Derrick Lee

We are very sad to report that one of our founding charter members, life member and first president of Jujitsu America has passed away.

Derrick Lee passed away at his home in Belmont on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at the age of 68.

Derrick is survived by his wife Jackie of 44 years, his daughters Shannon Jameson and Karsen Halai, his son-in-laws David Jameson and Will Halai, his grandchildren Justin Jameson, Jaden Halai and Leilani Halai, and his father Albert Lee.

Derrick retired from the Belmont Police Department after 20 years of service and then became a Sergeant for the San Francisco Federal Reserve Police Department for 10 more years before retiring again. 

Derrick was dedicated to Martial Arts and enjoyed teaching Jujitsu.  Derrick and his wife Jackie were founding members of Jujitsu America and he was the first President of that organization.  Derrick had a samurai sword collection and enjoyed giving demonstrations of the samurai sword arts.  Derrick reached the rank of 7^th Degree Black Belt.  

He will be remembered for his dedication to his family, his love of cooking, his cherished 1959 Porsche, his sense of humor and his never-ending smile.

Services will be held:
Friday 1/24/2020 at 1:00pm (and reception to follow services)
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church
1040 Alameda de las Pulgas
Belmont, CA

For further information or to express your condolences, feel free to contact his wife Jackie Lee at 650-291-5533

Our first No Gi event was a great success!

https://www.jujitsuamerica.org/event-3288669

It is with great sadness to share the news that Professor Lee Eichelberger passed away in the early morning on 10/5/2018. Professor Eichelberger was one of the founding members of Jujitsu America, was a JA president for 6 years and achieved a 10th degree black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu with JA. He was a student of Professor Wally Jay’s since the 60's, was his most senior student (9th degree black belt and Professor in Small Circle Jujitsu) and had stayed active until recently. He was the senior member of Professor Wally Jay’s Island Judo/Jujitsu Club which was also the Jujitsu America hombu dojo. He was the main instructor to teach classes at the home dojo when Professor Wally Jay was traveling and helped manage the dojo. He also travelled extensively with Professor Wally Jay to assist him teaching seminars. He influenced many and will be missed by all.

Services will be held Saturday 10/13/2018 at 10:00am in Alameda. For more information, see:
http://www.alamedafuneral.org/obituary/lee-eichelberger

For those attending Professor Lee Eichelberger's Memorial this Saturday.

Alameda is hosting a "Classic Car Show" on Park Street this Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m.  City streets will be busy and parking might be limited, however the garage located on Oak Street directly across from Alameda Funeral & Cremation Services should have ample parking available. Otherwise there is Street Parking one block down Central Ave going West.

Please pass on this information onto those might be attending the Memorial Service.

It's hard to believe that Ohana has come and gone already! Jujitsu America was very proud to sponsor this year's Ohana.  It was a huge success! 

Jujitsu America would like thank all those you Participated, Competed, Coached and those who supported their Family Members and Team Members at OHANA 2018 this past weekend.  The event couldn't happened without your support.                      

The Next OHANA will be hosted by American Jujitsu Institute in 2020.

W e'll have more information and pictures to come. Stay tuned!

Click here for more information on the event

Jujitsu America Members represented the United States at the 2017 World Games in Gold Coast, Australia.  

In total, Jujitsu America competed in Sport Jujitsu and BJJ, bringing home the following Individual Medals: 

Kevin Spruill - Gold - Individual Men's Sport Jujitsu and Gold USA Sport Jujitsu Team
Arren Moskowitz - Bronze BJJ
Carla Bunch - Gold - Individual Women's Sport Jujitsu, Gold USA Sport Jujitsu Team Competition, Gold Women's Masters Division
James Oh - Silver BJJ
Jaylin Jones - Gold Individual Men's Sport Jujitsu and Gold USA Sport Jujitsu Team Competition
Keanna Bunch - Gold Women's Sport Jujitsu

Sport Jujitsu Team Competition: For the first time in 40 Years USA won the Team Championships, taking home the Gold in both the Men’s and Women’s Team Competition.  

Competitors on the US Team represented the United States Coalition of Sport Jujitsu Organizations which is comprised of Jujitsu America, United States Sport Jujitsu Alliance, American Jujitsu League, United States Sport Jujitsu Federation, United States Sport Jujitsu Association.  

