thoughts going through their head, blood pumping
through their veins, the heart is working, and the organs
are definitely moving, even though you could swear that
person is sitting still. So Systema embraces that and does
have room to go and move with society and adapt.
So these are very powerful things as well.
“Think of what you would
do. Think of how you would
react. Do those things.”
My club came about in two ways: First, in 2002 and
2003, I had moved from Northern Toronto to downtown
Toronto, at which point traveling to my instructor’s school
was difficult just because of traffic and logistics, the
time being in a car was like 2 hours to get there. So I
decided to start a small training group so I could work
out a couple times a week in the city and then travel to
my instructors here and there whenever I was able to.
What started as a little training group kept going as the
months went on, to the point where it embraced a part
time thing for me, so I was at the club teaching 3 or 4
nights a week. And then it just kept growing, to now as of
2 years ago, it was a full time thing for me with all kinds of
classes- day, night, weekend classes, and a school that
has well over 100 students.
it’s almost like men have this natural combative, natural
primal, aggressive thing that they want to get out. And
you know what? They feel great after they do.
What I got out of the movie is that a lot of men, and I can
only say men because I’m not a woman, a lot of men
walk around with pent up aggression, a lot of pent up
feelings, and our society doesn’t allow for that to come
out. It’s not the same on a punching bag. I saw these
men fighting, and after the fights, they went back to their
wives, went back to their jobs, went back to their careers,
and they were better, they were stronger, and they were
happier. That’s what training at my club, at the Fightclub,
is like. People go, they come in, they wrestle, they punch,
they kick each other, not like the movie where everybody
is bloodied up, obviously there is more control than that,
but not far off from that. We don’t wear any padding,
no headgear, no mouthguards, no groin protection,
there’s no gloves. We just walk in there and learn how to
hit, punch, takes punches, take a grab, wrestle, multiple
attackers, knife. Everything is covered in class. And the
classes are always different. That’s not just my club, that’s
Systema training in general. It’s very diverse. Classes are
not pidgeoned out- every Wednesday is sparring, and
every Tuesday knife fighting. You come to class, and
you’re going to learn something about self defense that
day. It varies from day to day and people love that.
That’s how life is. That’s how fighting is. You wake up in the
morning, go grab a coffee from the corner store, and all
of a sudden, some guy wants to fight. You have no time
to plan. Life goes and happens. So this is my idea, and
why I came up with the Fightclub. I believe that physical
contact and combat, in a good way, with good nature
and good spirit, will really make a person stronger.

I chose the name Fightclub because I remember when

www.fight-club.ca
I saw the movie, what struck me and what caught me
was incredible. Take away the blood and gore, the
Hollywood stuff. In general, that’s what training is like
at the Fightclub and in Systema. It’s hands on. What I
liked about the movie was, and I don’t know how many
people got it, but here were men, fighting, and after they
fought, they were better workers, they were happier, and

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Baret Yoshida
Black Belt, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
The Finisher:
Baret Yoshida Interview
by Phillip Palmejar
EJJ: When did you start in martial arts?
BY: When I was little I did some Judo, but that wasn’t
consistent. I did it for like a year or so. As far as jiu jitsu,
I started when I was 19.
EJJ: So how many years would you say you’ve been
doing jiu jitsu?
BY: 13 years.
EJJ: How did you get started in jiu jitsu?
BY: Well, the Judo thing my dad enrolled me in. What
happened was, I saw a Gracie in Action tape, part 1 or
2, I can’t remember, but I saw that there was a Gracie
Academy in Hawaii, so I put my name on the waiting list,
and they called me up one day and I started jiu jitsu.
EJJ: What year was that?
BY: 1993-94.
EJJ: This was in Honolulu, at Relson’s?
BY: Yeah, it was at Relson’s Academy.
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EJJ: What other styles have you trained besides
jiu jitsu?
BY: Judo, I trained Shooto in Japan, I did a little boxing,
and a little bit of Muay Thai, but not too much.
EJJ: Why don’t you tell us some of your most prestigious
fighting accomplishments?
BY: I’ve fought in Shooto before, in Japan, fought in ZST,
and fought in Abu Dhabi.
EJJ: Abu Dhabi is invitation only?
BY: Yes, invitation or there’s actual trials for different
countries, and the winners of those get to compete.
EJJ: You’ve competed in Abu Dhabi a number of times,
is that correct?
BY: They’re every 3 years now, but they were every year
before, and I’ve competed in every one since 1999.
EJJ: What’s your record and accomplishments have
you done for Abu Dhabi? Have you won the division?
BY: I’ve placed second a couple of times, and I’ve
placed third.
EJJ: Do they have a gi division anymore?
BY: They’ve had a gi tournament in Abu Dhabi
before, but it was more of a state tournament. I’ve won
that before.
EJJ: You’ve recently competed in the Abu Dhabi
championships in New Jersey, is that right?
BY: Yes.
EJJ: Tell us a little bit about your experience.
BY: It was my first time in New Jersey, and it was nicer
than the image that people had given to me. The mats
were better than the previous years, but I didn’t think
they put the same kind of effort into this one as past
Abu Dhabi’s. It wasn’t as organized as previous ones.
 BY: It depends on what you’re teaching. If you really
want to make the guy better, you have to have field
experience.

