Las Vegas School of Judo and Jujitsu

Information about Judo and Jujitsu

Kodokan Judo	Danzan Ryu Jujitsu
	In Japanese Ju means "to give way", Jitsu, an "art" or "practice", so that Jujitsu means an art or practice of giving way in order to ultimately gain the victory. Jujitsu is the parent of many martial art disciplines, including Judo, Aikido, Ninjitsu and many systems of Karate (i.e. Wado Ryu Karate). Jujitsu was refined during the feudal period in Japanese history by the Samurai (warrior class) as a method of engaging the enemy in combat when caught unarmed. Official documents of the 16th century record over 200 different ryu (styles) of Jujitsu. Danzan Ryu Jujitsu, founded by Professor Okazaki, includes all of the elements of what is now known as Karate, Aikido, Judo, and Ninjitsu. The basic Danzan Ryu techniques are taught by the use of katas (forms). A kata is a list of several techniques, each of which is taught individually. Because Professor Okazaki painted the lists of these katas on huge planks of wood, the katas are also referred to as 'boards'. One of the unique aspects of Danzan Ryu Jujitsu is Professor Okazaki's modification of classical Seifukujitsu, the Japanese Art of Restorative Massage. Danzan Ryu Seifukujitsu combines classic Japanese Massage, Hawaiian Lomilomi, as well as some techniques of Swedish massage. Seifukujitsu is very important in learning the higher arts of Jujitsu. Professor Okazaki was the Physical Therapist for President Roosevelt when he stayed in Hawaii. The Okazaki family still operates Nikko Massage in Honolulu, Hawaii. The traditional teachings of Jujitsu from Professor Okazaki's Kodenkan of Honolulu are continued at the Las Vegas School of Judo and Jujitsu.
Judo is a form of the martial art of Jujitsu (a Japanese system of philosophy, combat and self-defense) developed by Dr. Jigoro Kano in the late 1800's. Its popularity quickly spread around the world--in 1904 Yoshiaki Yamashita, one of Kano's students, traveled to the US and taught Judo to President Theodore Roosevelt and West Point cadets. Today Judo is one of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world. Judo is often confused with karate, however Judo includes many arts, such as grappling, that aren't included in karate. In addition to the martial arts and self-defense aspects, students of Judo may choose to practice the sport form of Judo, which was first contested at the Olympic Games in 1964 at Tokyo and permanently added to the Olympic program in 1972. Women first competed in a demonstration event at Seoul in 1988. International level sport Judo matches take place in a 30 foot square area of a special mat on a 45 foot square raised platform. The matches last for a maximum of 5 minutes. A win may be accomplished at any time by exhibiting complete control of the opponent within the rules of Sport Judo. More about Kodokan Judo
	The History of H. Seishiro Okazaki, Founder of Danzan Ryu of the Kodenkan Seishiro Okazaki (he later added Henry) was born January 28, 1890 in Fukushima Prefecture on Honshu. Professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki began his study of various fighting styles while he was a youth living in the Hawaiian Islands: Chinese Boxing (Kempo-Kung Fu), Okinawan Karate, Philipino stick and knife arts (Arnis De Mano), Lua (ancient Hawaiian fighting arts), American wrestling and boxing, and numerous Jujitsu ryu. Later, Professor Okazaki moved to Japan and continued his studies under the leading Jujitsu masters of his day. During the time he was completing the organization of his system, with the blessings of many of the ancient school heads, he also visited Professor Kano and his comparatively newly begun system of Judo. Okazaki was quite impressed with Kano's system and Kano was quite impressed with Okazaki's system, so they agreed to collaborate to a degree. Kano promoted Okazaki to third degree black belt (an extremely high rank at that time, only Kano and a few others held higher ranks); Okazaki agreed to incorporate Kano's principles of Judo, the "way of adaptability and gentleness" as a higher moral principle, in his own system. Professor Okazaki was able then to promote students to black belt in the arts of both Judo and Jujitsu. Okazaki also agreed to promote Judo in his system of Jujitsu as a way for students to have a sport form of the art. This very nicely tied into the overall philosophy of the arts, and gave students an opportunity to practice techniques in an almost realistic situation, challenge each other, get good exercise, and learn all the valuable lessons of sportsmanship and character building. In 1924, Professor Okazaki returned to the Hawaiian Islands and began a practice as a licensed physical therapist. Meanwhile, he continued to refine his style of Jujitsu by borrowing techniques of other styles of fighting from literally around the world. He called this new system Danzan Ryu (Cedar Mountain Style). It was so named in memory of his Chinese boxing teacher, who referred to the Hawaiian islands as Danzan. He wrote the Esoteric Principles rokumoku during this period. In 1930, the Professor moved to Honolulu and opened the Nikko Sanitarium of restorative Massage and the Kodenkan (School of Ancient Tradition), wherein he taught his beloved Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. Professor Okazaki started teaching all the advanced Ki arts of Yawara 10 years before Professor Ueshiba would invent Aikido, and the 'new' forms of atemi (a system of Kodenkan Kempo-Kung Fu) many years before Master Gichen Funkoshi finally made a serious impact with his art of Karate in Japan. However, a good part Professor Okazaki's fame and reputation in Hawaii came from his extraordinary abilities in massage and the healing arts, including many Hawaiian methods. Especially after treating President Roosevelt and other famous people. In the late 1930's and early 1940's several of Professor Okazaki's students moved to the West Coast of the Mainland and started teaching the Danzan Ryu system at several schools: the KoDenKan in Chico, California (Professor Bud Estes), Oakland (Professor Ray Law) and San Francisco (Professor Willy Cahill - later an Olympic Judo Champions Instructor) for example. In 1939 Professor Okazaki founded the American Jujitsu Institute. He wrote the Mokuroku during this period. By the time Professor Okazaki passed away on July 12, 1951, literally hundreds of students had studied at his school. Today we honor his memory and his contribution to American martial arts by continuing to study his art and philosophy; and by passing each unchanged to subsequent generations. It is through the watchful efforts of Professor Okazaki's former students, and their students, that this tradition and legacy is carried on. More about Danzan Ryu Jujitsu

Mirabelli Community Center
6200 Elton Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89107
702-229-6359
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