AN ARSENAL OF SOFTNESS AND FLEXIBILITY

In Azerbaijan's sports diary, February was marked by the 7th national championship of ju-jitsu - a type of martial art. We are, however, interested more in the event itself than in its results. No, it is not a licensing tournament for the right of sportsmen to represent their country in an important international contest, such as the Olympic Games. But this is a real event for those engaged in promoting this individual, rather than Olympic, sport in our country. This makes it even more difficult because the development of non-Olympic sports is motivated by considerations of enthusiasm, hobby and personal interest. There is, at the same time, a burning desire to demonstrate our skills among other followers of ju-jitsu. Exotic? Probably yes. But even in this exotic sport, Azerbaijani sportsmen would like to take their rightful place, especially as Azerbaijan has something to boast about.

We've got a dan

Everything began with the legendary Bruce Lee and karate. The vice-president of the Azerbaijani Ju-jitsu Federation, Ali Cafarov, who holds a black belt and is a fourth dan (a category of mastery in oriental martial arts - author) in karate and a black belt and fifth dan in ju-jitsu, says that the oriental martial arts have always been popular with young Azerbaijanis.

"It is true that guys no longer look upon karate as something exotic. For modern-day youth, this type of sport has lost its adventure and romance. We used to gather in basements to watch video films featuring the legendary Bruce Lee. We did not have any clubs and we learnt karate from Bruce Lee's films. That was a different time. I took up karate in 1979. Everyone pointed their finger at me at school. They thought that I should be able to break wooden boards and bricks. But we paid attention not just to karate itself, but also to fostering our spirit and the potential for self-perfection. We read so many books. The dans - categories of mastery in oriental martial arts - are not just about the art of fighting, but also about the level of development of people's spiritual condition. It is, first of all, inner self-perfection through the study of ju-jitsu that we want to teach to our followers," says Cafarov.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Ju-jitsu Federation. It was set up in 1998 and a mark of its achievement is that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has begun to pay more attention to the development of the sport in our country. In 2001, the Azerbaijani Federation joined the Ju-jitsu International Federation (JJIF) which was established in 1982. 

Every year we pay 1,600 euros for our membership. This is quite a considerable sum for our country. Perhaps this is the reason why neither Georgia nor Armenia is a member of the organization.

"A great leap has been taken. Just two years ago, the federation had only itself to rely on for the promotion and propagation of ju-jitsu, but now the government is helping us with all our problems. For example, the Ministry of Youth and Sports covered 95 per cent of all expenses in the organization of the 7th ju-jitsu championship. Apart from that, we are in ongoing negotiations with the Minister of Youth and Sports to hold a number of events to mark the federation's 10th anniversary. In 2008 we want to host an international tournament in Baku for sportsmen from neighbouring countries - Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Iran. This is our greatest desire today," Cafarov pointed out.

Achievements are needed

It is clear that in the field of sports, the Azerbaijani government is currently prioritizing the development of Olympic sports, because winners at the Olympic Games become real national heroes. "The greatest achievement for our sportsmen is victory at the Olympic Games, and this is understandable. But I would like to note one thing. At international karate and ju-jitsu tournaments, we also raise the Azerbaijani flag. I think that Azerbaijan and the flag of our country deserve to take leading positions in any sport, including ju-jitsu," Cafarov stressed.

According to Cafarov, it is time Azerbaijani masters of dzu-dzutsu (in Japanese) had their say in international tournaments. "Our country has impressive achievements in international traditional karate tournaments. If we talk about Azerbaijan's position in the international ju-jitsu hierarchy, I have to say, with regret, that it is not very high. The rating is defined by our participation in international contests." However, we have not participated in them very often so far. We only have prize winners in these tournaments, says Cafarov.

"We do not always have the funding to participate in international contests. Sometimes we manage to participate in one but cannot participate in another. Such irregular involvement does not help us to make significant progress. Our guys should be practising. But they always fight the same sportsmen in the same weight category. They all know each other and know who is capable of what. For this reason, we do not achieve anything at international ju-jitsu championships," Cafarov said regretfully.

For the time being, the Azerbaijani Ju-jitsu Federation is planning to promote the sport in the regions of the country by setting up appropriate clubs. "Unfortunately, we cannot boast a great number of regional clubs today. They are working in Ganca, Qazax, Yevlax and Ucar. The guys there are well-trained overall. But it is still mainly in Baku that ju-jitsu is popular with young people. We want to develop further. This is a very good business. In this case, ju-jitsu's outstanding potential for entertainment may give us a hand. If for example we organize a demonstration tournament in Qazax and advertise in advance in Tovuz, the youth of Tovuz, on seeing a wonderful contest, will definitely go to the ju-jitsu club to learn about its techniques and philosophy.

"The thing is that this sport is also interesting because, in the modern world of sports, the art of ju-jitsu has progressed far beyond the borders of Japan, arousing heightened interest among specialists of the intelligence services in Germany, the USA, France, Austria and other countries. In Russia, ju-jitsu has been actively used by officers of the general staff, the intelligence and counter-intelligence services, as well as by the third police department to disperse participants in political unrest without the use of weapons," said Cafarov.

At the same time, the vice-president of the Azerbaijani Ju-jitsu Federation had difficulty in answering how many people practise this sport in Azerbaijan today. "It is difficult to say. This sport, just like aikido, is practised by adults. We can say that this is a kind of martial arts for intellectual people."

Today followers of karate and ju-jitsu wait impatiently for these two martial arts to be included in the list of Olympic sports - this will signal a new stage in the development of karate and ju-jitsu. "Perhaps this will happen soon. But before that, karate and ju-jitsu must be freed of many dangerous and bad techniques that might cause injury. This is the main Olympic condition," Cafarov said.

For the time being, the Azerbaijani masters of this art intend to apply to the European ju-jitsu championship which will be held in May 2008 and the world championship in Sweden in November. Also, the schedule of ju-jitsu contests has a traditional tournament - an open championship in St Petersburg. "We very much hope that we will be able to take part in these contests and will do our utmost to get there," the vice-president of the federation said in conclusion. For our part, we wish the Azerbaijani ju-jitsu masters success in their good work.