Yume Dojo Homepage

Glendale, Arizona

Welcome to Yume Dojo and Shizenryu Jutsu. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. The web site has not been updated since February, however we will be doing updates for the next few weeks, with some new information to share. We want to thank everyone who has contacted us checking up on us and requesting more updates. We apologize for not having the updates more current. There have been several projects and we have been very busy with the day to day running of the dojo. We do apologize.

 The Dojo was honored to have Professor Libert O'Sullivan from Kailua, Hawaii (on the island of Oahu) visit the dojo and take over classes for several days. Professor O'Sullivan trained under Professor Henry Okazaki, Professor Sig Kufferath and Professor Bing Fai Lau in Hawaii. Professor received his Black belt in 1949, with all three of these men signing his certificate as well as Professor Wally Jay. Professor O'Sullivan is one of the most senior Danzan Ryu Instructors still teaching today. Professor is a magnificent Instructor and everyone just loved being around and training with him. The downtime was spent eating at restaurants and "talking story" with him. Professor went through the "Boards" as he calls them or Scrolls of Danzan Ryu trying to get us as much information as possible. The Sensei's of Yume Dojo are dedicated to pass along what Professor called the "Okazaki Way"   and to pass along the legacy of Professor O'Sullivan. Yume Dojo will preserve the art and the manner in which the art was originally taught. One update will feature Danzan Ryu escape techniques and wrist locks. This was the second time the students and Sensei of Yume Dojo had the opportunity to train with Professor O'Sullivan and another trip is planned for September with a visit to the Martial Arts Collective Society Gathering in September. To see Professor in action check out the Photo Gallery link above.

The Instructors and students of Yume Dojo would like to express their sincere sympathies to the Ohana, students, and all those affiliated with Kajukembo, for their loss of their leader and mentor Adriano "Sijo" Emperado. Sijo Emperado was a pioneer in the Martial Arts of Hawaii, having trained with the great William Chow and was one of the founding fathers of Kajukembo. Sijo helped spread Kajukembo all over the world and has one of the biggest followings in the Martial Arts today. Our deepest sympathies to the students who have lost their leader and who made so many students great Instructors. Also, our heart goes out to the family and students of Grandmaster Allan Abad, who passed away  just a few days after his mentor, Sijo Emperado. Grandmaster Abad was a great guy, always making time to 'talk story' or lend a helping hand. He was one of our favorite people, and the dojo is really taking his passing to heart. He was full of life and a great friend of everyone. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Abad family and extended family.

We are honored and proud to share two very special articles this month. Our brother, Awatea Edwin, a Maori warrior, has written two articles for us to share. Awatea inherited his art of Ue-Kaha No Roto from his Great Uncle and former chief of their tribe. Awatea not only studies the native Maori arts, but also several of the Chinese Internal systems. He is a modern day warrior with a great respect for the past. The article shares the history of his style and explanation of Maori history. You can find this article by clicking the Articles of Interest Link above. The second Article share the two path system of Ue-Kaha No Roto. Yume Dojo employs this two path system as well after having had this shared with us by Awatea. We believe you will find these articles immensely interesting and a must read for any serious student. Both of these articles are up and ready for viewing. Just click on the Articles of Interest Link at the top of the page.

The web site has taken a bit of a new look and most all the pages have been updated and remodeled. Please take some time and check out these new updates. Be sure and check out our new Art of the Month and Sensei Spotlight. The spotlight is on Hanshi Bruce Juchnik of Kosho Ryu Kempo. (There is also a spotlight on Professor Libert O'Sullivan of Danzan Ryu). The art this time around is Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu. Be sure and check out the history of this unique art.

The curriculum at yume Dojo is divided into two divisions; a Kempo division and a Jujutsu division. The Kempo division consists of:

• Japanese Kempo (Shorinji Kempo)

• Okinawan Kempo (Shitoryu Karate)

• Hawaiian Kempo

• American Kenpo (Ed Parker Kenpo)

The Jujutsu division consists of:

• Japanese Jujutsu (Goshin Budo Jujutsu)

• Okinawan Jujutsu (Torite Jutsu)

• Hawaiian Jujutsu

• Chinese Jujutsu (Eagle Claw Chin Na)

There is also a strong Groundwork curriculum (Ne Waza) and a a complete stick and knife curriculum as well. Please check the links at the top of the page and view some of these techniques.

