Frequently asked questions

Will I get beaten up?

No! We have a no bullies/no egos rule. None of us are show-offs trying to impress each other. Plus, we train only at 50% when sparring. Going slow enables us to concentrate on the application of good technique rather than relying on adrenaline and brute strength.

The goal is to drill the same techniques over and over until they become instinctive responses. Accordingly, we are hyperconscious of preventing injuries so that students can maintain their training frequency over time. That said, this is martial arts training and there is always the risk of injury.

Whilst we cannot guarantee you won’t get injured, we can promise that you won’t feel as though you’ve been roughed up.

Do I need any prior experience in Martial Arts?

No prior experience in martial arts is needed. Most people who join our classes have never done a martial art before.

As a beginner, you will be paired with an instructor who will guide you through your first classes. You won’t ever be left alone wondering what to do or who to work with.

Do you offer female-only classes?

We offer regular women’s self-defence courses but our weekly classes are mixed. The simple fact is, as a woman, you are much more likely to be attacked by a man, and so to prepare you for this we think you should train with both men and women. If you were to train only with women you would be denying yourself the opportunity to test your techniques on larger and heavier bodies which ultimately could leave you with a false sense of confidence in the effectiveness of your skills.

Do you offer a free trial class?

Yes, we honor the martial arts tradition of offering a free trial class. We also offer regular beginners courses which are ideal for sampling our full syllabus.

As a beginner, you will be paired with an instructor who will guide you through your first classes. You won’t ever be left alone wondering what to do or who to work with.

What should I wear? Do I need any equipment?

New students can just turn up in loose clothing (a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt). Specialised footwear is not required – indoor trainers are perfectly fine though most students train in bare feet or in grippy socks.

In your first few classes you will be provided with light boxing gloves and leg pads to use for light standup sparring. Over time you will want to purchase your own MMA gloves, leg pads and perhaps a gum shield. Once you've become an established member, you might also want to purchase a Shockwave Jujitsu T-shirt.

What is Jujitsu?

Jujitsu “joo-jit-sue” (also known as Jujutsu, Ju-Jitsu and Jiu-Jitsu) is an ancient Japanese martial art which is often described as the mother of all Japanese martial arts as many other systems originated from Ju-Jitsu, e.g. the founder of Judo (Jigoro Kano) was a Jujitsu master who saw the potential for a sport in Jujitsu and came up with Kodokan Judo. Aikido also stemmed from an old Jujitsu school.

Although Jujitsu has older roots, it is most commonly associated with the methods of unarmed combat which the Samurai would use in feudal Japan when they were disarmed in battle. To someone with no experience of Jujitsu it is best described as an “all round” martial art as it has everything that a lot of other arts have and much more: punching, kicking, throws, locks and joint manipulation, chokes, grappling and ground-fighting are all practiced in the art of Jujitsu.

Is Jujitsu effective in a real fight?

Whilst no self-defence system can guarantee 100% safety in every altercation, Jujitsu offers a wide range of practical tools that can be relied upon to tip the balance in your favor.

Many martial arts will teach a lot of complicated strikes and high kicks which would be impossible to actually use if one was attacked on the street. In Jujitsu, students develop instinctive responses against a wide variety of realistic attacks – rear attacks, holds, knives/weapons, punches, kicks, attacks on the ground and many more – but crucially, always with an eye towards preventative deescalation or early escape should that fail.

Also, because size and strength is not a major factor in Jujitsu, its techniques often form the basis of self-defence courses offered to women.

Ultimately, beyond techniques, the effectiveness of Jujitsu depends upon your mental resilience and your commitment to regular training which will hone your ability to assess threats under pressure, react appropriately, and significantly reduce the chances of you being caught off guard.

Do you teach MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)?

We teach mixed martial arts for self-defence rather than for competition. Our instructors have backgrounds in Karate, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing and other fighting styles. Accordingly, our mixed martial arts syllabus combines these styles into a cohesive whole so that you learn from a variety of arts and not just one narrow selection of techniques that might lose their edge in any given scenario.

Students first learn the principles and concepts informing the syllabus and can then explore what techniques work best for them based on successes and failures discovered whilst testing themselves against different training partners. The goal is develop students who can problem-solve in real-time and who can rapidly adapt to different assailants and changing circumstances.

Do I need to be aggressive?

You need to know how to apply your aggression judiciously. Our perspective is the avoidance of a physical confrontation is preferred but if that is impossible or unsafe, you need to value your life highly enough that you would immediately retaliate to preserve it. Hesitation can be fatal and so the goal of regular training is to develop instinctive responses in direct proportion to the level of threat.

Because normal brain function is significantly impaired when under stress, every class includes sparring (standup striking and/or ground-fighting) where your skills can be pressure-tested against a resisting opponent. This is vital practice in retaining your composure whilst on the receiving end of aggression at the same time as learning how to temper your own aggression in the heat of the moment.

What is the difference between Martial Arts and Self-Defence?

Martial Arts is broad term for a variety of traditions and applications. In terms of training as a civilian, a clear distinction can be made between combat sports and self-defence.

Self-defence training is about avoiding fights and responding with force only when conflict cannot be avoided. Combat sports are about initiating a fight with a willing opponent.

Whereas self-defence is about deescalation and the minimum application of force, combat sports are about escalation towards maximal application of force until victory is achieved.

A more sobering way of looking at it is: in combat sports two competitors share the same skillset, body weight, and a referee who enforces rules to ensure a fair fight. In self-defence situations there is no referee, there are no rules, no weight parity, no prohibition on the use of weapons and no limit on the number of assailants you may be up against.

Do you grade students?

Yes. Students are graded regularly and, if successful, are awarded with a belt and certificate to honour their progress.

If I have a medical condition, can I still train?

As long as the instructors are made fully aware of your condition, and both you and the instructors know how much (if at all) it limits your training, then you will be fine. Any medication needed, e.g. inhalers, insulin, etc., should be brought to each training session. In some special cases, a doctors note may be required to show you are fit to train.

Do I need to be fit to train?

A high level of fitness is not important in Jujitsu training. People do join the class a way of improving their cardiovascular fitness and learning something useful in the process.