President's Letter - Fall 2009
I'd like to thank the JA representatives, instructors, and members for your support and trust. I take this responsibility and commitment very seriously, and I am absolutely dedicated to building a strong and vital Jujitsu America by working closely with all our members. I'd also like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to our Past President, Sensei Scott Merrill, and all of the officers in the prior administration for their hard work and dedication during the previous term.

Going forward, in order to achieve successful results we need to focus our immediate attention on those efforts that will deliver the greatest value and impact for our organization. We will focus on a few key areas designed to deliver greater experience for our members, increase active participation and membership, and continue Jujitsu America's role as a leading martial arts organization. From there, we will expand our efforts, but this is where we'll start.
First and foremost, our primary focus will be on driving a diverse set of training events and activities for all our members. We will schedule regular activities on a regional basis and promote them in advance. For example, in the SF Bay Area, we hold a bi-monthly instructor meeting and clinic at rotating locations, with clinic open to all members and non-members. We will now begin to schedule these training events a full year in advance and publicize the events on the JA website, by email, and through other communications vehicles, so everyone can plan and schedule accordingly. Our goal is to achieve higher participation levels among members and non-members.

We will also encourage each of our Regional Directors to hold open JA training events at least on a quarterly basis, so that we have regular training activities open to all members and non-members taking place in the various geographies and throughout the year.

Tournament events provide the best opportunity for our students to apply the skills they are developing through their training in a vigorously competitive environment that is still safe and controlled. This allows each competitor to find out immediately what works for them and what doesn't - there is no better way to test themselves and advance their own training. And, over the past several years and through the efforts of many dedicated folks, we have developed a robust competition program covering Sport Jujitsu, Kata, and Freestyle Self-Defense. This breadth in the JA competition program means that there is truly something for every interested competitor.

We've recently re-aligned our activities and are focusing going forward on working with Tiger Claw, our longtime martial arts supplier and partner. Tiger Claw presents a full calendar of events throughout the United States and has graciously invited Jujitsu America to present Sport Jujitsu, Kata, and Freestyle Self-Defense Tournaments as part of the calendar of Tiger Claw tournaments. We will start with a few selected events in key locations and expand from there.

Looking to our traditional training, we will absolutely maintain and reinforce our longstanding commitment to our historical roots and traditions, while we also continue to develop, evolve, and grow as an organization. We are doing so through our commitment to our traditional training (such as the JA Okugi 2010 being presented in Spring 2010), through our continued commitment to our Massage Therapy program, through our competition program, and through our commitment to regular interaction and training among all our members. Each of these commitments is realized through the diversity and ongoing efforts of all our dedicated instructors, competitors, and members. For that commitment, and for all your support, I thank you and I look forward to working with each of you in building a vibrant Jujitsu America!

Contact me anytime at eric.renner@comcast.net.

All the best,

Eric Renner
President