Deffic Training

Stretching to the point of pain can trigger a muscle reflex that makes the body tense. The Deffic approach is to listen to your body and stretch without forcing it.

Once your body is ready, we use body mechanics along three axes—forward and backward, up and down, and left and right—to awaken sensation throughout the body. This work is like rehabilitation: take your time and practice patiently.

Stance and footwork are fundamentals of martial arts. We develop a relaxed yet stable stance and footwork that glides across the ground like a hovercraft.

Learn the fundamentals of attack and defense through different ways of moving the arms and legs: extension, twisting, opening and closing, and rotation.

Learn six tactics through partner practice, pad work, and other drills.

These tactics form the tasks in Deffic’s grading examinations, helping you develop attack and defense from fundamentals to applications in a manageable, structured way.

We primarily practice touch sparring (only touching the face lightly) and light-contact sparring (light strikes with protective equipment), under a variety of rules and scenarios.

Although Deffic does not aim to specialize in a particular set of rules, we select representatives from our training centers and hold an inter-center tournament every year.

We also apply the curriculum above to training with weapons.

We mainly work with baston (short sticks), knives, karambits, and sarongs (cloth sashes). This training does not encourage carrying weapons for self-defense.

Understanding weapons is important for protecting yourself. For example, simply holding a tight guard against a knife slash can still leave your arms cut.

Martial arts are not about optimizing for a particular set of rules. Dealing with sudden conflict in different situations requires simple principles of action and the ability to adapt.
Here are three examples.

• During pad work, the students around you jostle you. Practicing calmly is one ideal, but working under this kind of stress can also develop adaptability.
• Free attack and defense between someone grabbed by the shoulder from behind and the person grabbing them. When the person being grabbed starts moving, the other person responds freely. The person being grabbed may try a defensive hand lock or an immediate kick; the other may pull them down or punch. The exercise isolates the opening moment of a confrontation.
• Starting in the corner of a room, a knife-wielding attacker blocks your way. The exercise is to escape into the next room and close the door.
  Even with a familiar, unlocked sliding door at the dojo, participants are often struck across the back before they can escape, open it, and close it. What if the attack happened in an even smaller public restroom? The purpose is to prompt reflection on such situations.
  Although this description sounds complicated, these exercises have a strong game-like element, and everyone enjoys taking part.

For individuals, small groups, and companies

Deffic, a group practicing Jeet Kune Do, regularly provides combat-training workshops at the request of interested combat instructors stationed at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Akita garrison.
In 2014, we also held a workshop at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Aomori garrison.

These invitations reflect recognition of the practical effectiveness of our training by people serving on the front line.

The workshops for the Self-Defense Forces began with individual instruction for a combat instructor.
Whether the request comes from a group or an individual, we are willing to travel, including to distant locations, to provide instruction.

Please contact us if you would like to incorporate martial arts into training, whether for a small voluntary group of Self-Defense Force personnel, police officers, or school staff, or for a company or organization.

Starting a Practice Group or Club

If you want to train regularly but cannot easily travel to Akita or Tokyo, starting a practice group is another option.

We provide focused instruction weekly or every other week until you understand the fundamentals and can practice independently on a consistent basis.
You can then establish an officially recognized practice group.

An officially recognized group may become a branch by attending regular workshops and maintaining active practice.

If you have the commitment, your current circumstances need not be a barrier. Please get in touch.