Jiu jitsu is a traditional Japanese martial art that has been tried and tested over many hundreds of years, with a wide variety of techniques which rely on the principles of softness, compliance and flexibility. Today it is found in many self-defence and restraint techniques used by police and armed forces the world over, and is the basis of the physical skills taught in many self-defence courses. It takes a rational approach to the way the body works and how to make the best use of your size and strength when dealing with an attacker.
Jiu jitsu means literally the 'Gentle Art', as it relies on the application of technique rather than strength. Jiu jitsu consists of a wide range of techniques which include joint locks, throws, immobilisations and strikes to nerve points and vulnerable points.

Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu is the style of jiu jitsu that we teach.
Aiuchi can be translated literally as "Inner Harmony". This means that it is the combination of body, technique, and mind that is essential to the successful performance of the art. Whilst it is an advantage to be fit and healthy, physical strength is of little importance in the mastery of jiu jitsu. Aiuchi doesn't just teach techniques which can be applied against an attacker, but also how your body's movement can be used to give power to those techniques.
For more information about Aiuchi, see the Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu Association website.

Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu is a style that is constantly evolving, and our self-defence techniques are all applicable to modern life. We teach defences against unarmed attacks such as strangles, grabs, punches and kicks and weapons such as knives, bottles and baseball bats. We teach a range of responses, ranging from simple techniques designed to extricate you quickly without harming your attacker to the more aggressive defences warranted when lives are in danger. This range of techniques allows you to respond appropriately to a wide variety of situations.
Although there are many techniques to learn and mastery takes time, there is much which can be learned simply and used quickly if the need arises.

Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu doesn't demand much from beginners in the way of fitness. There's a gentle warm-up at the start of every session which involves a bit of jogging, a few press-ups and sit-ups and a lot of stretching, but apart from the warm-up the training isn't that physically demanding, and we won't ask you to do anything you can't manage.
As you progress and become more experienced, the training will slowly become more demanding, but your body will adapt to the moderate level of fitness required simply by training regularly. Judging by several of our instructors, one essential adaptation is a beer gut!

Safety is always important, and our instructors teach with this in mind. We maintain a controlled, relaxed environment, and students are encouraged to train with care and control, and with respect for training partners. We train on soft foam mats, and light, soft imitation weapons are used, particularly by beginners. Our techniques and training style are designed to be safe, and we will never force anyone to do anything they feel uncomfortable with. If you have any injuries or medical conditions which may affect your training, you should let us know before the session and we will try to work around them.
We have a thorough warm-up at the start of every training session, which includes stretches for the major muscle groups, and at the end of each session there is a gentle warm-down.
However, though we do everything possible to ensure the safety of our students, jiu jitsu, like any physical activity, carries the possibility of injury. Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu has an excellent safety record and injuries are rare compared to most sports, but they can occasionally occur. For this reason our instructors are first-aid trained and students are fully insured as long as they are members of the Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu Association. This is why we'll ask you to fill in a membership form as soon as possible to make sure you're covered.

We teach a variety of responses to attacks and other physical threats, and try to keep the nature of the response appropriate to the situation. We encourage the avoidance of physical violence where possible, but in a dangerous situation a physical response can often be the only practical answer. In such cases the key is control, both in technique and degree. Controlled violence and controlled aggression are useful tools in self-defence and a traditional component of martial arts. Uncontrolled violence and aggression are dangerous and unacceptable.

Far from it. Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu attracts a wide variety of people, but most are interested in the self-defence, sport, tradition, technical or social aspects of our clubs. Our clubs are relaxed and friendly, and the only person you'll be competing against is yourself.

The first few sessions of the academic year will be aimed at beginners and will aim to give an overview of the simpler techniques we teach. The rest of the year the sessions will aim to teach a few techniques per session.
We start each session with a warm up. After that we will normally practice breakfalling (learning to land or roll safely when thrown or pushed) to ensure that everyone can land safely from any throws we practice later in the session. The rest of the session will vary in content, but usually the instructor will demonstrate a technique and the class split into pairs to practice it while the instructor circulates offering help and advice. After we have learned several techniques in this fashion, we end with a gentle warm down.
After the session, we head off for a well-earned drink!
For more details of a typical training session, see the Paddington Club website.

There are many martial arts and most of them have something positive to offer. There are too many arts out there, and too varied a selection, to say how we differ from each one, so instead we'll try to explain how we differ from most people's picture of martial arts and what we believe makes our style particularly effective and interesting.
Most people's picture of martial arts comes from television and films, and is therefore based on techniques drawn from various styles of kung fu, karate, kick boxing and other striking arts. The techniques chosen for movies are designed to impress and are carefully choreographed, and as such don't necessarily represent a balanced picture of the arts they are drawn from, let alone martial arts as a whole.
Aiuchi jiu jitsu is not primarily a striking art. We do use some strikes to vulnerable points, but when we do punch or kick we tend to concentrate on simple, effective strikes and avoid, for example, high, jumping or spinning kicks.
Where we differ from many arts is that we aim to improve over time not just our students' execution of each technique but also their understanding of it. We teach not just by repetition but also by explanation, and as students become more experienced we encourage them to evaluate and adapt the techniques they have been taught. We also teach a variety of responses to a given situation, and this combination of deeper understanding, variety and adaptability allows a great degree of flexibility when dealing with the many situations you could be confronted with.

No. While we share common roots with Brazilian styles, our orientation towards self-defence means we have much less of an emphasis on groundwork than Brazilian styles typically do. We're quite happy for our opponent to be on the ground, but we'd rather stay on our feet - if an attacker has friends around, you don't want to be on the ground where they can easily put the boot in.

We believe people learn best when they're relaxed and enjoying themselves, so our training style is aimed at striking a balance between having fun and being serious enough to learn effectively and be safe. We also encourage a good club social life. Aiuchi Jiu Jitsu organises a ball, two competitions and numerous courses during the year, which all provide opportunities to meet and socialise with members of other Aiuchi clubs up and down the country.
For photos of past Aiuchi social events, see the website of the Paddington Club.

All you need to start with is some loose clothing, such as tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt. If you continue to train you will need to buy a gi (white martial arts suit). You can buy this from a martial arts shop or through us.
You should trim your finger and toenails and remove all jewellery for your own safety and that of your training partners.

Yes. We always welcome beginners and you can always turn up for a session with no strings attached. We will ask you to fill in a membership form for insurance purposes but this doesn't entail any commitment.
In general, we would encourage beginners to try at least two sessions (ideally three or four) before they make a decision either way. This allows you to get a fuller picture of what jiu jitsu and our club are like. We recognise that martial arts, including jiu jitsu, aren't for everyone, and we want to be fair to everyone who comes along.

As we train in the University of Westminster's Harrow Campus sports centre, you must pay them for sports centre membership. We will not charge you any fee on top of this, apart from a small yearly membership fee to cover your insurance. The University has a variety of membership fees depending on whether you want to pay per session, for a block of session tickets or for a year's membership. A block of tickets or a year's membership work out much cheaper per session than paying for each session individually. The current table of membership fees can be obtained from the University, but at the time of writing the fee for an individual session is about £5.