[this
web page last updated 20 June 2007]
Ja Shin Do is a martial art originally
founded in 1974 in Boston by two women black belts, Jayne West
and Dana Densmore, after receiving their training in a mixed school
and operating an independent women's school for many years. It
was developed as a high quality art for serious women students
but has since expanded to include selected male students. Ja Shin
Do reflects the experience of the founders in training women and
men in mixed martial arts schools and in independent women's schools.
Ja Shin Do took the best and most serious of Asian traditions and cut out the macho, glamor, and sports aspects. The pedagogy developed to provide intensive work on elementary techniques at the start and to build gradually to more advanced techniques, always on a basis of mastery.
Ja Shin Do's unique power generation mechanism is a fully coordinated action of the whole body, not just muscle power, momentum power, or hip action. This power theory facilitates extremely fast and disabling blocks, strikes, and kicks.
Artemis Institute is now the governing body for the martial art of Ja Shin Do, with Dana Densmore as the director of instruction. Artemis Institute provides a full curriculum for self empowerment using the Full Moon Rising™ path for spiritual warriors. In addition to the martial art, the Artemis Institute curriculum includes self-empowerment classes and workshops, film discussion classes, rock climbing, back country adventures, winter competence, the Awareness Energetics™ system of mind-body integration, individualized coaching and guidance for self development, and one-, two-, and three-week special trainings.
Dana Densmore is the developer of the self defense program The Five Lines of Self Defense™, an eighteen-hour program which has been taught in many formats and institutions over the last twenty years.
Ja Shin Do schools have operated in Boston, Washington DC, and Santa Fe NM. At present, there are no public classes offered. All Ja Shin Do training is presently done privately in apprenticeship programs.
Calligraphy by Ja Shin Do founder Jayne West
