The University Self Protection Group

USSPG exists to do two things. We train in the martial art of Combat Ju-Jitsu and offer gradings plus all the usual extras associated with the art. More about that below.

We also strive to further and support student and staff safety at the university and in general life. We do this by advising on and teaching a range of self-protection measures as well as a simple and effective self-defence system. We have good links with the campus police and University support services, and can offer informal advice on a range of topics such as how to deal with anything from racist abuse to domestic violence and stalking.

Left: The vast majority of potentially dangerous situations can be handled without violence. We teach our students how to recognise a threat and deal with it before it escalates. However, nobody is perfect. The self-defence and Ju-Jitsu techniques are a reliable backup in case something goes badly wrong. If the worst happens, you’ll be prepared to deal with it.

The self-defence system that we teach is essentially a stripped-down version of the Combat Ju-Jitsu syllabus. The aim is to make it as quick and easy to learn as possible, and to make it usable under the extreme pressure of a physical assault. We also include advice on legal and psychological aspects of self-protection, allowing you to deal with all three sides of the ‘threat triangle’ – physical, emotional and legal.

The upshot of all this is that our students are less likely to be targeted for an attack or to become involved in violence, and far more able to deal with the situation using appropriate physical and non-physical measures. Perhaps more importantly, they are confident to handle a conflict situation without ‘giving in’ or compromising themselves, yet also without getting hurt.

Our instructors and both the self-defence and Ju-Jitsu taught in the class are accredited by the Self-Defence Federation, the UK’s largest self-defence organisation.

Right: This really doesn’t happen very often in the real world! We train to defuse threatening situations where possible and if necessary deal with them using simple, effective measures. Our syllabus includes a range of measures from control and restraint to striking, kicking, takedowns and ground fighting techniques.

We sometimes use the term ‘Reality Based Self Defence’, which means different things to different people. To us it simply means that we are training to deal with real threats, such as knives, glassings, muggings and fistfights rather than battling skateboarding ninjas or samurai on horseback. There’s more about RBSD if you follow the links at the left of the page.

The SDF includes a number of different martial arts clubs as well as the ‘pure’ SDF classes that only teach the SDF self-defence system. We do both – we teach the self-defence syllabus as well as Combat Ju-Jitsu (and a few other things besides). These overlap in many places, so essentially if you come to the class you’ll learn how to defend yourself using Ju-Jitsu, and maybe leave with a black belt to go with your degree.

Combat Ju-Jitsu

For my money Ju-Jitsu (IF IT IS TAUGHT AND TRAINED PROPERLY) has the most to offer of all martial arts when it comes to self-protection. There are many martial arts on offer. Some are quite specialized and deal only with, say, punching and kicking techniques. Some have been deliberately altered to become a sport or an aesthetic exercise, fitness regime or whatever. None of these things is bad, but for me martial arts are about effective self-defence, so I naturally gravitated to Ju-Jitsu.

Left: Jason is performing a fairly unpleasant takedown from a Shoulder Armlock. He’s got my right arm locked up and he’s shoving my head back to break my posture. Any second, Jason will take a step or two forward and tip me over backwards. At that point he has a range of options, few of which are any fun for me.

Our Combat Ju-Jitsu syllabus is listed on the Reality-Based Self-Defence pages you can get to from this site, and if you’ve joined us you probably already have a copy. There are seven ‘Kyu’ grades (coloured belts from white to brown) before black belt. The gradings are free - and nobody is making any money out of this – and students grade when they are ready rather than on a regular schedule.

Students can also take grades in Self-Defence which is done in conjunction with my SDF instructor, Stu Cutty. I’m qualified to run the gradings myself but with one of the country’s best instructors just down the road, not making use of the situation would be just daft.

More about Combat Ju-Jitsu

The martial art of Combat Ju-Jitsu is, first and foremost, a self-defence system that enables the user to subdue an attacker. The system includes a wide range of techniques, allowing an appropriate and effective response to be made to any situation. Our techniques are meant to be "universal" - that is, they are designed to be used by anyone, even if they are not big or strong. There are obvious limits – you would probably not attempt to perform a shoulder throw on someone twice your weight, for example – which is why a range of techniques are necessary to cover eventualities.

Ju-Jitsu is far more than a simple self-defence system, however. It is a complete martial art, taught in a structured and logical manner with progress measured by the award of coloured belts, progressing from white to black.

