Weaknesses of my martial art.?

Question

I'm a novice at Japanese Ju Jitsu. I would like to know where the weaknesses in the art lie as it seems a bit of an all round art. We learn strikes, locks, throws and ground fighting. Higher belts in our particula style (Seishin Mizu Ryu) learn kinves, bottles, staffs and swords. Wondering where it's main weaknesses are.

Answer 1

Jujitsu is a good art, however it takes a LOT of practice to become fluent in it. There are all kinds of stories out there of people who have used jujitsu effectively in real situations, but in order to overcome the fear involved in a real situation you will need to have practiced the technique hundreds of times, such that it comes subconsciously.

Answer 2

I suppose it all depends on what your goals are for practicing the art. If you're trying to compete in UFC-style combat, then Ju Jitsu is a good start, but you may want to add some boxing and maybe some Muy Thai in there as well to compete with the new generation of fighters.

If you're doing it for street-level self defense, most of the Asian martial arts forms have a great deal of weakness because they are not specifically designed to defend against sudden attacks with guns, knives, or multiple opponents. I would suggest Krav Maga (Israeli army self defense) if that is your goal.

If your goal is improved fitness, clarity and confidence, you are on the right track. Many of the martial arts work wonders with your overall body awareness and also give you at least some level of confidence in dealing with the average confrontation that you're likely to encounter.

Answer 3

you are a novice . right at this point in your training you are the weakness. after 10 years you will have discovered some of the weaknesses. don't be so previous. it takes time to fill the gaps . don't forget ju-jitsu was developed for warfare over a period of several hundred years and most of the weaknesses weeded out .otherwise the system would not have survived

Answer 4

Well, the weaknesses of jujitsu started about one hundred and thirty years ago, perhaps a little longer. During this era in japan Japan was struggling to become westernized, and martial arts stagnated in such a way that it has never been able to recover. The main ways that jujitsu stayed alive were through fights that the public could go to see. It nearly turned into a blood sport, in which a lot of pure technique was lost, and it was unsafe to even practice. This made it difficult for many practitioners of jujitsu to continue practice into old age, for it was very hard on the body. So gradually, people began specializing, some jujitsu clubs would focus more on groundwork, some on grappling, others on throws, others on striking, still others on weapons. So when these clubs began to specialize they did teach the other techniques, but they began to be a poorer quality. Martial arts didn't come back into popularity until Jigaro Kano developed judo, he took it from the safer elements of jujitsu, removed the death blows, and took a scientific eye to everything. I can't remember how many years this went on, but there did happen to be another attempt at bringing down marial arts, i believe it was near 1920 or near there. I do not know the specifics of what jujitsu lost in this time, judo lost most of its striking, which today only remain in the kata, because only the competition style remains to any effect today. The current weaknesses in jujitsu can vary, but it depends on the club, jujitsu has most definetly recovered from the blows it took in japan. I would look into how long it takes an average student to earn his/her black belt, this is actually a very good quality check for your club, and it works in nearly any martial art. Six years and up should mean an ok club, if it is over ten years then it is most likely a great club, as they take time and insure that you are ready for advancement, it also is a good quality indicator of your instructor, for he would like to see his students be the best before moving them up rank. But the only real problem in jujitsu is common to all martial arts, the mindset, you have to have your mind ready to fight, this will not be aquired through practice, when you get better, do lots of sparring, and make sure your body is in the proper condition to fight, this is why if you want your martial art to succeed, join a western style of fighting and use thier training to complement your martial art. If you are looking for pracatality, it should be obvious that flashy moves should only be used in practice. But on the whole, japanese jujitsu is formed as a complete system.

Answer 5

Jim B - That was a stupid answer.. what happens when the boxer is knocked down or tripped? Boxing on the ground isnt very erffective.

Ju Jitsu is a fine all around martial art.
Its only downfall is if I bash you with a pipe from behind. : )

Answer 6

I did Kyokushin Karate for a few years and what I learnt through speaking to various sensei (of different disciplines) is that all styles have strengths and weakness.

Boxers have excellent punches and guards, but no kicks
Kyokushin excellent kicks and punches (just look at Filio in K1) but very little ground work.

I would suggest that multi-skilled disciplines would be less specialised and arguably weaker in some areas than specialists.

Still, the better fighter will win regardless of discipline.

Answer 7

every fighting art including boxing is only as good as the guy practicing it no matter what you know somone always knows more,but as a whole the Gracie's have made jujitsu into one of the premier fighting arts in the country.so keep at it but don't just focus on it.you should be a well rounded fighter and try a little of everything with ju jitsu as your foundation..good luck..and for the boxer..i don't know bud..stop in at a dojo/dojang and spar with Somone before you make a snap judgment

Answer 8

the problem is that japanese ju jitsu doesnt specialize at anything it average at ground fighting, striking ect. that is why brazilian jui jitsu is better because it took the basics of ground fighting from japanese ju jitsu and judo and specialized in themso becoming excelent at fighting on the ground
i would suggest u dump japanese ju jitsu and start doing brazilian jui jitsu and maybe muay thai or karate.

Answer 9

Good question the biggest weakness I see is the people that think they are unbeatable - ego & arrogance is the biggest weakness anyone can have. Like I said good that you can see and are willing to learn from your weaknesses, this will become a particularly useful strength in time

Answer 10

There are no 'weak' martial arts, every art was 'developed' by particular people at specific points in their country's history.
Ju-jitsu is pretty much an all-round martial art in that it teaches ground-work, grappling, punches, kicks and various weapons, joint-locks, throws etc.
Good luck in your journey, enjoy it.

Don't be put off by mis-informed people.