EJJ: Being an active teacher and competitor, you train

everyday, right?

BY: Yes.

EJJ: So jiu jitsu, to a regular person, might mean an art,

self defense, or hobby, but to you it seems like much more
of a lifestyle, a way of life, how you define yourself.

BY: Yes, it’s more like a lifestyle for me.

EJJ: Being such an active competitor, do you think that
competition is necessary for advancement in jiu jitsu?
EJJ: If I told you you could never train jiu jitsu again in
BY: After every competition, in some way I’ve learned your entire life, what would that do for you as a person?
something. I feel it makes me better, every single time, so
BY: I wouldn’t know what to do, actually.
long as you can avoid injuries, since you’ll be competing
at a more advanced level. For advancement, I feel
the reason why they have belts to show rank is to split EJJ: That’s pretty revealing. Right now, what’s your
the divisions up for competition. If you’re not going to weight and height?
compete, then you shouldn’t really care so much about BY: I’m 140 right now, and 5’6”.
what rank you are.

EJJ: You often fight in open weight divisions, is

EJJ: Regarding rank: say you’re an older individual that correct?
getting into jiu jitsu, and it’s new to you, but your body BY: Yes.
is not as fresh as some of the wrestlers and new guys
coming in in their teens and twenties. Do you think it’s
EJJ: So what would you say are the secrets that you
necessary for somebody of that caliber to compete? Are
use to prevent a smaller person from being dominated
the executive and masters divisions a good opportunity
by larger guys in the jiu jitsu world, and groundfighting
for them, or should they just sit it out?
in general.
BY: Like anything else, there’s the theory and what
BY: I think you need to be flexible. Flexibility adds a lot.
works in the field. If this guy has all this experience; he
Big guys try to grab you and hold you down and you
reading, he’s learning all these moves theoretically
have to tire them out. Stamina is another thing. Basically,
about what would happen, but he hasn’t tested it in the
jiu jitsu itself means the art of giving way. You can’t try to
field, I wouldn’t call him a foreman. He needs the hands
force anything, because he’ll just overpower you, so you
on experience, that’s the only way. He wouldn’t be a
have to flow with him.
foreman in that trade.

EJJ: What techniques specifically would you

EJJ: So to be a respected teacher in the field, he should recommend in order to overcome that size and weight
definitely have some competition experience under his difference? Perhaps for the older men and women
belt, to know that it works in a real live situation. who train in the art that you would recommend
training or drilling.

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BY: If the guy is tremendously big, your only chance
may be a heelhook. The ones that I use a lot are
guillotines, rear naked chokes, and the triangle.

EJJ: What about transitions or positions that you like to

use against larger men?

BY: If you can get to the back [that’s the best], but you’ll
probably have to use the guard and find a way to turn
them over or sweep them.

EJJ: Now you said you had fought in Abu Dhabi recently.
What do you normally do to prepare for a tournament?