Right: Defending from a right hook. White Shirt Guy has closed in and jammed the strike. Depending on circumstances, he might strike Yellow Shirt Guy with an elbow shot to the face or loop his right arm round YSG’s head to drag him down for a knee strike. You can get my ‘other favourite technique’ from here – a guillotine choke/knee strike combination with a highly entertaining finish. Ask me about it sometime.

Combat Ju-Jitsu (as we teach it) prepares the user for the reality of "street" self-defence. The most important aspect of training is the knowledge and use of body movement and the body mechanics of the opponent. This is called Tai Sabaki, and it’s really not very complicated. It basically means moving so that you have an advantage and the bad guy doesn’t.

Our techniques include counters to the grabs and attacks commonly used by streetfighters and muggers, plus throws and locks, strangles, chokes, restraints, kicks, punches, evasion, parries/blocks and a number of unclassifiable (and in some cases, fairly unpleasant) but highly effective techniques for use in a close-quarters struggle. Combination moves and nerve/pressure point techniques are also taught once students get the hang of the basics.

Right: The effectiveness of an old-fashioned smack in the head cannot be underestimated. If you look closely you may be able to see that the guy in the background is using a closed fist hook punch while Rachel is using an open handed palm blow. We teach both punching (fists) and combatives (open hands); both have their merits in different situations and for different people.

Students learn a basic repertoire of techniques, then build upon them to create variations and combinations until they have at their disposal a powerful armoury, including:

•  Evasion
•  Strike and Grab Defences
•  Punches, Elbows and Hand Strikes
•  Throws & Takedowns
•  Chokes & Strangles
•  Locks & Dislocations
•  Restraints and Hold-downs
•  Kicking & Kneeing Techniques
•  Counters and Defences against grabs and chokes
•  Ground Defences

Techniques are learned through drilling (ie practising) on the many strikes, throws, locks, strangles etc - and defences against them - and honed through "context" training: pad and bag work, striking drills, sparring, groundwork (grappling) and Randori (free sparring, with takedowns and throws permitted, finishing with groundwork techniques). We also do a certain amount of ‘line ups’, ‘glove drills’ and ‘armoured assailant drills’, all of which are designed to put the student under a bit of pressure and allow them to try out their techniques in a situation that’s as close to reality as possible.

While Combat Ju-Jitsu is a complete system, perspective is always a good thing. Our students are completely free (indeed, they are encouraged) to study any other art they please, attend any courses that seem interesting, and generally to pursue their own development as they think best. Those who do so often bring new insights back with them, and so the art continues to grow and adapt.

On Grappling and Ground Fighting

It is my experience that most situations (here I'm referring mainly to those that do not involve weapons, though this does apply to some that do!) that get beyond the first blow become scrappy, messy grabbing-and-grappling affairs that usually go to the ground.

Some arts teach students to choose to go to the ground. This is a Really Bad Idea, since once on the ground you are vulnerable to being kicked or just plain squashed by a heavier opponent. That said, anyone who thinks they don't need to learn ground-fighting or grappling is wearing a set of blinkers. I am a striker by inclination (my counter to almost everything is a short right hook to the kidneys, since I need cue cards for anything more complex!) but even I have learned that one MUST be able to fight on the deck.

That does not mean that you need to pursue Judo to world class, or learn submission fighting, Vale Tudo or Shoot Wrestling, merely that if you are serious about self-defence you should at least become familiar with basic grappling. Vertical grappling is vital because if the first strike fails then an attacker will usually close in and try to grab you. It is important that you know how to escape or take him down - or to avoid being slammed to the ground!

Left: Peter is being compliant here, allowing his training partner to learn the technique they are working on. As Martin gets the hang of it, Peter will begin to resist more and more until a realistic level of non-compliance is achieved. Those students that want to (it’s optional) can try out their ground-fighting skills by ‘rolling’, ie trying to get techniques on one another in a friendly competitive ‘ground fight’.

If you do end up on the floor (and many fights that go beyond the first strike do!) then you need to be able to do something while you're there. I'm not all that good at formal groundwork, with locks and chokes and stuff. I do it and I'll fight anyone at the Dojo for the practice, but I'm not out to win Judo competitions. My goal is a much simpler one: groundwork teaches you not to panic when you end up on the deck with a 16-stone bloke trying to rip your arms off. Everything else comes after that most important of factors: you must be calm enough to do something or you've had it. Exactly what you should do depends upon circumstances, but if you're frozen in panic then you'll not be doing anything of any use.

