On March 15 and 16, 2025 we will host two experienced instructors from our partner school Yoshin Ryu in Turin, Italy, for an intensive self-defense class. You can sign up here. Keep reading for more details. Your booking is not valid without a bank transfer by March 14, at the latest – see below. Ever […]
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that describes finding your purpose in life. We want to experience and learn about this concept through a martial arts lens together. In a one-day workshop, we will explore the five key principles of Ikigai: The five key principles By translating these ideas into bodily movement, we want to give […]
JOIN US FOR SELF LOVE AND CARBS! MARCH 25TH TILL MAY 27TH, 2022 About: This is a culinary self-defense class for cis and trans-women, trans men and non-binary folx. It is designed to give all participants some extra resources that will come in handy when navigating a patriarchal, cis-hetero-normative world every day. It focuses on learning about […]
Martial arts practice is often lauded as an antidote to bullying and abuse, and rightly so. In fact, at Yanagi we deeply believe that engaging in martial arts will make anyone who practices them stronger, more confident, and better able to stand up against forms of manipulation, abuse or aggression they may experience in school, […]
Tradition and authenticity are big topics in martial arts, obviously. The closer any school can prove to be to the “authentic origins” of its martial art, the more legitimate and recognised it tends to be in any martial arts community. If teacher X of a certain school, for example, has spent a few years in Asia and learnt from important masters there, this will hugely increase recognition for her school, and decrease any delegitimising attacks from detractors or competitors.
Jujutsu, which you might have heard of, translates as the “gentle art.” Tai is Japanese for body, so Jutaijutsu is the “gentle art of moving your body.” This is about the idea of using your opponent’s energy to your advantage, going with the flow rather than resisting, staying flexible in dealing with new situations – both mentally and physically. To an observer, Jutaijutsu might not always look particularly “gentle,” since we do sparring and some of our techniques can be quite impactful. It is more about versatility, understanding situations and staying flexible in your response.