BY: I do sprints and things like that. Timed rounds from
the feet, 10 minute rounds. Most of the time I don’t care
about points, or winning the tournament. I just enter the
tournaments to submit people to make myself better.
The more people I submit, the better I get.
EJJ: Let’s talk about your diet. Everyone knows that
elite athletes have to have a specific, honed diet. What
kind of food do you eat, pre-competition and the day of
the competition.
BY: The day of the competition, I don’t eat.
EJJ: You don’t eat at all?
BY: I feel like I move better, I’m quicker, and can go
longer and not feel heavy.
EJJ: We know you’ve recently moved here to the San
Diego location of Undisputed in North Park from Oahu,
Hawaii. What was you biggest motivating factor behind
doing it?
BY: They gave me a full time position here teaching
jiu jitsu. In Hawaii, I had my own school, but I could
only do that 3 times a week, because I had a side job
doing temp work. Another motivation was that all the
tournaments are here in California, and I’d already won
all the tournaments in Hawaii.

BY: I don’t eat.

EJJ: How do you deal with pre-fight nervousness?
Do you get really nervous before your competitions?
EJJ: Do you eat a whole lot the day before?
BY: I just remind myself that all the butterflies I’m getting,
all the nervousness, that fight or flight, is just going to
BY: The evening before, I’ll eat a little more than usual,
help me in the fight. If I feel that, I tell myself that’s a
but the day of the competition, I don’t eat. I might take
good thing. If I don’t have that, then I haven’t prepared
some jelly packs, and I’ll drink fluids.
enough. There have been tournaments where I went in
there and didn’t get the full degree of the butterflies and
EJJ: What kind of fluids? Electrolytes or just water?
the nervousness, and I could tell in my performance. The
BY: Pedialyte or Gatorade. That kind of stuff. If I do eat
more you suffer in training, the more of that you’re going
anything, I’ll eat a bananna or something, but right then
to get. You want it more, it means more to you. You do
my stomach is empty.
crazy sprints and crazy dieting, and obviously this is what
it’s for- this match. If you don’t get that, it means you’re
EJJ: And that doesn’t hurt your endurance or
not prepared.
cardiovascular strength? Or is that something you’ve
grown accustomed to and your body is used to?

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 EJJ: Because of the facility that you’re located in,
based around the MMA scene and having mostly MMA
fighters, do you think that affects your ability to train with
the gi?

BY: The downfall or training with the gi is that you

become reliant on the gi. It also depends on what you’re
training for, you know. The reason I like the no gi better
than the gi - remember that the terminology of jiu jitsu is
the art of giving way- is because it’s flowing, like water,
and it’s much more flowing than with the gi.

EJJ: Where do you see jiu jitsu heading in the future,

especially in the United States?
EJJ: There are a lot of people that look down on the jiu
jitsu gi, the traditional uniform. Do you prefer to compete BY: Hopefully it will get into the Olympics later on down

with the gi? the line. I just see it growing bigger and bigger.

BY: I prefer no gi better.

EJJ: What’s next for you specifically?

EJJ: Do you feel there are specific benefits to wearing BY: My main thing is to keep training and try to improve

the gi? my game.

BY: Yes, for sure. With the gi there are so many variables,
it teaches you how to improvise, that MacGyver thinking, EJJ: Anything you’d like to say to your fans?
where you have to figure something out. With no gi, BY: Just keep training and try to make guys tap.
it’s more flowing. That’s the way I feel. They’re two
different animals.

EJJ: On a personal level, which do you think you’re

better at?

BY: I think I’m better at no gi.

EJJ: But would you recommend for an MMA fighter or

no gi jiu jitsu fighter to train with the gi?

BY: For sure.

EJJ: What’s your combination of gi and no gi training

during the week? 50/50? 60/40?
www.sdundisputed.com
BY: I do about 80 percent no gi. I supplement the gi like
I supplement wrestling into my training.

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 These are people who now live in other countries but
return to visit relatives still residing here. With clucking
sounds and shaking heads, they comment on the sad
situation that is Afghanistan today. Descending into
Kabul, we put on our headscarves. Looking out the
window, seeing the brown of the land below, the dryness
is almost palpable. We are not in Kansas any more Toto,
I think.

