Here in California, there’s nothing quite like getting into a nice pool on a hot summer day. Of course, we all know that there are two ways to get into a pool; you either gently tiptoe in from the shallow end, letting your body adjust to the temperature of the water inch by inch as you wade into the pool, or you jump right into the deep end and immerse yourself in the water with a big splash.
I’m usually a shallow end kind of person, walking into the pool at a snail’s pace, adjusting to the water bit by bit. I eventually get all the way in, but I take my time and move at my own pace. When I started learning Danzan Ryu, my approach was somewhat similar. I didn’t really know what it was, and I tiptoed into our system relatively slowly. I attended a class or so a week, gradually working my training into my routine. I was enjoying it, and I was learning, but I was in the ‘shallow end’. After a while of watching my more experienced dojomates really enjoying their training and progressing their skills quickly in what seemed like more of the ‘deep end’ of the dojo, I decided I wanted to try having a more engaging experience with DZR. My Sensei suggested that attending an AJJF national convention can be a great way for students to explore what it’s like to build a stronger connection with DZR, and that I should consider joining the next one. I hadn’t attended anything quite like that before, and getting away from home for a weekend wasn’t always an easy thing to do, but I decided to go. And so that Spring, I climbed out of the shallow end of my training, walked to the other side of the pool, and for a weekend, immersed myself in the deep end by diving into my first AJJF convention.
My first AJJF convention was a blast. Walking into the hotel that had been converted into a massive, multi-room dojo was like stepping into a different culture. Everyone was walking around in gis, talking about JuJitsu, zipping from one class to the next. There were students of all ranks and of different ages, coming from all over the country to be surrounded by JuJitsu. I was a blue belt at the time, and joined a series of classes my Sensei had suggested to me that were rank-appropriate. I was training with similarly ranked students from across the AJJF, which was great because there weren’t many other blue belts in my dojo at the time. Training with a group of people at my own rank made for extremely relatable sets of questions, challenges and learning opportunities with my new classmates. It was as if I was in a class tailored for where I was in my training, and I was able to share that experience with others.
As the convention progressed, I joined more classes and got to learn from Senseis and Professors from all over our system. I really enjoyed practicing techniques I was already familiar with, learning new ways of doing them or variations that I hadn’t seen before, and getting the instructors’ personal takes on them or their modifications to them. One instructor walked through three or four variations that I hadn’t seen before of a Yawara technique, and explained his take on how Professor Okazaki designed the variations, and why he had designated the first method as the ‘standard’ kata and reserved the rest as variations. When you have a full day dedicated to JuJitsu, you have the time to study techniques more in depth and to have discussions like that one. This detail really helped me gain a better appreciation for the depth of DZR, and just how far you can go studying even one technique!
Classes at Convention are capped off with a big celebratory banquet at the end, which was a ton of fun. It was a great opportunity for me to build better friendships with all my dojomates that attended, and to take part in celebrating their and other peoples’ significant achievements that got called out and announced at the banquet. Hundreds of people clapped and applauded as new black belt ranks were celebrated, and even a new Professor announced. To be in the room, surrounded by all of that positive energy and support really helped me realize what a special and interconnected community the AJJF is, and made me feel more appreciative to have a place in it. After the banquet, our dojo mixed and mingled with other dojos by the bar for a series of fun post-banquet conversations and shenanigans, which was an awesome opportunity to build better friendships with my dojomates and with people I had met throughout the day (not to mention it made for some great pictures). These have become a fun tradition that I have always looked forward to at subsequent conventions.
On Sunday morning, we wrapped up convention with some final classes, and the closing ceremony, which brought a nice sense of appreciation and finality to the time we had all just had together. As that wrapped up, and after two days of immersion in DZR, everyone started to head their separate ways home and go back to their regular routines. While convention was over, I think everyone who attended took something home from the experience with them. Perhaps a new technique, a new perspective on an art they had already known, a new or renewed enthusiasm for a part of the curriculum, or even new friendships with JuJitsuka from across the AJJF. I left convention so happy to have attended, and felt that even in such a short period, I had indeed taken an important step forward in my training and in my relationship with DZR.
Over the coming weeks I was back to my normal JuJitsu schedule of attending a class or two a week. But something had changed. Just like back in the swimming pool, when you make a big cannonball jump into the water and that momentary excitement of making a big splash in the deep end stays with you even as you swim back into the shallow end. You might be standing in shallow water at that point, but you know those waters are part of something bigger and exciting. I now showed up to class with a greater appreciation for the magnitude of our system, and for the enthusiasm it garners across the country and even around the world. I felt that our class, our dojo, and in effect I, were all part of something bigger, steeped in history and tradition, and while perhaps practiced slightly differently, done equally passionately by so may other dojos. I supposed I always intellectually knew that was the case, but convention helped me ‘feel’ it. In that way, my first AJJF convention, while a relatively short commitment, was indeed a great way to step into a new sense of inspiration for my training in the years ahead.
Since then, I have joined a number of AJJF conventions, and each time the experience is immersive, fun, educational, and inspiring. I always look forward to the more in-depth and tailored learning opportunities, and of course, to more shenanigans with my dojomates. I’m still a tiptoe into the shallow end kind of person, but we can all use the occasional fun and thrill of splash in the deep end when the opportunity arises. If you haven’t had the chance yet, consider jumping in at the next AJJF convention.
Abraham Zilkha
Sankyu, Pacific JuJitsu Kai, Los Angeles