Lineage
Master Mick Walsh - Rokudan 6th Dan
Master Mick Walsh (1941 – 2005) began his Ju-Jitsu training in 1966 at The Alpha Ju-Jitsu Institute in Liverpool under the guidance of Professor Jack Britten.
He served as the senior instructor at Alpha Club until the early 1980s.
Afterwards, he founded his own Ju-Jitsu clubs, taught in high schools, and offered private sessions.
His prominent teaching locations included Southgate School in Runcorn, St. Christopher's School in Speke, and St. Hilda's Church Hall in Hunts Cross.
Master Walsh received his 5th and 6th dan rankings from Grand Master Chew Choo Soot during the grandmaster's visits to the UK, one of the few fortunate enough to be so honored.
Renowned for his technical prowess and mastery in Ju-Jitsu, Master Walsh bestowed black belts on a select group of students over four decades, among them Tashi Dave Williams.
He provided instruction to Tashi Dave in both club settings and private sessions.
His passing in 2005 was deeply felt across the Ju-Jitsu community.
Professor Jack Britten - Master Grade
Professor Jack Britten (1889 - 1978), around 1904, earned his living as a professional boxer, competing in boxing booths across London and accepting challenges from all comers.
His journey took an unexpected twist when he was introduced to Ju-Jitsu by a Japanese fighter at a boxing booth, resulting in Jack's surprising defeat.
Captivated by this experience, he stopped boxing to train with his conqueror, Yukio Tani.
In 1904, Yukio Tani and Taro Miyake opened the Japanese School of Jujutsu that was located at 305, Oxford Street W, London.
Jack attened the school and progressed well, he was taught by both club instructors .
he would eventually earn his master sash / black belt in the years that followed.
During World War I (1914-1918), Jack engaged in close-quarters combat in the trenches and suffered a bayonet wound to his hand.
In 1924, the moved up to Liveropool and founded The Alpha Ju-Jitsu Institute.
Renowned as the grandfather of Ju-Jitsu in the northwest, Professor Britten trained alot of the region's top instructors.
He dedicated his life to the art, teaching full-time until his death, faithfully passing on the teachings of his initial Japanese mentors.
He remains a seminal British figure in the martial art.
Yukio Tani
Yukio Tani (1881 – 24 January 1950) was a pioneering Japanese ju-jutsu and judo instructor and professional challenge wrestler, notable for being one of the first jujutsu stylists to teach and compete outside of Japan.
He travelled to London by invitation of Edward William Barton-Wright, the founder of Bartitsu.
Tani's early jujutsu training in Japan were heavily tied to his father, who was a master of Tenjin-Shinyo-ryu, but he is also rumored to have studied with Mataemon Tanabe, as Tani's father and grandfather were friends with the Fusen-ryu master.
There is also some evidence he trained in Yataro Handa's jujutsu school called the Seibukan in Osaka.
After breaking with Barton-Wright in 1902, Tani joined forces with veteran show business promoter William Bankier, who had himself been a music hall performer under the name "Apollo, the Scottish Hercules" and had met Tani in his tenure with Barton.
Under Bankier's management, Tani became a professional wrestler on the music hall circuit, where he would challenge anyone willing to test his skill.
With the temptation of winning £1 for lasting each minute, for a bout of up to 5 minutes, or £5 to £100 for winning, there was never a shortage of challengers.
He allowed his challengers to use any technique that they wanted, insisting only that they wear a jacket, This gave him the one big advantage that he needed over all the wrestlers and boxers who were invariably larger than he was".
On stage Tani was known as the "pocket Hercules" and was famous throughout all levels of London society.
In 1904, Yukio Tani and Taro Miyake opened the Japanese School of Jujutsu that was located at 305, Oxford Street W, London.
In 1918, Tani became the first professional teacher at the London Budokwai, created by his countryman Gunji Koizumi initially teaching jiujitsu. but moved over to judo.
Taro Miyake
Taro Miyake (c. 1881–1935)
was a professional Japanese jujutsu fighter, instructor, catch wrestler and author, In 1906, Miyake and Tani collaborated to co-author a book titled "The Game of Ju-Jitsu."
Miyake started his training under the famous Fusen-ryu jujutsu master Mataemon Tanabe, as well as Osaka master Yataro Handa,
He is credited with helping establish ju-jutsu and MMA in the United Kingdom, France and the United States at the start of the 20th century.
He was widely considered the best exponent of Ju-Jitsu in Europe at the time and participated in MMA style matches against boxers in France where laws allowed such bouts to take place.
In 1914, he reached United States and stayed there for 20 years, settling down in Seattle, where he set his school.
