Sensei Johnny Matijevich has been teaching
Dan Zan Ryu Jujitsu
since 1996. Red Dragon Jujitsu Club was started in
September 1998 when a business colleague asked Johnny to teach
him Jujitsu. The dojo's humble beginnings commenced with weekly
workouts in a garage. Soon the initial group of one instructor
and four students came in contact with the Family Tae Kwon Do
Center Center in Littleton, Colorado. Jujitsu training classes
were conducted at FTKDC for 7 and 1/2 years. In that time Red
Dragon Jujitsu Club has promoted it's first eight Shodans (first
degree black belts), several of whom hold various black belt
ranks in Tae Kwon Do. The Club moved to its new home at the
Douglas H. Buck Community Recreation Center June 1, 2006. New
students are always welcome and are encouraged to stop by, meet
us and observe a class. Please contact us if you have any
questions, and visit our FAQ page. We
hope to see you in a class sometime soon!
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The American Judo and Jujitsu Federation (AJJF)
is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation represented by Jujitsu, Judo and other martial arts
schools across the nation, and the world. Most individual members of the AJJF are associated
with AJJF schools, although this is not a requirement. Membership in the AJJF is non-discriminatory.
The AJJF promotes the DanZan Ryu system of Jujitsu, an effective system of self-defense that
incorporates physical and mental training within a philosophy of ethical and moral development.
As a member of the American Judo and Jujitsu Federation, you become part of a national organization
that provides the many benefits described below.
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Master Henry Seishiro Okazaki and Danzan Ryu Jujitsu
Professor Henry S. Okazaki, Jujitsu Master, founder of the Kodenkan Jujitsu system, was born in Japan
on January 28, 1890. He studied
and mastered the Yoshin, Igawa, Kosogabe, Shibukawa Ryu Yoshin Ryu, Namba-Shoshin Ryu, as well as
Kodokan Judo. In addition he studied Okinawan Karate, Chinese Kung-Fu, Hawaiian Lua, and Filipino
Knife Play, as well as American Boxing and Wrestling.
In 1924, he toured Japan, making an exhaustive study of many systems and visited more than 50 dojos
acquiring nearly 700 kinds of techniques or forms. He also made an exhaustive study of Kappo and
Sefukujitsu, recognizing that the virtue of jujitsu lay in the possibility of reversing the effects
of deadly or disabling arts by restoration and treatment.
Through time he evolved a system of self-defense jujitsu designed for men, women, and children and
included defenses against knife, sword, club, gun, bayonet, and empty hand.
In this system, which he called Kodenkan (School of the Ancient
Tradition), he stressed the ancient principles of philosophical
and moral training while retaining the best of the arts of
self-defense and restoration combining these with his system of
physical culture and mental cultivation. He thus achieved a true
synthesis of ancient and modern elements forming a complete
system of judo and jujitsu.
In 1930 Professor Okazaki opened the Nikko Sanatorium of
Restoration Massage in Honolulu, where he earned international
fame because of his great skill as a physical therapist. That
same year he opened his school the Kodenkan in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Later he formed the Hawaiian Jujitsu Guild which later became
known as the American Jujitsu Institute of Hawaii.
His life from that time forward was devoted to instructing
worthy Americans without regard to national origin in the
sciences of judo and jujitsu and to the developing of disciples
who would introduce his system throughout the United States of
America.
At the time of his death in July, 1951, thousands of students
had studied in his school, and his system, the Kodenkan, remains
today the most widely taught and widely imitated system of
self-defense jujitsu in the United States.
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Yawara (basic hand arts)
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The course Yawara is for the beginner, the person who
has not yet had the opportunity to learn leverage and
balance, or the person who fundamentally needs the
principles of Judo. Yawara will not only teach the basis
of Judo, but will enable the individual to obtain a
better perspective on the psychological teachings of
Judo as well.
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Nage No Te (throwing techniques)
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Judo literally means the "gentle
way," the "way" being the concept of life itself. Anyone who
practices Judo should have no fear of facing stronger
opponents, nor should he scorn weaker ones. With the skill
which you develop, you should not oppose the strength of
your opponent, but rather yield to his movements.
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Shime No Te (constriction techniques)
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The objective of Shime Waza is to effect a comatose state upon
one’s opponent. Technically it is to apply pressure to an
opponent’s neck in order to impede and/or prevent the flow
of blood to the brain, or to squeeze the throat or chest to
subdue normal breathing. It is to be stressed that the Shime
No Kata should only be applied with proper care and with an
understanding of the basic physiological principles,
dangers, and precautions.
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Oku No Te (the combination arts)
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Oku means "deep" or "advanced", and
the Oku No Kata is taught only to Brown Belts. These
techniques are the more intricate Judo arts which are
composed of techniques based on balance, leverage, momentum,
and combinations of these in many and varied degrees.
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Sefukujitsu (restorative massage)
Professor Okazaki was the foremost
exponent of restorative massage therapy in America. He
founded the Nikko Restoration Sanatarium for patient therapy
in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1929. His method of massage
incorporated
Sefukujitsu
(Japanese restorative massage), Swedish massage, and Hawaiian Lomi
Lomi. The name "restoration" is the nearest interpretation
of the Japanese term "Seifukujitsu" and practitioners of
this art in Japan were entitled to the same stature as a
doctor. It is a combination of massage, chiropractics,
osteopathy, herbal medicine, reducing and care of bone
fractures, dislocations, sprains, and various other
disorders.
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