Andy Interview - Northstar Martial Arts

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@f4tMt~:i
Ju Jutsu Instructor Andrew Dickinson makes his first apperance in
AGF, this month.
If you don't
already know Andrew's face you
may like to check some back issues
of Australasian Fighting Arts, and
check out his extremely popular
column, "POWERTALK".
The Sydney based Exponent of
Shinbudo Ju Jutsu, ranks as one of
Australia's most travelled and experienced martial artist .... and 1
don't just mean because of his
other job, he works for Qantas ...
'ah those discount fares .... Having
spent considerable time with some
of the world's finest grapplers, Andrew has kept himself at the top of
his game by commanding a rigorous schedule of fighting that has
seen him compete in Shootfighting,
Submission wrestling, and
XSports Ju Jutsu throughout Japan,
England and the United States... 1
caught up with him 10 days after
returning from England and 7 days
away from heading to LA to train
with the legendary Gene Le Bell
and
ombo Instructor
Gokor
Chivichyan.
20
Australian Ground Fighter
rea1ised through the confrontation of
self not through challenging and beating opponents.
The classical Martial
arts are a great foundation, or base from
which everything else can grow from. A
lot of people see only the kata and say,
well how can I use that? But they have
missed the point. I liken the classical
martial arts, to say classical ballet, or
classical guitar, they make a great foundation to continue into the modern format. So from this classical base with
the help of my advisors, I have developed Shinbudo Ju Jutsu. It retains the
basic elements of true Budo yet prepares
the students for all aspects of modern
fighting, including kicking and punching, throwing and ground fighting.
Andrew Dickinson in action, seen here
against Submission Arts Wrestling
fighter Tachi,
Hello Andrew. could we get started with
orne background on yourself. When
did you start training? and under who?
I initially started training when I was 16
in Tae Kwon Do under Tim Hassall. I
did the usual rounds of competitions
that were available at that time. Predominantf non contact Karate, which
were usually a blood bath, and Tae
Kwon Do competitions. Pretty earl. on
in my training I developed a desire for
martial arts that contain the essential
elements of Budo and transcend the
physical fight. So I set off to experience
as many different styles and ways of
thinking as I could. First of all locally; I
was lucky enough to train with people
like John Rhodes, Colin Handley, Master K wak, ick Stone and anyone else
that was willing to go a few rounds,
then I set off overseas and I trained with
Dan Inosanto, Hee III Cho. I lived and
trained at the National University in
Korea, I have spent many days in the
slums of Manila stick and knife fighting
with Rommie Macapagal and the late
Grand Master IIlistrisimo.
I first
trained with the Gracie Bros in 1988.
Rorian Gracie lived in a weather board
house in Torarrance and taught Ju Jutsu
from his garage. So from Tae Kwon Do
I started to fill in the gaps. You know as
Bruce Lee said: take what is useful and
discard the rest. I trained with Obata,
the Machado Bros, Gene Lebell Gokor
Submission Arts Wrestling, Daido
Juku, Huan in Singapore, Thai boxing
in Thailand, I even did some time with
Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels
in ew York and LA. There were also
many. man. unnamed and forgotten
schools that had some great fighters.
The idea of being an all round Martial
Artist able to mix it with any style has
been a driving force behind my learning. Over the years. I guess I have
spent most of my time in Japan. I lived
there for some time and really immersed my self in traditional Daito
Ryu Aiki Ju Jutsu. That basically
changed the direction of my training. It
really opened my eyes. I have learnt
more from this traditional system with
traditional values than from any other
martial art world wide. Daito Ryu has
reall taught me the true meaning of
fear, pain and courage. These were
Sounds like you've had an opportunity
to train with some oj the worlds best
grapplers. what are your impres ions?
Some of their strenghts and attributes?
Yes the grappling has been great. I have
had a chance to wrestle some really
great ground fighters such as Rigan
Machado, Gokor .Rickson Gracie, Gene
Le Bell and Aso Sensei of SAW. All of
these guys are great technicians in their
own right. Some stick mainly to upper
body while others specialize in leg and
ankle locks. Gokor is probably the most
all round, as his standing and throwing
is excellent, and his Sambo wrestling
which has many lower body techniques .
is just as good as his Judo. Aso Sensei
has also been a pioneer in wrestling,
Andrew with one of his Coach's "The
Guru of Grappling" Gene Le Bell.
Australian
Ground Fighter
21
and a great teacher for me, many of his
videos are on the book shelves of fighters in Ultimate and other such competitions. It is also important to note that
when I train with these people they are
tremendous role models, so I don t just
look at how well they fight, if they are
teaching, they must also be on their own
path to improving their character.
Your Fighting career has taken you all
over the world. can you describe a few
of your toughest fights?
My toughest match in Japan was definitely my black belt grading in Daito
Ryu. Any fights that I have had world
wide seem insignificant in comparison.
I arrived in Japan in the morning and
went straight to the Dojo where Kondo
Sensei personally conducted my grading. Only one other non-Japanese had
passed this test, Mark Sumi from America. The first 3 hours was all technique
and explanations in Japanese. By this
stage I was pretty tired, and starting to
dig fairly deep. No opponents, just me
against me. The last stage is the throwing. A tough bone shaking exercise
where all the black belts get to pound
you into the mat 100 times, then Sensei
takes over and finishes you off. I was
lucky that day I got to be thrown 130
times ..... When you are just about to quit
Sensei calls this the best time for
seishin shugyo, or spirit strength!
growth so he encourages you to dig
deeper and push through the barrier.