The dojo has been very busy with visitors and guest students training along with our Dojo Family. A group of students accompanied the Ohana to the Martial Arts Collective Society's 'Gathering' where we got to meet some old friends, and train with some of the top Martial Art Instructors in the world. One in particular was Professor Libert O'Sullivan who not only taught but took people off to the side and did one on one training. Yume Dojo was the beneficiary of this and Professor spent two days training us in Danzan Ryu. Professor O'Sullivan is one of the last top seniors of Professor Henry Okazaki.

Updates:  All these pages will be updated within the next few days.

• The Martial Movements page has been updated-May 2009. this time the focus is on Application of Blocks. The application will feature Jujutsu locks. Click on the Martial Movement Link at the top of the page.

• The Shime Waza (choking technique) page has been updated-May 2009. This segment features Danzan Ryu Chokes and some variations. Click on the Shime Waza Link at the top of the page.

• The Jujutsu Page has been updated and features basic Jujutsu techniques such as Arm Bars, Wrist Locks and Takedowns. Click on the Jujutsu Link at the top of the page.

• The Sensei Spotlight and the Art of the Month have also been updated-April 2009. This month's art is Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu, founded by the late great Professor Moses Powell. The Sensei of the month is Hanshi Bruce Juchnick of Kosho Ryu Kempo. Click on the Links above to see these new Updates.

• The Article Page has been updated-May 2009 with two new Articles that focus on the Maori Arts of New Zealand. These articles are very insightful in native warrior arts.. Click on the Article of Interest link at the top pf the page.

• The Kempo Page has also been updated. A look at Root Techniques, and how to apply Add On or how to adapt or Ad Lib a technique is shown. Click on the Kempo Technique link above.

Back to our Roots

     As mentioned, Yume Dojo is returning to its roots. When telling someone this, their reply was "What are you going teach now?" I obviously didn't get my point across and realized that maybe there needs to be an explanation of what this means, 'returning to the roots'. Its not a question of what is being taught, rather how its being taught.. I felt now may be a good time to address this.

     In 'returning to the roots', its not a question of going back and teaching old material instead of new material. Rather the approach,  and the process of learning. Material is material, its how one teaches, spreads and applies this material that makes an art different, or special. Everyone thinks their particular arts are special, I do, but also understand its how to transmit this information that is important.. Physically speaking, there will be no difference in the material taught at Yume Dojo, rather the approach and the process of how its taught.. When we first start training, or teaching, training, being on the mat, is the top priority. Very little time is spent on politics, relationships, organizations etc, the focus (Kime) is training. Getting time on the mat to better ourselves, for whatever reason one chooses to do this. This is one aspect of 'returning to the roots', a focus on just training, understanding why we do something or how it works versus just copying something. Basically, to approach training as a beginner, wide eyed and open for all knowledge that can be received. Many times we learn something early on, and as we advance put this knowledge in the back of our minds or sometimes forget it. How many times during practice has there been the moment that you realize you haven't done a technique or movement in years. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to re-visit what I have done in the past, and apply the knowledge and approach of what I have learned in the past several years to this. I feel I have come almost full circle in my training and am ready for the second time around. This time I can apply recent knowledge of Concepts, Principles and Advanced Theories to my basic knowledge. This time I will be better prepared for the second journey down the path of knowledge.

     There is another side of 'returning to the roots'. Along the road there are many stumbling blocks and distractions that keep us from obtaining our goals and veer us off the path of self-improvement.. This has more to do with respect, integrity and doing the right thing. Many times things come along that can take us on a different path, sometime the path leads back others times not.. It seems integrity has been overlooked, and motives, and agendas have become more important.. There are many factors that can cause this. One in particular is the need to be important.. In the early days the Masters were few and the students were more plentiful. Everyone sought out the Master to help them along their chosen path. Today everyone is a Master or wants to be. Essentially, there are more Chiefs and not enough Indians. The fact that more and more people are training, and as time keeps going by, there are more Instructors. However its sometimes the agenda of these instructors, or the agenda of the student that takes precedent.. Another reason for this is rank, everyone wants it, the more you get, the more you want. Many unscrupulous things are done to get the rank, including paying for rank, or compromising your training for it.. This happens many times as a school will need to keep the students, and will use rank as a means to keep the student.. Instead of teaching integrity, respect, and spirit, the Instructor gives out techniques and rank.