My own groundwork "style", such as it is, is all about not letting my opponent get a good hold on me, then wriggling free enough to pound on him, bang his head off the floor, knee, bite, choke, get a joint lock, land a headbutt or whatever, then get up and depart swiftly. In the relatively civilized formal groundwork arena, where strikes are not allowed, I have to rely on my locking and choking techniques. Sometimes I win. But for me groundwork is not about training for competition-style matches, it's about preparing for the street.

That's what my grappling style is all about - self defence rather than Martial Art. I know (and respect!) many grapplers who think differently to me, and who make the chokes, locks and submission holds their weapons of choice where fists and knees are mine. These guys usually tie me in knots on the mat, and I learn from every single bout. Sometimes I even win! But not usually… unless I'm allowed to hit them or to fight dirty.

Right: Yes, those really are pink focus pads. Some of the students have their own gear and Lex has… those. For all we’re teaching martial arts and self-defence, we don’t take ourselves very seriously and we have a lot of fun. If you’re looking to meditate under waterfalls and be yelled at by stern Samurai masters you’re better off elsewhere. We’re informal and, well, a bit daft really.

We teach both formal ‘mat groundfighting’ (with and without striking) and ‘dirty street groundfighting’, which is pretty much the same thing but with a slightly different focus and a few nasty little extras.

This all presupposes that you've had to go to the ground. I train hard to avoid that. Evasion, pre-empting, getting in first with a strike or a takedown, or just plain old good balance and vertical grappling, can all help avert that sudden sensation of spine meeting floor. If at all possible I'll keep my opponent at bay or beat him up with fists (and if he's daft enough to give me the room, kicks). But realism must intrude here: On far too many occasions I and/or my opponent (almost always both!) have ended up grovelling about on the deck, elegant kickboxing thrown aside in favour of treachery and scientific brutality.

And many of the people who've taken me to the floor were not expert grapplers; they were relative beginners who instinctively closed with me. I have been dragged down by someone who simply fell over his own feet and grabbed me to save himself! I am aware that at least half of these people would have been halted or even floored by the hits I landed as they came in, but the rest add up to a significant percentage of potential assailants. The vulnerability is there, then. Best to learn how to deal with it.

Either I have mole blood somewhere in my ancestry, or else the ground beckons in almost all physical confrontations. Try, try to stay upright, but don't take it for granted and learn to cope with fighting on the floor. After all, there is no appeal against the law of gravity.

On the Use of Force

Note that violence should always be employed as a last resort, after non-violent options have been exhausted or are clearly not going to work. If you have the option to end a confrontation peacefully, or to avoid it altogether, then it is always best to do so. Even if this means "losing" an argument, this is still the best option. Back off, walk away, and win later. Winning can take many forms. It may mean using a different approach to get what you want, or simply getting on with your business without having to fight someone.

If you do not have the option to avoid a situation, or if you are forced to intervene to protect someone else, then there is nothing – nothing at all – wrong with using force, providing you do so in a controlled and reasonable manner. This means that you have a right - moral and legal – to defend yourself and the people around you. The key word is DEFEND. Once the attack is over, whether the assailants are fleeing, withdrawing behind a barrage of abuse, or lying on the ground groaning, then you must stop.

Left: A Chinjab. This is a knockout blow delivered upwards into the chin and is impressively effective. Sufficiently so that it was part of the unarmed combat syllabus taught to World War Two Commandos. We’re not expecting to undertake covert missions in enemy territory, but it’s nice to know our techniques have been tried out in the real world and have worked in combat.

Appropriate force levels must be used, along with common sense. It is never wise to hit someone once and wait to see if he'll back off. Once something starts, you must finish it – half measures will just make the attacker angry and get you hurt. You are justified in doing what you must to be sure the threat is neutralized, but once the attacker backs off or falls down and stays there, it's over. If you keep attacking him once he has ceased to be a threat you are not defending, you are an aggressor. The law does not permit this, and neither is it morally acceptable.

That said, there is no reason not to strike first. If you are sure that someone is about to attack you or someone nearby, you may – and probably should – pre-empt his actions. It is easier to take someone out with a pre-emptive strike or restraint/takedown than once he's all fired up and full of adrenaline. Pre-empting is still a defensive action if you do not initiate the situation and there is a clear reason to believe that violence is about to erupt. Society expects you to be a responsible, peaceful citizen. It also expects you to take responsibility for your own safety. That comes down to: You should seek to avoid or refrain from violence if at all possible, but you are not expected to be a victim.