On this page:
Pick and Choose

Unlike most martial arts styles, Dango Jiro is not limited to a specific type of body movement. It offers a buffet of very distinct types of movement.

It also allows the student to become familiar with different body movement style. And the subtle, but important, effects that they have on what you do. As such, you do not train to block a specific attack. You train to block ALL attacks that come in on that vector, no matter what body movement originates them. Blocks have not become specialized in order to stop only one specific type of attack and are incapable of stopping other. Students are better prepared to counter attacks coming from different styles or untrained, but violent, fighters because their responses are not style specific.

Furthermore, it allows the student to pick and choose from elements and types of movement that work best for him or her. You adapt the system to you, instead of you adapting to a style.

But the main issue that sets Dango Jiro apart from commercial martial art systems is: We demand that you think. Our goal is not to teach you a collection of techniques, it is rather to teach you how to analyze and apply principles that are found inside techniques. When you know how to do this, you can more quickly learn different techniques, as well as analyze what is going wrong with a technique you are struggling with.

More importantly, by giving you the standards of effective movement you know what every move you do must accomplish -- and what to do if something goes wrong. You will quickly realize why most training systems fail in application. Not because they are ineffective, but because students are not taught how to effectively apply them. As stated earlier, our primary goal with this training system is to teach students to deliver enough force into their opponents that it effectively ends the conflict. But to do this, no matter what the circumstances or changing conditions, the student must have a firm understanding of the fundamentals that allow effective power delivery.

As such, we require that you think critically and analytically, not only about what you are doing, but why it works. We do not encourage or accept rote memorization of moves. What we encourage is not only being able to do a move, but to understand why it works. We do this for you to develop skill (that is to say, the ability to apply those same principles under potentially adverse, conditions). This is so that if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself, even if the conditions are not perfect for that particular technique, by using those same principles you can create an equally effective technique on the spot -- specifically tailored for those conditions. Another defining element of skill is you having the ability to recognize when a technique is going sideways and knowing how to either counter the counter, change techniques entirely or  -- and this is a life saver against a skilled opponent -- if it is time to backpedal.

Another goal of Dango Jiro is to help the student establish kinesthetic awareness. Kinesthetic awareness (or if you prefer the term physical IQ) basically means being aware of where your body is in regard to pose, spatial relations and where or how you need to move to achieve an end. It is valuable in many areas, such as sports, dance or any type of activity that requires physical skill. It also has practical daily applications, such as keeping you from stubbing your toes, instilling grace, facilitating walking on icy surfaces, recovering from tripping over the cat and reducing the number of dishes broken through clumsiness.

The development of kinesthetic/tactical skills is a critical developmental stage for children and growing teenagers. Adapting to changes in height is a large part "klutziness" among the young. They don't know where their bodies are in space. This is why the program is taught in two distinct classes, one for kids, one for adults.

Pick and Choose
Because Dango Jiro is designed as a training system, we do not attempt to tell you the 'right' way to move. Nor do we profess to possess the ultimate way to move in order to generate power. There are many ways to move, each as equally effective as another.

Furthermore, different body types work better with different forms of movement. Instead of insisting that the student conform to a preferred style of body movement, we let the students pick and choose what types work best for them by offering a buffet of different types by offering a buffet of different kinds.

Although we expect students to learn the different styles of movement, we do not demand that they master each and every one. Once a student selects movements they prefer and which work best for their specific body types, we expect them to be proficient in and able to to generate -- and effectively deliver -- force with what they have selected. You do what works best for you.

The combination of choosing your most effective body movement style and the emphasis on tactical thinking results in Dango Jiro students being able to effectively apply their training in self-defense situations. Return to top of page

Return to top