Stepping out of the plane into the bright sun, the dry
100-degree heat engulfing us, it isn’t hard to catch sight
of the distant brown mountains with trails of snow still
lingering from the winter. The sky is a hazy blue and as
Sheila Haddad
I look around I think, these are scenes I see on TV, and
Seventh dan Seibukan Jujutsu
now I am here. It is surreal as we walk on the pot-holed,
Fifteenth dan Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu
packed earth ground to the carousel to pick up our

Reflections on our Recent luggage. All around are guards and military men with
automatic weapons slung across their bodies, carefully
Trip to Kabul, Afghanistan scanning the passengers.

by SHEILA HADDAD Our luggage goes through an x-ray machine on our

way out, and we head back into the bright light of
When I am invited by my friend and fellow AWSDA
midmorning. We walk through layers of security until a
member, Carol Montoya, to go to Kabul, Afghanistan
western-dressed woman meets us. Nationals, or Afghans,
with her to train women in self-defense, I am honored
are not allowed in the airport or even the general vicinity
and readily accept. Women for Afghan Women, an
unless they are flying out. Esther introduces herself to us.
organization she has done training for in New York, has
She is from New York and on the board of Women for
requested training for the women in Afghanistan. The
Afghan Women. She tells us she has been there now
director, Manizha Naderi, is Afghan herself and has
a month. Constantly finding funding, meeting various
been shuttling between New York and Kabul, but she
people of other organizations, and juggling a variety of
has recently moved back and opened a branch there.
jobs, Esther is deeply committed to the project of helping
A fellow friend and AWSDA member from Belgium, Leni
the women of Afghanistan.
De Goeyse, is accompanying us. We leave Frankfurt,
Germany and stop for a long layover in Dubai. Sitting in a van, bouncing along blown-out rutted dirt
roads, we make our way to Manizha’s house. I can’t help
It is fascinating to see every culture passing through, as
but notice how dry, how brown, how dusty everything is.
though it is the gateway to every country in the world.
There is little vegetation. We pass a river full of garbage,
We see everything from bright, colorful clothes to
and along the river is the bombed-out rubble of once
people covered in black from head to toe. As we check
mud-brick homes. Squatters live there now, hungry
in for our flight with Ariana Airlines, I feel distinctly like a
and in rags. We wonder how they manage the freezing
foreigner, blonde, light-skinned, and out of place. The
winters, and we are told they don’t.
Afghan people we talk to on the plane are very friendly
and extremely helpful. Many of them make sure we have Manizha’s house is very nice, and once we are within
a place to stay and that someone is meeting us. Their the tall cement walls and barbed wire that surround the
warmth and generosity in welcoming us to their country house, we enter the coolness of her living room. I explore
is overwhelming. a little and take pictures of the roses that are growing