Under the Coalition, the US Team won more medals than any other WCJJO tournament they have participated in, including both Individual and Team Competitions.   

For more pictures, click here...

Another successful convention, with good turnout, great friends, fun tournaments and amazing seminars!

2017 National Convention
& Tournaments
(and Celebration of Professor Wally Jay’s 100th Birthday)

June 23, 24, & 25^th, 2017
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Foster City, California

Named by Black Belt Magazine as one of the top 10 martial arts events of the year! 

Training Clinics: Come train with World-Class Instructors from all around the world teaching seminars in many different styles of martial arts.

Tournaments: Unified Sport Jujitsu Nationals, Jujitsu Kata, Free-style Self-Defense, Karate Kata, Karate Point Sparring

JA Black Belt Testing & JA Awards Banquet

Contact Info:

Judie Kasper
E-Mail: convention2017@jujitsuamerica.org
Phone: 707-429-9293

> CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION <

If you’ve studied Japanese martial arts, you’re probably familiar with the term Teki-o. It means adaptation, and speaks to a core resilience and strength found through martial arts. Last weekend’s convention proved that martial artists take this tenant to heart.

Our carefully planned convention was threatened by an Act of God, Hurricane Mathew, which has claimed over a thousand lives to date. Simply trying to have a convention in the face of Hurricane Mathew, was an ambitious goal. Having a successful convention demonstrates the strength, resilience, adaption, and most importantly the community found within Jujitsu America and the martial arts.

To say everything went wrong would be a massive understatement, to say that everyone went above and beyond the call of duty to insure a fantastic event is also an incredible understatement. Hurricane Mathew prevented the delivery of our mats, so Bob Stines and his students drove three hours each way through a Hurricane to make sure we’d have mats for the competition.

With hundreds of flights canceled, countless participants drove up to 26 hours, in hurricane conditions with little to no sleep (and sometimes almost no supplies) to attend the convention. Participants drove from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, North Carolina, and New York. Others camped in airports until they could get a red eye to the convention.

After their incredible journeys, it was as if they’d stumbled into a ghost city. Shops were closed, restaurants and grocery stores were closed, gas stations were closed, and basic necessities were incredibly difficult to find. However, Jujitsu America banded together and made the best of a challenging and frightening situation, pooling supplies, taking care of each other, and training.

Unfortunately many people could not make it. An entire Russian entourage led by Nikolay Vasilyev flew into California from Russia for the convention. Unfortunately, their decision to visit Professor Bunch, the President of Jujitsu America, led to them being stranded in LA. Their absence was deeply missed.

However, we went ahead with our convention. We found new friendships through mutual hardships, we learned a lot, we managed to have fun even amidst the chaos, and we were able to spend an unprecedented amount time with the great Professors in attendance. In sum, we had a fabulous Jujitsu America convention with world-class seminars, very successful Kata and Self-Defense tournaments, and a well attended truly Unified National Sport’s Jujitsu Tournament. We developed a new kinship with our friends from other organizations. Although integral members of Jujitsu America were trapped across the country, often with vital supplies such as programs, tournament necessities, and certificates, we adapted as best we could. We were awed at the help we received from our East Coast Friends. 

The aid we received from Bob Stines, John Del Vecchio, Mike Antonides, David Parrot, Rebekah Nida, Ric Anderton, Earl Devalle, and countless others is truly awe-inspiring. They rose to the occasion fabulously, cementing and strengthening our inter-organization relationship. 

Well, despite TWO hurricanes, we prevailed and our National Convention and Tournaments were a big success! We had a smaller but good turnout, but had quality over quantity. Sorry for those that could not make it due to the storms, but please plan on coming next year to the 2017 Convention on the West Coast!

Click here for more information:
(list of instructors, schedule, ...)

For Printable Flyer:
2016 JA Convention Flyer.pdf

The First "Unified National Sports Ju Jitsu Championship" took place in Sparks Nevada on June 19th 2016. This important event took place at the Nugget Casino, in conjunction with the prestigious Danzan Ryu "Ohana" event.

Competitors from many different organizations competed, with well over 150 competitors at the Championship with the majority being Sports Ju Jitsu, as well as Ju Jitsu Kata and Self-Defense Demonstrations. The Ohana event drew over 550 participants. Along with the competition, numerous high level seminars and clinics were held throughout the weekend.

Competitors ranged in ages from 5 to 60 with beginners to world class competitors. Competitors were represented from coast to coast from New York to Hawaii.

