Dude-Jitsu
Essential Points of Self Defense
Jiu Jitsu can debatably trace its lineage back as far as the eighth century. But, in its higher form, Jiu Jitsu really doesn’t like to debate. That’s because Jiu Jitsu is first and foremost the Art of Suppleness. Which basically means it prefers to ride that fine line in the middle of a see-saw (‘teeter-totter’ for the purists). Along with the ability to scurry to either the soft end or the hard end of the see-saw, Jiu Jitsu can take you to the ground effortlessly on the one hand, or pretty much pummel you with snaps, locks and breaks.
And this is why we don’t argue with the Dudeist take on Jiu Jitsu. Because of the fine line.
Jujitsu is considered a ‘soft’ martial art, as opposed to ‘hard’ forms that meet an opponent’s force with hard, solid kicks and strikes. In jujitsu, which literally means “art of softness,” you don’t meet an opponent’s physical force with your own force. Instead, like water, or wu wei, you flow with the opponent’s force and use it against them to throw them off balance and flip them onto the floor before they even know what’s happening.
Dude-jitsu follows the same basic approach, only with one important difference: There’s no physical harm intended. Instead, it uses an uptight person’s un-Dudeness against them to throw them off balance mentally and then flip them off verbally before they even know what’s happening.
Fabulous stuff, man. But some may wonder if it qualifies as a martial art.
We believe it does because, like most martial arts, Dude-jitsu can trace its lineage a-way back into the mists of time to a feller by the name of Bohidharma.
From The Abide Guide: Living Like Lebowski, By Oliver Benjamin, Dwayne Eutsey
At its most fundamental, Dude-Jitsu approaches martial arts from the perspective of applying underlying Jiu Jitsu principles to everyday life circumstances. The Dude-Jitsu approach can be said to be completely ‘at one’ with Jiu Jitsu’s Basic Concept:
No Challenge, No Resistance, No Injury
The Basic Concept is discussed in a bit more detail in Three Martial Arts Rules for How to Speak Your Mind and more specifically in Mirror Your Attacker.
Anyway, keeping the Basic Concept in mind, the essential points below are basically a practical, Dude-Jitsu style way of explaining it. And better yet, an easy thing to practice.
Dude-Jitsu’s Essential Points of Self Defense
1. Compete with no one except yourself.
2. Be aware of your surroundings.
3. If you are surrounded, relax.
4. Abide. Your surroundings will want to imitate you. That’s nature.
5. Self defense? The main thing you have to defend against, man, is your self.
Do they work? Well, uhm… yeah. As one Dudeist said,
Hi, I just tried to do these exercises. I was kind of flabbergasted. It really works. Thankee.