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in the dirt of her back yard. Everywhere you can see
evidence of life re- establishing itself. The young boys
are playing ball on the dirt street, and neighbor girls are
pushing a wheelbarrow of large yellow plastic containers
filled with water for their home. We rest and are given the
schedule for our days here.
One thing we learn early on is that events just happen
when they do. We may be scheduled for 9 am, but we
don’t start until 10 am. We think we end at 3 pm or 4 pm,
but when noon comes around, we are told time’s up. We
start, and half-hour later it’s time to stop for teatime. I find
being flexible, having no expectations, and smiling a lot
are the ingredients for less stress.
Saturday morning, we leave the house early. It’s already
warm out. People are walking along the rutted dirt road
carrying freshly baked bread back home for breakfast.
Kids are out tussling and wandering about. As we drive
onto the main – and the only paved - road, the shops
lining the roadside are bustling already. They are open-
fronted metal or wood squared huts with colorful signs
hanging on top, wares stacked up outside, and each
right next to the other as if leaning on each other for
support. Bicycles crowd the road along with the cars and
motorcycles, often with two or more people crammed
on them. Pedestrians are everywhere, dodging between
cars to cross the street.
There is a flow of direction, although there are no lanes
as we know them nor, apparently, any traffic rules.
Wherever there is an opening, a vehicle will slide in.
I feel lucky to sit in the back, my heart jumping into my
throat whenever I look forward. It’s as if we are playing
a giant game of chicken. Our driver is very good, and
I am happy he knows the size of the car so well as I see
him slide us within an inch of the one next to us. We stop
along the way to pick up our translator, Deeba, who
normally works for the Bank of Kabul but will be with us
for the next few days. She is all smiles as she climbs in the
car, greeting us as though we are all sisters.
As we drive to our destination, I am absorbed with life
outside the windows of our van. There are still women
wearing burkas, walking alongside their husbands who
are carrying a child or two. Some women are wearing
nice, loose slacks and blouses, but mostly I see skirts or
dresses and always a headscarf. The men are in traditional
loose white pants and long shirts, some turbaned, some
not, some turbans white, some blue. Some are in suits
carrying briefcases, going to work. Armed guards are
everywhere, outside buildings and on street corners.
Many businesses and homeowners hire guards from the
Afghan army to protect their property. It’s early, but life
is bustling.
We arrive at the headquarters of the Afghanistan
Women Council, and a guard lets us through the walled
compound to the inner courtyard. We are greeted by
warmly smiling women. The women in the class are the
staff of AWC. We have a general idea of what we plan
to cover but soon discover they have other interests.
They want to know more verbal strategies; the biggest
problem they face is dealing with the mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law is verbally and emotionally abusive.
She is denigrating, humiliating, and domineering. A
daughter-in-law can do nothing right. And she can say
nothing either. The mother-in-law may tell her son, the
husband, her version of the daily events, and there is no
possibility of defense or explanation on the wife’s part.
In some cases, the husband will beat the wife, depending
on his mood. The situation with the mother-in-law is one
in which, which they insist the woman can not physically
fight, and they request other tools we might be able
to teach them. We include in our plan some verbal
strategies and work on psychological concepts with
some physical techniques. Shortly after beginning, it’s
teatime. Two hours later the director, also in the class,
tells us it is time to end - it is Saturday and they close
now. She is very sorry there is no more time. They would
love for us to come back, and they thank us very much.
Although shy at first, the women opened up and now
are more enthusiastic. We would like to spend more time
with them, and thank them for the honor.
That afternoon we go with Esther on a shopping
excursion. We are driven to a well known shopping
area called Chicken Street, where many non- nationals
shop. It is still a narrow dirt-rutted street, and in some of
the places we walk around we can see and smell raw
sewage running down the side of the road. Our scarves

