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Name and grade?
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Mark Jones, Nidan (2nd Dan)
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When did you start training with Fenland Ju-Jitsu
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I started with I started with Fenland Ju-Jitsu quite some time ago, after looking for a good Jitsu club in the area.
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Why did you choose Ju-Jitsu
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It was by accident that I first started. I was doing Karate when the class stopped so I started Ju-Jitsu so that I could continue training. I was being bullied so I moved into Jitsu, after reaching Green belt I just didn’t get bullied anymore.
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Did you do any other sports before Ju-Jitsu?
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Martial arts I did Judo and Karate, other sports I did a little some swimming and squash.
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Tell us about your first class.
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My first ever class was very hard (I was only 10), all these people in strange outfits! however I was soon made to feel welcome and have now been training for ermm lots of years. First Class at Fenland was great, nice bunch of people and I was looked after well and decided to stay. .
First Class at Fenland was great, nice bunch of people and I was looked after well
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Was it easy to fit in?
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People soon accepted me and gave me lots of support and help to get back in to Jitsu after the break I’d had of so many years.
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When did you think about getting your black belt?
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I first started to think about getting my Black belt, about the time I got my purple belt, which was early in 1989. It was at that point I increased the amount of training I was doing, so it was about a year after I started.
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Was it difficult to learn?
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Generally no, there are sections that I personally fount difficult, but it’s different for each person, sometimes you just get a mental block on something and have to work out a way to make it work for you.
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Why do you like Ju-Jitsu?
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It gives me confidence in the things I do, while giving me a sense of being able to look after myself if I needed to. The training helps me stay fit. I also enjoy passing on my knowledge to others so that they can get the same benefits.
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Ever had to use Ju-Jitsu for real?
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Just once, A group tried to attack me while out on a Saturday night in Nottingham. Generally Jitsu gives you the knowledge to look at things differently, which causes you to avoid dangerous situations.
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Do you enter competitions?
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I have entered several competitions over the years. I won the Embo competition for the North East in 1990, took the bronze at the TJF Jitsu competition in Birmingham a few years ago. I still go to competitions each year, but don’t compete as much as I did.
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Has Ju-Jitsu changed your life?
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YES!!!! Seriously though, once you start and train regularly it becomes a way of life, that you miss if you stop, I have stopped before but always end up coming back.
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How much time does training require?
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It varies depending what you can do and the level you are training at, when I started I did one session a week, by the time I was training for purple belt – Black belt I was doing 6-8 sessions a week, I now do 1 or 2 session a week again but starting to do a few extra sessions when I can especially when a grading gets closer .
I am also lucky to have a Dojo at home so I can train when the mood takes me, but it’s a very personal thing.
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