What can you find in Ju Jitsu? Almost everything! The chief reason for this is that unlike judo, aikido and karate, which all boasted a modern 'father' or figurehead, Ju Jitsu has none. In nineteenth-century Japan there were dozens of Ju Jitsu schools, each with its own distinctive variations on battlefield and empty-hand combat. Ju Jitsu techniques come from different disciplines, sometimes mixed with aikido, judo and karate techniques, producing what is now a recognised form of modern, synthesised Ju Jitsu. Today, the Ju Jitsu techniques taught in any particular club depend on the training background of the instructor, and not on the school to which he belongs. In one club you might find training in swordsmanship, throwing techniques and kick boxing. In another you might find an aikido type of training combined with the use of the long staff or Bo, plus some Okinawan weapons such as the nunchaku and sai. Atemi is an art common to all traditional Ju Jitsu schools and is based on experience in battle or one-to-one combat, and upon knowledge derived from acupuncture (or similar healing methods) of vital points which under pressure produce intense pain, unconsciousness or death. Within the many Ju Jitsu training halls, therefore, there is something for everyone. No-one could sensibly aspire to learn all the techniques as they run into tens of thousands, but in a good club you would learn break-falling, as in Judo and Aikido, throwing using locks as in aikido, and various Ju Jitsu and Judo throws including those that are banned from judo contests. Ju Jitsu schools specialise in self-defence, employing ancient techniques as well as modern methods culled from the Special Air Service (SAS) and various paramilitary and police forces. In their search for variety and synthesis, modern Ju Jitsu teachers explore far and wide, borrowing ideas from the legendary Ninja or from western methods of wrestling.