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come in handy at this point for covering our noses
to keep out dust and smells. It is also an up-close and
personal experience with the locals. We notice many of
the men are very demonstrative with each other. We see
them holding hands, kissing, and showing behavior we
associate with being lovers, although they may not be.
We see women arm in arm, but they are not as physically
close as the men. Religion dictates they are segregated
until marriage. We find they are close and comfortable
with their own gender but completely unknowing of
the opposite sex aside from the traditions and roles
they keep.
“We learn that there is a
high rate of illiteracy in
the country. The poorer
the family is, the more
chance the woman has
of being married off early
or bought.”
Sunday we are scheduled to teach at a safe house in
Kabul. No one knows where it is exactly, but the driver
gets us there through the morning rush hour traffic,
onto dirt roads, and away from the hustle and bustle of
street vendors, beggars, and people making their way
to work. After picking up our translator again, we arrive
at a very large walled-in compound. A guard escorts
us to a beautiful garden area with trees and flowers
and grass surrounding a large, well-kept house. Again
we are greeting warmly by the director, whose English
is perfect. She shows us to a wonderfully carpeted room
with large cushions on the floor. Seated around the walls
and windows of the room are about 18 women, some
with children on their lap, some with eyes downcast, and
those who look at us look with empty glassy eyes. There
is heaviness in the air as the director talks to the women,
introducing us. She explains to us that the women in the
room range in age from 16 up. They come to the house
by referral, and they are there because their lives are in
danger. They have been there anywhere from six months
to three years. Some are waiting for court judgments.
What they all have in common is they cannot walk
outside the compound for fear of being killed. They have
run away from their husbands.
E-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN MEDIA | FALL 2007 | 21
Afghan women are allowed to file for divorce. They can
go to the Ministry of Women and be referred to a safe
house if they are abused and it is determined they are
in imminent danger. But there are very few safe houses
in Kabul and even fewer in the country as a whole. Most
women do not experience even this much protection.
A judge rarely rules in favor of the woman. In Afghanistan,
when a woman marries, she is taken from her family to
live with her husband’s family. And that includes the
mother-in-law and any uncles, sisters, cousins, siblings,
etc. that her husband may have. She is the lowest of the
low in the household. Polygamy is still practiced, so in
some cases, she is also there with other wives.
We learn that there is a high rate of illiteracy in the
country. The poorer the family is, the more chance the
woman has of being married off early or bought. Some
are still married off as early as 12 years old. The situation
for women outside of Kabul in the other provinces and
the countryside is far worse. The women run away from
their husband’s family back to their family, which is a
huge risk for everyone. If her family protects her, chances
are the husband will come and beat or kill her mother,
sister, or other female in the family. The whole female
population is at risk. If the woman requests a divorce,
she can go to a judge, but she is there with hundreds of
others sitting in a large room, waiting for days and days
until she can sit before the judge at his table in the center
of the room to plead her case. Sometimes her family is
with her, sometimes her husband or one of his family. The
majority of the time when the judge makes his decision,
she is told to return to her husband’s family, where life is
then made even worse. In some cases, she refuses and is
put in jail. Although the constitution provides for women’s
rights, we are told over and over that the women are
not protected by the law. No one upholds them. No one
protects them. They are hopeless, and the despair they
feel sends many of them to suicide. The only available
means of suicide for them is setting themselves on fire.
The have access to fuel for cooking, and they use it on
their bodies. This is the only area they feel they have any
control over -- their own death.
Although some progress is being made in building
schools and making education available for girls, there
are still so many who cannot attend. They are simply too
poor, they are begging, they are barely -- and sometimes
not even -- surviving. The situation is indescribable. It is a
reality we in the west cannot begin to fathom. All of this
is what we see in the faces of these girls and women.
As we start our talk, the first timid words spoken are the
question: How can you help us when the law won’t
protect us? What can you teach us that won’t get us
killed somehow? No matter our answer, no matter what
we share, they cannot get out of their heads the idea
that anything they do will get them killed or put in jail.
They argue against everything we say. Again our plan is
altered. We ask them to please just go along with us, that
we have no answers, but let’s see what develops. They
agree with the idea of what do we have to lose anyway,
and as the day progresses, we see life spark in their
eyes again.
lay their heads on our shoulders. Many are still very child
like, even the older women. They seem to have stopped
developing emotionally, staying at the age they were
when they were forced to leave their families. Although
in adult bodies, they are girl warriors willing to fight for
life. We return to Manizha’s with so much to talk over,
so much to think about. We are realizing how changed
our perceptions of living, dying, and being free are and
asking ourselves the question: What are we willing to die
for? It has been an intense day.
Monday morning, we are up early again and ready to
go. This time we are having the courses at the Women
for Afghan Women office. We arrive, get set up, and wait
for the women to arrive. Some of the staff of Women
for Afghan Women will participate, and some women
from a couple other organizations will be there also.
They arrive, and we begin. They are psychologists and

