Cross Training, Part Two

As we have just added a few karate classes to our schedule at Eizan Ryu Dojo, I have been thinking about how I have benefitted from training in a full contact Kyokushin-based karate style along with my first martial art, Eizan Ryu Jujitsu.

My first instructor, Shihan Felix Berrios, was a very open minded teacher. He not only allowed his students to visit other dojos, go to seminars taught by instructors of other styles, and even train seriously in other martial arts, he actively encouraged us to do so.

Those not familiar with the martial arts world may not find this anything very surprising; after all, we are not in feudal Japan; in the United States, we are accustomed to freely choosing our hobbies and pursuits. But the truth is that in the past, an instructor being open to their students cross training was not particularly common. Indeed, even today, many instructors strongly disapprove of their students cross training. It may be because they worry that their students will become confused, or that they may be injured, or it may simply be that they are afraid they will lose students to other dojos.

But I think Shihan Berrios had it right, and I follow his example. I encourage my students to cross train, though I would not want it to interfere with their progress in Eizan Ryu Jujitsu. I find that having students who train in other arts brings more depth and a deeper understanding to our work in Eizan Ryu.

When I started training in World Oyama Karate in 1989, I had been practicing jujitsu for nine years. I was immediately drawn to  Oyama Karate for its combination of power, smart combinations, and fighting spirit. I already knew something about striking as Eizan Ryu Jujitsu incorporates strikes, throws, joint locks, and sweeps, but training in the karate dojo showed me how much more effective strikes could be if trained with focus.

Over the years, as I learned more, I have worked to integrate more striking into my jujitsu, and have also sought to take a jujitsu-informed approach to using punches and kicks. And this in turn has affected how I have taught both Eizan Ryu and karate.

I think this has been a very good thing for me and for my students. It is never good to be insular in one’s approach to the martial arts. Having more tools in one’s tool box is useful, and understanding elements of other martial arts helps one shape one’s own responses to people one may encounter in or out of dojo. While there are some wrong ways of doing things – ways that are too likely to get you or a partner injured, ways that just do not work – there are many right ways of doing things.

We have had people with significant training in Okinawan karate styles, Kyokushin karate styles, Shotokan karate, Tae Kwon Do, judo, BJJ, aikido, and other systems training at our dojo over the years. This has pushed us to improve our own techniques in response. In our Eizan Ryu Jujitsu classes, we teach Eizan Ryu Jujitsu, however having other influences present adds depth to our training.

Right now, we are only able to have two karate classes a week. That makes it an ideal addition to training that people may be doing with us in jujitsu, as well as to training that students from other schools and styles may be doing. As always, we are not here to insist that our way is the “right” way. Instead, we ask that people do things our way in class, with the understanding that they are adding to their knowledge, not being asked to throw away what they have learned elsewhere.