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History of Atemi-Ryu Ju-Jitsu
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Jujutsu is a Japanese martial art which practices armed and unarmed combat techniques. It can also be spelled “jujitsu” or “jiujitsu” as older translations were not as established as they are today. It is sometimes called Japanese jujutsu to distinguish it from one of its derivatives: Brazilian jujutsu. Jujutsu was originally one aspect of martial arts used by the samurai of medieval Japan. The general concept of Jujutsu covers any way that the human body can be used as a weapon. Each family, or clan, had a particularstyle of unarmed combat in which they would train. This naturally led to a wide variety of arts called “jujutsu” that involve different amounts of striking, throwing, locking, and close quarters ground fighting. During the latter part of the 1800s, there was a great proliferation in the number and styles of martial arts in Japan, including jujutsu. As such diversification took place, jujutsu gave rise to such martial arts such as Judo, Aikido. The study of jujutsu was largely closed to Westerners until after WWII.
Professor Florendo Visatacion(1909 – January 4, 1999)
Professor Florendo Visitacion, or as he is also known Professor Vee, was born in Ilocos Norte in the Philippines. Around age 13, Professor Vee started to learn Arnis, a Filipino form of martial stick/knife fighting. At age 16, he and his family moved to Hawaii where he continued his martial studies. In 1928, he moved to Stockton, California, where he continued to learn Filipino martial arts from any source that was available. However, it wasn’t until his time in the U.S. Army during WWII that his martial arts journey became truly inspired. After reading the Army officer’s hand-to-hand manual that claimed to be a combination of techniques from various sources, Professor Vee traveled and studied many different arts for the purposes of understanding their principles and when to apply them effectively. He started his martial arts instruction career, which lasted for over three decades, in the mid-1950s in New York.
One of the men he taught was Professor Moses Powell. In 1955, Professor Vee introduced Vee-Jutsu, which as he continued to study more, would undergo various modifications and changes. In 1965, he updated and improved the art and introduced Vee-Jutsu ’65. In 1971, Professor Vee presented another update to his system, now called Vee-Jitsu ryu Jiujutsu. In 1983, he removed the katas from Kempo in favor of the Arnis katas, and as such, renamed the system Vee-ArnisJutsu.
Professor Moses Powell (January 13, 1941 – January 22, 2005)
Dr. Moses Powell was born in Norfolk, Virginia. His martial arts training included boxing, Vee-Jitsu Te, Vee Jutsu ryu, Shorin ryu Karate, and Tomini Aikido among other arts. In 1959 Professor Powell combined his 45 years of martial arts experience and founded Sanuces ryu Jujutsu. He credits Professor Vee with giving him the knowledge and confidence to become a great martial artist.
Doctor Philip Chenique
Dr. Philip Chenique first entered to the world of martial arts at the age of seven, beginning with the study of Judo at the Y.M.C.A. in New York. He also undertook the study of Karate and Kenjutsu. By age 13, Dr. Chenique was studying Take-NoUchi Kogen-Ryu Atemi Jujitsu with Sensei Richard Adams. At age 20, he studied Shotokan Karate under the guidance of Shihan Barry Deutsch. Dr. Chenique soon became a student of Professor Moses Powell, and Dr. Powell’s teacher, Master Florendo Vistacion, as well as many other Grandmasters. In 1975, after attaining the rank of Shihan, Grandmaster Chenique established his form of Jujitsu, which he christened Atemi-Ryu Jujitsu.