     There are people who now use the term Original in front of the their style. There are usually referring to the spirit of the art, not the techniques of the art.. A great example of this is Grandmaster Chuck Sullivan and Grand Master Dave Hebler, both from American Kenpo and students of Ed Parker. They typify the spirit of Ed parker and American Kenpo. Grandmaster Eugene Sedeno from Kajukembo and Shaolin Kenpo is another great example of the spirit of early Hawaiian Kempo. All these men represent the great things about the art, not the techniques, but the spirit of the art, the integrity and the respect that has been implanted in them. For, me it was my Okinawan Karate Sensie, Soke John Simmons. Soke had no agenda, he taught each student as an individual giving them the opportunity to self improve, and become better people and hopefully  better Martial Artists. Soke Simmons never wavered, he had to overcome the loss of students, the loss of 2 dojos by fire, and health issues, but never changed, never changed his approach and his faith in his students, even when they left. He never had a bad word to say to anyone. This is the true spirit of an art, a style and a teacher.

     So it is here also that Yume Dojo is 'returning to the roots', to focus on training students to be good Martial Artists, but better people. To devote time to training without ego, agenda, and attention to things like rank, title or becoming the next Bruce Lee. I would love to see this happen throughout the martial arts world, to regain the spirit of what we do, the integrity of what we do, for the right reasons and to pass this along to the next generation. This is what Yume Dojo has done by 're-dedicating itself to its roots'.

     The Jujutsu curriculum is a varied and very strong part of Yume Dojo. There are 5 styles of Jujutsu studied and all are practically applied, yet done in a manner that utilizes Natural Body movements to make the Jujutsu techniques extremely efficient. Goshin Budo Jujutsu makes up the base of the Jujutsu curriculum, however Torite Jutsu, Sanuces Ryu Jujutsu, Hawaiian Jujutsu and even Eagle Claw Chin Na is in the curriculum. Yume Dojo was made aware of the old Hookers and Shooters of the early days of wrestling and have added several 'Hooks' to the curriculum, both with the legs and arms. Ne Waza or Groundwork is a very important part of the Jujutsu curriculum. Sambo, a Russian version of Ground Work is also done at the Dojo. The Sensei's are currently working on adding some old Judo techniques to incorporate with the existing curriculum. This is an overview of Shizenryu Jutsu, techniques, Concepts and Principles will also be looked at on the web site.

     Some new changes will include 'going back to the roots' of training and focusing on training and not outside influences. Having said that, there are two types of student programs at Yume Dojo. Below supplies a description of these types of students and their curriculum.

Level  I and Level II Students

     Yume Dojo employs a two tier system in training their students. Level 1 students learn the entire curriculum, but are only interested in the art itself. Mainly a person interested in casual training and not delving into the deeper aspects of the art. There are ranks in both Level 1 and Level 2, and the student can reach Black Belt in either level. However, a Level 1 Black belt will not receive a Teaching License. The Level 1 students learn all basics, and learn how to use their basics, with proficiency being the top goal. Once having mastered the basics, learned all the techniques within the art and an understanding of how the art works, they will receive their Black Belts.

      Level 2 students will learn the inner workings of the art. This is known as the Inner Circle of Yume Dojo. These students will learn what drives the art, the concepts, theories, strategies, principles and tenants of the art. This student will be responsible for passing along the art, and sharing the transmission of information to other students. Those in Level 2 will also be the teachers of the future, though they need not own their own school, but must be able to verbally pass on the knowledge shared with them. Okuden, or the hidden, or non-verbal transmission of the art will also be taught to those at this level.

     Students will be invited into the Inner Circle of Yume Dojo only after they have shown their willingness to live the "Way of a Martial Artist". Students who want just casual training, or show no interest in the inner workings or the art, can still train and learn the arts of Shizenryu, however will not be expected to teach and pass along the arts. This way, expectations of the student is defined and the student is given what he wants from the training. Not all students are meant to be Sensei, nor do all want to, this 2 tier systems takes this into account. Level 2 is not for everyone, but that is the point.