“We are moved beyond social workers. They train women who come to their
offices in life skills and work with them on self-esteem
words at the end of the
and confidence. Once again we are confronted with
day. We are in tears
the same issue, dealing with the mother-in-law and the
ourselves as they hug need for verbal skills.
us, hold our hands, and
Our translator Deeba, by this point, has a good working
lay their heads on our
knowledge of the concepts we have been sharing and
shoulders.” can communicate them even before we get to them.
She herself is very excited with what she is learning. It
When they first hit a kick pad, they are very timid. It’s
is becoming clear after all this teaching that the way
just a tap really, then a giggle into their scarf. They are
for the women to integrate any concepts is through
extremely shy and beginning to tap into a power in
experiencing their physical power. The psychologists
themselves they have never experienced. By the end of
and social workers are extremely attentive, already
the day, they are animated, full of life and hope. They
very confident, educated, and self-contained women.
say they feel they are warriors on the front line of the
They experience their own physical power for the first
battle for other women in their country. They feel if they
time. They really throw themselves into the training. As
die fighting, die making a statement that could possibly
we end our session with them, they are all smiles. They
send a message of hope to other women, it was a better
share that they now know how to work with the girls
life than anything they possibly had up to now. What
who come to them. They see the value in this training
was living in hiding with no chance of being free, living
in regards to the confidence and self-worth they have
in despair and hopelessness, only waiting for the end
been trying to teach the girls and women they work
to come? No, they choose the fight, to be free inside,
with. They understand now that these concepts remain
maybe not yet outside, but they would fight for their
mere mental constructs unless the body can experience
sisters, fight on the front lines of this war.
the truth of it. They can then own it. It is very rewarding.
We are moved beyond words at the end of the day. We
After lunch, we are asked to train the male staff of
are in tears ourselves as they hug us, hold our hands, and
Women for Afghan Women. There are two social

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workers, two guards, and two drivers. They accompany
the women counselors to the homes where violence has
been reported. They are shocked and in disbelief that
women have something to teach them. They enter the
room sheepishly, smiling coyly, and with a sense of doubt
yet also curiosity. We ask them what are some situations
they would like to learn to deal with. They share what
they have been confronted with, and we dive right in.
After the first technique and explanation, they are all
eyes and ears. They love it, want more, and have a ton of
questions. They practice knowing that their lives depend
on it. After a couple of intense hours, it is time. They are
disappointed and tell us they want more, not to stop. But
it is time to end, and we thank them very much for their
attention. We see them later practicing in the yard still,
sweating and grunting, laughing and happy.
E-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN MEDIA | FALL 2007 | 23
We have been invited to Deeba’s house to meet her
family. They are warm, generous, and so friendly as are
all the Afghan people we have met so far. We sit on the
cushions lining the wall, eating a wonderful meal which
is traditionally served on the floor. Deeba tells us about
her sister’s wedding party where it is customary for the
men and women to stay in separate rooms. She tells us
her father had the party planned for all the guests to
celebrate in one room. Some men said they wouldn’t
allow their wives to be in the company of other men.
He told them, “Then don’t come!” How refreshing. What
a great story. As we are leaving, we are each given a
scarf as a gift.
It is our last night. Back at Manizha’s, we are busy, quietly
writing in our journals. We have been keeping record of
our experiences. We talk, process, and share what we
have learned, our frustrations, and small victories. We
are tired, but it is a good tired.
Tuesday morning, we wait in Manizha’s office until it is
time to head for the airport. A young woman of 17 is
brought into the building, in dire need of help. At the
age of 12 she was given to a man who already had a
wife. She was abused, beaten, tortured, tied up like a
dog, and made to do things that I can’t write about
here. She is scarred in more ways than one. She left
her husband and ran back to her family. Her family is
extremely poor, living in the mud huts up on the hillsides
where they have no water, walking up and down every
day to get it in the heat and the snow. She has eight
younger brothers and sisters, and they do not even have
food for the evening. This young woman cannot go back
to her family because the husband threatens them. He
already has beaten her mother when he came to the
home supposedly to return divorce papers. Everyone in
the office is making donations to buy clothes, food, and
necessary items for her and her family.
This is the start of an emergency fund. Plans are made
regarding her care. She will stay there to learn to cook,
clean, sew, and do simple things. There is no escaping the
despair, the outrage, the anger, and the helpless feelings
we all are experiencing. This is just one of thousands of
similar stories of treatment of women and girls.

