Grappling Thursday

Last night we had an open class. It's like winter freezes the will power and only the strong of the strong joins us in the Dojo. 
Sensei Chris gave us a class on Grappling. His knowledge and communication skills are a huge asset to the school and I personally always enjoy his grappling sessions.

Ground work wasn't historically part of the Ninjas training. Back then a Ninjas demeanour would be one of projected cowardice until the Samurai turned his back. Then the silent assassin would bare his blade and kill his target quick and in silence then disappear into the shadows again. The ninja had no desire to have a one on one fair straight up encounter with an enemy, hence ground fighting were neglected in the art.

Today however things have changed. We can't go around eliminating our enemies at will. Even a simple strike will lead to a court case. Hence enter the submission fighter. Now we can quickly and effectively subdue our enemy with simple locks and throws that cause little physical damage but get the point across to the drunkard who believes that touching your girlfriends but was a good idea.

Ninjitsu is about control. We are taught to use necessary force, but never to exceed that necessity.