I am new to all this, am I welcome?
Absolutely, our sessions are open to people from all backgrounds. As such beginners are welcomed at ANY session.

It looks really hard - I don't think I'll be able to do it!
Everybody was a beginner once! Jitsu can look like it is difficult and painful, but new starters are usually pleasantly surprised by what they can learn in just one session. We spend a lot of time practicing breakfalling (Falling over) so that you can practice techniques without being hurt. Having said this, Jitsu is a martial art which teaches you to defend yourself, so the occasional bump or bruise is to be expected. Jitsu is wonderful for building self-confidence. You will soon find yourself capable of things that you never thought possible.

Im not a student, can I join?
Yes you can, we have both students and non-students training regularly.

What if I don’t like it?
When you first train with us there is no obligation to continue, for this reason we do not charge anything for your first two training sessions. If you decide after this that Jitsu is for you then we expect you to pay your insurance before you can continue training for legal reasons.

What should I wear?
If you have a plain white gi (the white pyjama like things you see martial artists wearing) you can wear that, otherwise wear lose fitting clothes i.e. tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt.

How fit exactly do I need to be?
Fitness will help any physical activity, but if you want to learn a lack of it will not stop you. The techniques we use do not require any extreme amounts of fitness, strength or flexability. However you would be wise to increase your fitness to get through a grading (they last a few hours) and guess what a great way to get fit enough to do that is? Yep you guessed it, come and train with us! we work on our fitness, strength and flexibility and you will be surprised how quickly your fitness improves.

How much does it cost?
When you total up the yearly costs and compare it to ANY other martial art in Huddersfield, you will find that we charge less than anyone else. The reason behind this is that we are a non-profit making club i.e. our instructors do not get paid. This means we can pour all monies from our students straight back into the club.

Costs are:
£20 to join and insurance (this covers a full calendar year).
£20 / £25 fees per term
£3 for the University of Huddersfield students’ union (they subsidise the club so we can keep mat fees down). £3 for a TJF badge
If you want to grade you will need a judo gi (funny white pjs) which you can get in town sport shops for £17-£23, if buying one you don't need to get a very heavy one.

What is the TJF?
TJF stands for “The Jitsu Foundation” which is the organization/style we belong to. They are responsible for implementing the syllabus (techniques we teach) and ensuring continued standards in clubs throughout the style, by conducting gradings and holding courses. TJF are affiliated to the British Ju Jitsu Association Governing Body (BJJAGB) who are recognized by Sport England, the official sport sanctioning body in England. The TJF are split up in to ‘regions’ in a similar way that national government is split up into local constituencies. This allow more personal contact between clubs in similar locations. Huddersfield Uni. Club is part of the Yorkshire region.

What kind of courses are run?
Each term there is a regional course ran by one of the top grades within the region and held in one of the Yorkshire club dojos. These are great fun as well as very important for your Jitsu development as you will learn a great deal as well as getting to meet and socialize with other Jitsuka from around the region. Twice a year around 1000 jitsuka of all levels, beginner through to expert, from all over the country get together for national competitions. These take place in Birmingham and runs over two days with the top exponents of the style teaching on both days, then later you have a chance to compete and put all your training in to practice.

What's with the black skirt?
In our organisation, lead instructors of clubs and black belts can wear "Hakama", which are like very baggy trousers. They are the the Japanese equivalent of riding chaps. When Samurai got off their horses to fight on foot, they found that the bagginess of hakama concealed the position of their feet, which was advantageous, so they kept them on. Our instructors wear them in recognition of this.