But on the other side of this is another story we hear that
warms our hearts. Manizha picks up a boy everyday at
a prearranged stop on the road to the office. He is one
of thousands who try to earn money to help his family
survive. His father is dead, and he lives with his mother
and 8-year-old brother in a mud hut on the mountain
next to the city. One day Manizha stopped in traffic,
and he washed her windshield. She told him she didn’t
have any money that day to pay him, but if he was
there tomorrow at the same time she would give it to
him. She did see him the next day and gave him several
AFS (Afghan money), more than he had asked for. The
day after that she passed by again, and he cleaned her
windshield but wouldn’t take any money for it, telling her
she had paid him too much the day before.
Manizha was so impressed that she contacted his mother
and told her she would pay for the family’s food and
clothes and send him to school but with one requirement:
that he never work the dangerous streets again. It was
agreed, and now everyday Manizha picks him up on
her way to the office. He sits there all morning and does
his homework and goes to school in the afternoon.
He is so sweet, very sensitive, and thoughtful. It’s
amazing that he has such a sense of integrity despite his
desperate situation.
Now it is time to leave for the Kabul International Airport.
We go through the layers of security, including extensive
“pat downs.” As we sit in the crowded waiting room, we
watch the construction workers outside. The posters of
the renovated Kabul International Airport are hanging
on the walls. This new airport is quite beautiful and very
modern. When I look from the poster to outside, to the
E-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN MEDIA | FALL 2007 | 24
ruts, the dust, the dry desert and brown mountains, the
tanks, the military posted everywhere, I only hope this
new Kabul will be realized.
A dust storm picks up, the sky is clouded over, and the
bright of day diminishes to dusk. I hear coughing, and
I start coughing. I realize my eyes sting and lungs burn
from breathing in fine particles of dust that have found
their way into the building. I cover my mouth and nose
with the headscarf and relax. After an hour, it passes.
Our delay stretches into hours. I am glad I have a book
with me. It is hard to read, though, as scenes from the
last several days continue to appear in my mind, as if
watching a movie. I am now back home. I have had time
to do a lot of reflecting. I have an interest and connection
to a country that previously was only something I heard
about on the news. I am reading books that give me
a greater understanding of historical patterns that have
shaped the country and its people. I understand just a
bit better religious beliefs and tribal differences.
“My soul feels a kinship
with the women who are
so loving, so giving, and
so brave.”
I don’t know if I will go back, I do know that I would like to.
The men who support the equality of women and work to
better their lives have touched my heart. My soul feels a
kinship with the women who are so loving, so giving, and
so brave. The problems the country faces as a whole are
deep and complex. There are no simple solutions, and
nothing will be done overnight. I do know, however, that
those of us outside Afghanistan cannot give up.
www.livingtheway.com
Wristlocks:
GROUND APPLICATION
by Roy Dean
Photos by rick Ellis
Dark gi: Roy Dean, white gi: Anthony Treas

Many wristlocks, once thought the domain of Aikido

and Japanese Jujutsu, are readily available during the
groundfighting phase. Here are some example I have
used in actual application against resisting opponents.

One of the most common scenarios is attacking the wrist

while the opponent defends the cross body armlock.

The most important points are keeping your opponent’s

elbow firmly against your midsection, and pressing the
top of their hand with your palm, not your fingers.

This wristlock, often called a gooseneck, or gokyo in

Aikido, can also be achieved from sidemount position.
Place your shin in the bend of their elbow, and depress
with your palm. Surprise is key for this submission. Be sure
to not telegraph the submission by looking at their wrist.

e-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN Media | FALL 2007 | 25

The triangle choke is another area where gokyo can
be applied. Lock in the triangle, and apply pressure
with your palm.

Perfect hand positioning is easy if you slide your fingers

along their forearm, locking into place at their wrist.

Another wristlock, known as sankyo in Aikido, can be

used to defend against a choke.

e-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN Media | FALL 2007 | 26

The goal is to pass the arm to the other side of your head.
This is a popular defense in MMA competitions.

Sankyo can also be applied off of a bent armlock, often

referred to as Kimura.

The hand can easily slide from his wrist to his hand,
magnifying the torque and enhancing the submission.

Finally, an S lock, commonly referred to as nikyo in

Aikido, can be found in conjunction with an omoplata,
or shoulder lock performed with the legs. Although rare,
it’s there if you look for it!

e-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN Media | FALL 2007 | 27

Join us in the evolution of modern grappling
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E-Journal of Jujutsu | ROY DEAN MEDIA | FALL 2007 | 28