Congratulations to all the competitors for making the effort to travel and compete at the very First "Unified National Championship". All these individual competitor’s efforts will be recognized and recorded in the halls of history forever.

The goal of the "United States Coalition of Sports Juj Jitsu Organizations" is to bring together competitions in Sports Ju Jitsu in an effort to build and unite all competitors and Sport Ju Jitsu Organizations in the USA for the betterment of the sport. It is our hope that more and more sports Ju Jitsu enthusiasts will begin competing at regional and national tournaments sponsored and supported by the Coalition.

Currently there are over 10 national organizations within this Coalition that are exclusively focused on Sports Ju Jitsu, or is a major component of their organizational activities. Many of these organizations train their competitors for international competitions.

The second "Unified National Sports Ju Jitsu Championship" will be held at the "Ju Jitsu America National Convention" in Orlando, Florida, this important event will be held at the International Palms Resort Hotel on October 7-9th 2016.

http://www.jujitsuamerica.org/event-2213636

www.unifiedjjchampionship.com

Pictures of the Unified National Championship

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ernd/28009972726/

Sincerely;

Michael Antonides

Co-Chairman

United States Coalition of Sports Ju Jitsu Organizations

The Jujitsu America scholarship fund supports our most deserving members to continue to develop and improve their Danzan-ryu Jujitsu knowledge and skills, who otherwise would not have the opportunity to do so.

Follow these links to learn more or to apply for a scholarship.

Jujitsu America Scholarship Information

Jujitsu America Scholarship Application

Jujitsu America Scholarship Instructor Transcript

Or, email the Scholarship Fund Chair: Richard Bunch

On the 27th of February 2016 a historic summit on Sport Jujitsu took place in Reno, Nevada. This congress of all the major Sport Jujitsu Organizational Heads was held at the beautiful Nugget Casino. They came together from all
parts of the United States including New York, Hawaii, Florida, Ohio, Nevada and California. They represented a dozen of the MAJOR Sport Jujitsu groups in US. This is a reality that could not have been dreamed of 15 years ago.

This Coalition of Organizational Heads unanimously agreed that the problem with Sport Jujitsu in the US has been that the tournaments have been scattered and isolated throughout the country, with no true continuity or unity. It was decided that much could be gained with unity and mutual support of all the US organizations. By having this Coalition of Organizations, we can have unifying tournaments both regionally and nationally.

With this unified national coalition, all Sport Jujitsu organizations involved will benefit from increased competition and exposure for the advancement of both the athletes and the United States overall. Each Sport Jujitsu Organization will maintain its own culture and anonymity while benefiting from this coalition. All involved considered the creation of this coalition no less then “Epic” for Sport Jujitsu in the United States with the ultimate, long term goal being International competition with the other 88 countries already competing in Sport Jujitsu.

This U.S. Coalition of Sport Jujitsu Organizations unanimously agreed to hold the first U.S. National Unifying tournament at the prestigious “Ohana” Conference in Nevada in June of 2016. This important event will use Jujitsu
America Sport Jujitsu Rules.

The participating U.S. Coalition of Sport Jujitsu Organizations include:
Jujitsu America
United States Sport Jujitsu Association
United States Jujitsu Federation
United States Sports Jujitsu Alliance
United States Sports Jujitsu League
American Jujitsu Institute
Shin Koden Kai Federation
Bushidokan Federation
United States Judo Association (Jujitsu Division)

To All Dojo Heads and Jujitsu America Members,

As the new chair of the Sport Jujitsu Committee, it’s with great enthusiasm that I can announce that Jujitsu America will introduce Sport Jujitsu at the Ohana convention in Reno, Nevada in June of 2016. It is the first time multiple Sport Jujitsu Organizations have agreed to come together to promote and compete in Sport Jujitsu at the national level. The collective goal of these various Sport Jujitsu organizations is for the United States to have a powerful presence on the much larger international Sport Jujitsu scene.

Our hope is that Ohana 2016 will be a segue into more collaboration with the national Sport Jujitsu Community, with local, regional, and national competitions. I would like to personally encourage all Dojo Heads to support this unique opportunity to enrich and perpetuate our art, our athletes and our organization. 

Thank you, 

Coach Willy Cahill

Chair of the Sport Jujitsu Committee 

For more information on Ohana 2016, click here