About

Established in 1979, The Scottish Ju Jitsu Association (SJJA), formerly known as the Scottish Ju Jitsu Union of Clubs was created to include all Associations, Clubs, Groups and Individuals represented under one umbrella organsiation. It took a number of years to reach formal accrediation through the Scottish Sports Council, now Sportscotland, but the SJJA is now the fully accredited National Governing Body for Scotland.

As a governing body, the Associations, Clubs, Groups, Individuals and Staff within it are controlled and regulated by an agreed set of Rules and Byelaws contained within the SJJA Consitution. The SJJA is a Scottish Limited Company and Scottish Registered Charity and is regulated by Companies House and the Office of Scottish Charity Regulator. Consequently, the aforementioned groups and individuals are bound by a set of policies to ensure the safety and welfare of those who are members.

Ju Jitsu - Jiu Jutsu - Ju Jutsu - Jujitsu

What's in a name? The Japanese name has been phonetically adopted by us in the West to best communicate the name which has also changed over the years. Historically, the art had the suffix Jutsu which loosely referred to the martial system. Nowadays, the modern  derivation is Jitsu which equates more to the art form. Whatever the term, it's a martial art once monopolised by the Samurai Warriors of Japan (from the 10th to the 19th century) and it's composed of  a variety of techniques e.g. throws, strikes, kicks, strangles, chokes, joint locks, pressure points, and much more. In modern times it is a highly efficient and effective self defence system.  For more information about the history of Ju Jitsu click here .

Clubs and Associations in Scotland

Not all clubs in Scotland are alike, if not the style of Ju Jitsu they practice, the way the club is managed and the fees they charge. In fact not all clubs in Scotland are in membership of the SJJA. The SJJA represents a sign of assurance that their clubs will be operated correctly and will be accountable. Each SJJA club will have undergone a list of checks to ensure its structure, management and coaching all come up to the expected standard as defined by the governing body. Any Club or Association can apply for membership by contacting the SJJA and obtaining the necessary criteria to meet. There is a small annual fee connected to membership. Membership to the SJJA means for all students of Ju Jitsu across the length and breadth of Scotland that their technical standards are recognised, grades accepted, all participants and management insured, and all staff properly vetted and trained. These standards are quality assured. There is no requirement to adopt another syllabus if you have an already approved programme. Clubs can benefit from a whole range of different things from a simple 'services only' membership facilitating insurance and accreditation to coach education and full blown technical development. We realise that not every club fits into a one size fits all structure, and so membership of our governing body will be tailored to your needs. If you run a club or an Association and would like to be part of the SJJA contact the SJJA HQs for information. For more information simply call the SJJA HQs on (01382) 201601 or use the enquiry form on our contact page.

Policies

Anti Doping

Doping is forbidden in the SJJA. All athletes have the right to compete in sport knowing that they, and their competitors, are clean. The Scottish Ju Jitsu Association (SJJA) believe in clean ‘Jujitsu’ and work in partnership with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and our International Federation to ensure that the integrity of Ju Jitsu is protected. The use of performance-enhancing drugs and other doping behaviour severely damages the legitimacy of sport and undermines the integrity of clean athletes. SJJA has in place a set of anti-doping rules that all athletes, coaches and athlete support personnel must abide by. The anti-doping rules for SJJA are consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code (2015 Code), which governs anti-doping internationally. You can find more information at the UK Anti-Doping Rules  here  at their website or a copy of a PDF  is available download a copy here .

Child Protection and Good Practice

As part of the SJJA's Child Protection policy, it has an integrated approach to the protection of children within its clubs, which includes regular training opportunities for staff, officials, voluteers and coaches. All our staff and personnel are vetted including anyone who comes into regular contact with the children in our membership. SJJA has trained child protection officers who are available to listen to any concerns, give advice and/or point you in the right direction. We appreciate the whole area of child safety is a very important one and as a governing body we play our role in actively protecting children in our membership. All our coaches are also trained to ensure good practice and they regularly attend seminars to update their qualifications and gain extra insights into this topic; keeping abreast of any changes in legislation. Since we appreciate how important child safety is, we have created a document which you can view here that contains some questions to help you as a parent or carer increase the child's safety. We also have available a checklist or flowchart to help you understand our process should you have any concerns about this aspect of our work or the standard of practice of our staff.   Furthermore you can always contact Children 1st or Sportscotland to confirm the status of this organisation.

For more information see our help documentation

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