We are a small club, based in leafy Farnham. A slightly older crowd (we jokingly call ourselves Dads Army!), we provide a safe and enjoyable environment to study a wonderful art, but also learn practical self defence.

Below is a detailed overview of our founder - the inspirational Kyoshi Mike Johnson (Late), 8th Dan Ju Jitsu

Go-no-sen ryu is the name I have given to the Ju Jitsu which is taught within Waregachi Ju Jitsu Kai, the martial arts organisation founded by me over twenty five years ago.

It has always been my belief that instructors in the martial arts are often restricted in their teaching by the traditional attitude that “only those techniques which were learned from my instructor are any good. Everything else is useless.” While it is necessary to believe in your system in order to teach it sincerely, surely it is incredibly arrogant to dismiss everything else out of hand? Yet in forty years in the Martial Arts I have found this attitude time and time again. Believe me, NO-ONE has the ultimate, never-fail-under-any-circumstances system, because it just doesn’t exist! All we can do is to try to make our system as good as it can be. In this way the martial arts for self defence will progress into the future, adapting to modern requirements while preserving the useful elements of the traditional forms.

After many years of study in the martial arts, I decided that Ju Jitsu was, for me, the discipline I wished to pursue. The style on which Go-no-Sen Ryu is based is Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, a traditional style from Japan, with additions from Juko-ryu ju jitsu, a non-traditional, western style. Many other disciplines have made their contributions, notably; Wing Chun, Aikido, Judo, Karate, and even western boxing and free-style wrestling.

The criteria for every technique taught is……”would it work in a real street situation?” Techniques which look good in the dojo or as part of a demonstration but, in reality, wouldn’t work in the street have no place in Go-no-Sen Ryu. I have often said – “I’ll steal a good technique from anyone!” and that’s true however obscure its source. To do otherwise would be failing my students and myself.

Go-no-Sen Ryu is essentially defensive. Very rarely does it pre-empt an attack. The basic premise is to use the attacker’s position against him. For example, a punch requires that a fist be formed and the arm extended in order to strike, or a strangle requires fingers or arms extended to encircle the neck. It is these extended positions which are manipulated in Go-no-Sen Ryu.

The hall-mark of this style is that we always move initially towards the attacker, in order to “close him down”. To step away or to one side would afford the opponent the opportunity to land a second blow. Closing with him, especially on the outside of the attack, limits his ability to do this and places the defender in an advantageous position.

There is no limit to the devices used in defence in Go-no-Sen Ryu. Punching, kicking, throwing, locking joints, nerve strikes, gouging, biting and strikes to the most vulnerable areas of the body all have their place. There are NO RULES!

This has been a very brief exposition of Go-no-Sen Ryu Ju Jitsu. I hope it has indicated the martial arts philosophy to which I have devoted most of my adult life, and which has been my privilege to pass on to thousands of students over the years.