Koseido-ryu Jiu-Jitsu

The techniques taught to Sensei Deavers by his teachers were Jiu-Jitsu and Atemi-Waza, also known as Karate-Jitsu. His system of Jiu-Jitsu includes: Holding, choking, striking, kicking and punching, and throwing an opponent. Also included are methods of disarming an opponent with a weapon.

The Koseido Ryu Jiu-Jitsu Kai is presently under the direction of Kyoshi Joseph Hedderman. Kyoshi Hedderman began his martial arts training under Dewey Deavers in 1950 at the age of 15. He continued his Jiu-Jitsu training under the supervision of Sensei Deavers until his teachers death in 1973. While serving in the U.S. Army (1957-1959), Kyoshi Hedderman was introduced to Karate-Do. Upon his discharge from the army, Kyoshi Hedderman became the first person to introduce Karate-Do to the Pittsburgh area.

Koseido-Ryu Jiu-Jitsu is a Japanese grappling method of fighting. The grappling systems of Jiu-Jitsu can be traced to the sixteenth and seventeenth century, during the Tokugawa Period in Japanese history. The many styles of the period were developed from the close quarter combat (kumi-uchi) methods used by the samurai (Japanese warrior).

Koseido Ryu Jiu-Jitsu (“The Way Of Individual Character”) was developed from the classical arts of Jiu-Jitsu which were studied by our dojo’s founder, Sensei (teacher) Dewey Deavers. In the year 1910, at the age of 20, the young Deavers became interested in the Japanese fighting arts while observing a skillfully executed demonstration by a group of travelling martial artists. He was accepted as their student, later becoming a member of the demonstration team himself.