Ronin Jiu-Jitsu Center

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Congratulations to Pete Merrill and “Big” Keith Kizerian on their recent stripe promotions!

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New classes have been added! We now have afternoon classes on tues and thurs as well as stand-up and self defense classes on fri. Please visit our website to Learn more… Trial Program Update

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Information regarding any openings in our trial program will be made available in future updates. Featured Article

BLACK BELT GOAL SETTING

With the New Year here, I thought it would be good to do a post on
goal setting (since most of us are making New Year's resolutions).
Goal setting is a powerful process that gets you thinking about your future as it also motivates you to take action.
Goal setting is an important part of the martial arts and is used by Master black belts and high achievers in every field.
For some, it's about getting their black belt. For others, it's about losing weight, dropping a bad vice, or improving the relationships we have with our loved ones.
However, the secret is that you must properly set your goals in such a way so that you can realistically achieve them. If you’ve only been training Jiu-Jitsu for a couple of months and you you want to get your black belt next year, probably not gonna happen.
By setting distinct, clearly defined goals, you can easily measure your accomplishment of those goals and check them off your list.
If your goal is black belt in eight to ten years from the day you started, then each belt test is one step closer to that goal. It's easy to build a timeline based around this goal as you know how many belts you are away from black belt.
Before you set any goal, be sure to answer the question "Why do I want to achieve this goal?" The more reasons you have motivating yourself besides "I just want it" the better you be to keep motivated and on track.
There are many types of goals you might set in your life including family, education, work, financial, physical, charity and more. The good news is the process is the same no matter what kind of goal you've set for yourself.
Goal Setting Tips Be precise. Set priorities. Write goals down. ( I’ve found to be very Powerful) Set performance goals, not just outcome goals. Set realistic goals.
Further, a commonly adopted approach to goal setting, known as the SMART method, is as follows:

1. Specific - Goals must be specific.
2. Measurable - They must be quantifiable.
3. Attainable - Set goals that push you but are achievable.
4. Realistic - This means do-able, not necessarily easy.
5. Time-Bound - With no deadline, it is easy to put things off.

It's amazing how setting the right goals and achieving them leads to increased self-confidence and feeling better about yourself. I am reminded of this every time I reach a new goal I've set for myself.
If you haven't done this yet for the New Year, I challenge you to set, define then crush your goals!

Self-Defense Tip: Walk Tall

Predators often look to the weak. If you walk with confidence, you can avoid a lot of possible attacks. Keep your eyes up and scanning as you walk. This will deter most attackers as they want to surprise easy victims.

Is it an o goshi or an uki goshi?

It is a tradition within some Jiu-Jitsu circles to congratulate a newly-belted student with a ceremonial hip throw. I always assumed it was a "big hip throw" (o goshi), but wanted to check up on it.

Based on videos of people getting thrown, and my own experience, many people may be getting thrown with a "floating hip throw" (uki goshi). Or I just can't tell the difference.

In the o goshi (big hip throw), the feet of the thrower (tori) are pretty close like a saeio nagi. Both of the tori's feet are medial to the throwee's (uke) feet.

In the uki goshi (floating hip throw), the tori's feet are further apart, such that one uke foot is bisecting the tori's feet.

So it looks like we do a uki goshi.