R.I.P. Professor Wally Jay - Small Circle JJ

[hskwarrior]

Biography

Jay was born in Hawaii of Chinese descent.[2] At age 11, he began to study boxing under a community program. In 1940, he studied Danzan Ryu jujutsu under Juan Gomez and also learned judo under the former Hawaiian Champion, Ken Kawachi.[3] Jay and his wife Bernice were awarded on 1948-02-22, a Certificate of Mastery by Seishiro Okazaki, the founder of Danzan Ryu jujutsu, however his wife is not currently active in training.[4]

Jay also spent time with Bruce Lee and his associates in 1962 teaching them judo and jujutsu techniques.

Jay is currently the head instructor of Jay's Jujitsu Studio, which is also known as Island Judo/Jujitsu Club in Alameda, California. Now over the age of 90, he still travels worldwide teaching seminars on Small Circle Jujitsu. He has published two books; Dynamic Ju Jitsu and Small Circle JuJitsu and numerous instructional videos.[5]

In 1969, Jay was inducted into Black Belt Magazine’s Black Belt Hall of Fame as “Ju-Jitsu Sensei of the Year” and again in 1990 as “Man of the Year”[6].

In August of 2002, Jay held a ceremony officially handing the title of Grandmaster over to his son Professor Leon Jay in their hometown of Alameda, California near San Francisco. Family, friends, several martial arts masters and the media all witnessed this momentous occasion[7].

[SIFU RON]

GM Wally Jay passed away on 5/29/2011, a great Martial Artist, he contributed his life to Martial Arts.

I met Wally and some of his family at the Martial Arts History Museum when he was inducted into the hall of fame.

My very best to him and his family.

Ron Shewmaker

[cerebus]

RIP Jay Sensei...

[Dale Dugas]

Prayers have been said for his passing and for his entire clan as well.

RIP

[GeneChing]

GM Wally Jay was a true inspiration. He was on the cover of our Fall 1992 DOJO magazine and our May June 1997 World of Martial Arts Magazine. TC Media also produced the instructional DVD, Advanced Small Circle Jujitsu: Fulcrum Activation (http://www.martialartsmart.com/dvd-lj001.html) for Grandmaster Jay, along with several more for his son Leon, as well as a very special DVD, Professor Wally Jay's 90th Birthday Tribute (http://www.martialartsmart.com/dvd-lj003.html).

I had the honor of meeting him several times and he was always a gentleman. I was very fortunate to have attended his 90th Birthday celebration, and we were just discussing the 95th, which was slated for next year. I learned quickly never to shake his hand because his Small Circle Jujitsu (http://www.martialartsmart.com/b16-462h.html)was very quick. I only really worked with him once for Tea with Grandmasters: Pearls of Wisdom from Martial Pioneers Ralph Castro, Ming Lum, Al Novak and Wally Jay (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=686). His passing marks a milestone in the history of American martial arts.

https://www.tigerclaw.com/images/P/DVD-LJ003.png

[IronWeasel]

Sorry to hear.


Rest in peace.

[TenTigers]

I had the "pleasure" of being on the receiving end of his "Dance of Pain," when he was a young, 76 yr-old. He was truly inspirational.
R.I.P.

[GeneChing]

Prof. Wally Jay a Celebration of Life (http://www.smallcirclejujitsu.com/2011/06/prof-wally-jay-a-celebration-of-life/)
Posted on June 7, 2011

Services will be held at 1:00 pm Sunday, June 26, 2011.
Kofman Auditorium,
Alameda High School 2200 Central Ave.
Alameda, California 94501

Friends, students and family are invited. Aloha attire.

Mahalo
The Tiger Claw Foundation (http://tigerclawfoundation.org/) is supporting this. We haven't done the update yet. Wally's widow, Bernice, was by our office yesterday. More to come...

[GeneChing]

The Jay family has been by a few times already and is supposed to come by again today I hear. The Tiger Claw Foundation (http://tigerclawfoundation.org/) has been helping with the commemorative program, as well as other arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the
Prof Wally Jay Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 2246 Alameda, California 94501

[X_plosion]

Best wishes for the upcoming event and for the success of the foundation and scholarship fund.

Rest In Peace, Prof. Wally Jay!

[GeneChing]

I've posted a small photo album on our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150304934429363.390447.135964689362). As you can see, it was very well attended. Hundreds came out to pay their respects.

[GeneChing]

This is more about Bruce Lee than Leon or Wally, but such is popular news coverage...:rolleyes:

Epsom-based son of martial arts expert who trained Bruce Lee honoured in hall of fame (http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/9402315.Son_of_martial_arts_expert_who_trained_Bru ce_Lee_honoured/)
8:00am Tuesday 6th December 2011 in News
By Lauren May »

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/resources/images/1847981/?type=display

The son of a martial arts expert who trained Bruce Lee, has been inducted into the Combat Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Leon Jay, 56, has lived in Epsom for the last 21 years, but grew up in Hawaii and San Francisco, and teaches a form of jujitsu, founded by his father, in Leatherhead, Epsom and abroad.

His father, Wally Jay, who was also inducted into the hall of fame, was a renowned teacher having famously trained martial arts expert, actor and director, Bruce Lee.

He said: "When I was a kid I'd come home from school and there would be Bruce Lee sitting on our doorstep waiting for my father to come home from work so they could train together in the dojo behind our house.

"We were living in the San Francisco Bay area in California then and Bruce had moved from Seattle in Washington to Oakland about two miles down the road.

"That was in the 1960s in California, way before Bruce became famous.

"He was a really quick, keen student.

"He sought out my father because he was well respected in the martial arts community all around the world, in fact my father, Professor Wally Jay, wrote the foreword for Bruce’s first book, Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Defense."

Mr Jay followed in his father’s footsteps beginning his martial arts training at the age of just two and is now a second generation 9th degree black belt Grandmaster of Small Circle Jujitsu - a form of jujitsu founded by his father in the 1940s.

He is frequently called upon to help adults and children with learning disabilities and anger management issues and is currently developing a national programme to aid the rehabilitation of young offenders.

His father, Wally Jay, died earlier this year at the age of 93 from a stroke and Bruce Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, spoke at his funeral in California.

He said: "She was kind enough to say how my father had changed the way Bruce approached his training, the positive influence dad had had on him."

Mr Jay and his late father were inducted in to the Combat Martial Arts Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Birmingham last month for their contribution to martial arts.

For more information visit smallcirclejujitsu.com