This exercise has continued to be a real
metaphor for me in all aspects of my
life. Other than that one of my toughest
fights was against this Thai guy in a
back street ware house in Bangkok a
few years ago. It was kind of an open
competition thing, betting, the whole
bit, This guy was huge and beat me
black and blue for 2 rounds before he
tired out and dropped his guard.
we have sent teams on several occasions to Tokyo, USA and more recently
to England. We have named the competition system X-Sport. It is a generic
system of fighting that encompasses
punching, kicking and ground fighting. X-Sport is non-political, open to
all styles of fighting and above all is
safe.
It is a format that the normal
every day martial artist can test his
skills against other fighters from styles
that he or she would normally not
fight. X-Sports has more resemblance
to reality than other competition formats and it is safe. X-Sport competitions are very well run. I am still a
fighter my self, so I know what I like in
a competition. Our last tournament
was all over in 3 hours. No complaints,
no protests, just competition in the
spirit of true Budo.
Can you describe some of the rules and
regulations of X-Sports Ju Jutsu, how
do they differfrom BJJ compeutions?
At present I am promoting Ju Jutsu
competitions in Australia. From these
competitions we select fighters to go to
Japan, and Sports Ju Jutsu competitions
. else where. Over the last couple of years
22
Australian Ground Fighter
Andrew, pictured witb his Sombo coacb
Gokor Chivicbyan
Having spent a considrable time in
Japan what are your impressions of the
various,
"Shootfighting"
leagues ...
PANCRASE, SHOOTO, RINGS, etc ...
I have watched the trends flow and
change for many years in Japan now.
The youth of Japan are easily influenced
by media and trends from USA and
Europe. There is no doubt that Shoot
fighting type competitions are popular.
This is shown by the number of young
men joining grappling schools etc.
Rickson Gracie and the rest of the
Brazilian clan have certainly done alot
to encourage this trend.
But Shoot
Competing in Sports Ju Jutsu in Japan,
bere bead kicking Kamiya.
fighting is still a minority compared to
the K-l competition and styles such as
Shorinji Kempo, Kyokushin, and
Aikido. They are predominately the
most popular martial arts in Japan.
Shoot Fighting is like the Ninjutsu
craze in the 80's it will run it's course
then fade into obscurity when there is
no longer the interest. Don't get me
wrong, I think it has its place and
sometimes when the fights are not
rigged, I enjoy watching it, but it is not
budo, it is egocentric.
You 've been quite outspoken in the
past. with regards to Ju Jitsu, pointing
out that Ju Jitsu is more than just
groundwork and that Brazilian form of
it is not a true representation of Ju
Jutsu. Do you think that some systems
are over-emphasising
the ground
game and neglecting standing skill?
That is an interesting question Jason,
and I will try to answer it with out
upsetting too many people. There are
many styles of Ju Jutsu, just as there
are Karate, Kung Fu, etc and they all
have their favourite aspects. I liken Ju
Jutsu as the poor cousin of martial arts.
Up until a few years ago people would
throw together a little Judo, a little
Karate, and add some Aikido and wow
you have Ju Jutsu. You see it is difficult to find Ju Jutsu in Japan, so very
few people have actually studied it.
Even then, most Ju Jutsu systems in
Japan are seriously out dated and are
over stylised to be of any use. Brazilian Ju Jutsu has done a lot to popularise Ju Jutsu, the problem is that now
the public perceives Ju Jutsu as a
Brazilian art which is mainly ground
fighting. When in fact it is a Japanese
Martial Art and a complete system of
fighting, fitness and personal growth,
its theory heavily influenced by classical Bujutsu. This is in no way a slander
against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is a great
martial art and has been tried and
tested over years of combat. I have
many friends in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,
and they no my stand on this.
What is your opinon of the various No
Hold Barred events currently being
staged around the world?
I enjoyed watching the first few when
Royce Gracie whipped every one with
out actually hurting them. Then Rorian played the best Ju Jutsu move of
all, sold the whole thing, set up the
Gracie merchandising enterprise, and
now sits back and counts his millions
laughing all the way to the bank....
Thanks for your time today Andrew, it
has been a pleasure :peaking to you.
to finish off what are your plans for
the future. as far as your school. your
fighting career .... ?
I will still continue to travel, train,
compete and learn for as long as that
road still has a heart. All the lessons
and experience gained on the way
will be assimilated into the Shinbudo
Ju Jutsu system. We have a great
school, and a great bunch of students
I enjoy every minute that I share with
my team. The Shinbudo Ju Jutsu
system continues to grow as people
Andrew pictured with Kondo Sensei at
the Shinbukan Dojo, Tokyo.
become more aware of the need to
train in a complete system that promotes total fitness, peace of mind and
encourages you to do your own personal best. I am really lucky that I have
the help of 2 fantastic instructors Dimi
Tops and Carl Safar who have both
been with me many years, and have
trained and competed many times
over- seas. I trust them 100% and are
both excellent instructors in their own
right. X-Sports will be a spring board
for friendship and sharing in Martial
arts, and a way to break down the
barriers between the various arts. I will
continue to promote it in a correct and
positive manner. Anyone who is interested in being involved in X-Sports
promotions or Shinbudo Ju Jutsu can
contact me on 02 9660 3778. The next
X-Sports Open Ju Jutsu Challenge is
on 19th April at the North Sydney
PCYC, lOam start.
Australian
Ground Fighter
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