MCB Quantico -- For Marines and other Department of Defense employees interested in learning not just self-defense but also the art of the kill, Marine Corps Community Services will begin offering jujutsu classes next month at Barber Physical Activity Center.
Instructor David Lamond, who runs a dojo in Fredericksburg, taught jujutsu at Quantico in the mid- to late-1990s. During that time, one of his students was now-Col. George Bristol, who went on to create the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Lamond said the programs have similarities, but the class he’ll give at the gym is more in-depth.
“We win by throws, chokes, joint locks and grappling,” he said. “We defend against knives and clubs, rifles and bayonets, from all positions.”
In all, he said, he teaches 2,880 moves. “For a knife thrust to the stomach, we have 34 defenses.”
Lamond and a few black belts from his dojo will give a demonstration of jujutsu technique from 6 to 8 p.m., May 30, 2013, at the Barber Physical Activity Center.
Bobby Brown, athletics director at Barber, said the class is open to active duty service members and other Department of Defense personnel and their family members 18 and older. Minors interested in self-defense instruction can take classes through the Quantico Youth Center.
Brown said this is the first martial arts program the gym has offered in years. After a weight room there was converted to a martial arts room last year, he said, a lieutenant colonel who was taking classes with Lamond proposed that the room be used for jujutsu instruction.
“It was an opportunity for the community to participate in some instructional classes,” Brown said. “I hope people can gain some alternate means of exercise and becoming fit, and also learn about the age-old art of jujutsu,” Brown said.
Jujutsu is a Japanese killing art developed by the samurai, and it has given birth to martial arts like aikido, hapkido, judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu, Lamond said. His classes combine the “slam-bang” street-fighting icho yama ryu jujutsu with the royal daito ryu aikijujutsu, which relies less on strength and more on finesse.
Among the many techniques taught are those for defending against bayonets, developed by the samurai to defend against spears, and others for silently killing a sentry by surprise.
“It’s a real down-and-dirty art,” Lamond said.
He said the class is open to all levels. “We’re not teaching kids, though, because we are teaching how to kill people,” he added.
Lamond said Jujutsu sharpens situational awareness, increases confidence and strengthens connective tissue. It also improves balance, he added. “In judo, you go to the ground, but in jujutsu we’re always thinking about multiple attacks, so we’re trying to take the guy down and remain on our feet.”
Lamond, who fought in the Army infantry in Vietnam and made a career as a police officer in Rockland County, just outside New York City, has been training in jujutsu for 52 years, with 26 years of training in the refined royal jujutsu.
It’s a form of fighting that relies little on striking or grabbing the opponent but rather uses the adversary’s movements against him.
“If a guy grabs you, you don’t grab him, you just lock him up,” he said. “The object is to put the person in pain as soon as they grab you and keep them in pain.”
Brown said he hopes to have 10 to 15 people registered for the class in time to start on June 3, but the start date could be pushed back a week, depending on enrollment. Registration is open at the gym’s front desk.
The classes will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Monday and Thursday.
— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com