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BARRY J. O'BRIEN
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Barry J. O'Brien
Life Member - United States Ju-Jitsu Federation (USJJF) ®
Life Member - USA Traditional Kodokan Judo (USA-TKJ) ®
Member - USJJF National Technical Committee
Member - USA-TKJ National Technical Committee
Senior Instructor - Examiner, USJJF & USA-TKJ
Sensei Barry John O’Brien is a multi-disciplined martial artist. He has been actively training in martial arts for over 40 years. He started his martial arts training on 01/16/1980 at the age of 19, under Sensei’s James (Jim) Rivera and John Rivera of Owaza Ju-Jitsu.
Sensei O'Brien remembers the exact date of his first class because several days prior he had been beaten by three thugs who repeatedly kicked him in the head while he was on the ground in a shopping mall parking lot. The first words Sensei Jim said to Barry upon their introduction by mutual friends were, “you are lucky they didn’t know how to kick, or you’d be blind, mentally incapacitated or dead.” Sensei O'Brien vowed to never let that type of beating happen to him again and at that time he noted the date of his first Ju-Jitsu martial arts class: 01/16/1980. Barry also started training in Judo later that same year.
Sensei Barry’s martial arts disciplines are in Japanese Ju-jitsu, Judo, Kajukenbo (Emperado Method), Bujutsu and Dutch Style Kick Boxing.
Sensei O'Brien is the founder of his own system of martial art called Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu, recognized by the USJJF. Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu - Seizon means Survival in Japanese. Sensei Barry created the art by using his many years of martial arts experience on the mat as well as his experience off the mat, with the single goal of enabling people of all abilities and age to gain an “edge” in self-defense. The purpose of Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu is to teach people a comprehensive, yet a reflexive means of self-defense. The art incorporates Awareness, Avoidance, De-escalation, Escaping, Punching, Striking, Kicking, Blocking, Parrying, Footwork, Throwing, Choking, Large and Small Joint Locking, Groundwork, Vital Point Targeting, and basic knife and stick offense and defense.
Sensei Barry’s martial arts philosophy is summed up in his “Note to Students” - Original copyright 2013.
NOTE TO STUDENTS
Our goal is to help students develop an edge in self-defense.
Students should work towards developing Strategies, Tactics, and Techniques (Policy) for self-defense.
This includes but is not limited to the following:
Understanding the interview process
Understanding jeopardy
Staying relaxed when frightened
Speaking appropriately when under duress
Running / aggressively escaping
Knowing when to defend yourself.
Knowing level of force to apply for the situation.
Knowing when to stop
Knowing how to talk to the police.
If you are in immediate jeopardy of being injured by a threat, then your self-defense should be able to stop the threat. Not punish the threat. Stop the threat. If the self-defense situation is one of life and death, then fight with everything you have and refuse to give up, until the threat is stopped. Learn to trust your gut instincts / intuition.
This takes practice.
Students should work on techniques that can be used:
When not warmed up
When recovering from illness
When tired
When otherwise preoccupied
When not athletic
When old
When injured
When feeling off
When not feeling confident
When already hit by a predator who has done this type of violence before and has picked you as a target for a reason.
Students should work on techniques that will increase the odds of success while under the pressure of the adrenaline dump (which may include the loss of fine motor skills, hearing impairment and tunnel vision). The ability to successfully go from potential victim to survivor (to get on the clock), will likely depend on your awareness at the “pre-situation”, during the situation and post-situation. The ability to take punishment (physical and mental) and to recover in the moment-of-violence will also be a factor.
A fight for survival will be ugly. You will have to live with the results, win or lose. You may look physically different. You may be mentally changed. You may be reminded of it every time you look in a mirror. The thing about fighting is that you never know. It is better to avoid a fight than get into a fight. The best fight to win is the one you never get into. Self-defense starts with getting good sleep, keeping good hygiene, eating well and staying away from mind-altering drugs, excessive booze and dangerous places.
Awareness is important (not paranoia).
Avoidance is important.
De-escalation is important if avoidance is not an option.
Escape is important.
Stay away from places where people chemically alter their brains. Stay away from fringe locations.
To the best of your ability know what your policy is for any given set of circumstances. This takes a lot of practice.
Policy may need to change in a split second. Are you alone? Are you with a child? How severe is the threat or attack? Is there a weapon involved? Is there more than one threat?
Practice martial arts with a “fighting” mindset or a fighting frame of mind. Maintain an understanding of why you practice martial art.
Have a good self defense attorney on retainer. Why? Admitting to self-defense is admitting to a crime. Whether justifiable or not will be left in the hands of others.
Suggested reading:
Rory Miller: “Facing Violence”
Rory Miller: “Meditations on Violence”
Marc MacYoung: “What You Don’t Know Will Kill You”
Marc MacYoung : “In The Name of Self-Defense”
Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder: “The Little Black Book of Violence”
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman: “On Combat”
Gavin De Becker: “The Gift of Fear”
Enjoy your training but remain cognizant as to the reasons why you train.
Sensei Barry John O’Brien, Jr. – Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu
Brief Bio’s of Sensei Barry’s instructors.
Sensei Yoichiro Matsumura - 9th dan Judo. NYAC, NYC YMCA and The Martial Arts Studio. Barry was mostly a private student of Sensei Matsumura. As a young boy in Japan, Sensei Matsumura was taught by a student of Professor Jigoro Kano, named Hikoichi Aida. Sensei Matsumura’s technique is flawless.
O’Sensei Richard Lazarus - Dai Nan Wan Ryu Jujitsu. This art was founded by O'Sensei Richard Lazarus in the 1960s. His main focus of study was in Miyama Ryu Jujitsu, learning directly from the famous Antonio Pereira Shinan, founder of this eclectic system. O’Sensei was just the 12th person to earn a black belt under Pereira Shinan, ranked on 12/23/1966. Now this art is practiced all over the world. O’Sensei took his experiences as a police officer working homicide, arson and vice in Fort Apache, South Bronx, NYC, and applied the street to his martial art and his martial art to the street.
Sensei James (Jim) Rivera - Owaza Ju-Jitsu - Sensei Jim was a student of O’sensei Richard Lazarus. Excellent teacher and the man who changed my life. He instilled in me a strong martial artwork ethic that changed my life for the better forever.
Shihan Steven Sciandra - The Martial Arts Studio plus private lessons at Team Combat, until forced to stop due to Covid. He is a gifted athlete and teacher.
Wrestling – Three-time Division One; NCAA with over 100 D1 wins. Taught by Gray Simons (Wrestling Hall of Fame).
Kenpo Karate - Black Belt
Judo Black Belt - Promoted by Master Yoichiro Matsumura
Certified Sayoc Kali Level II Instructor taught by founder Tuhon Chris Sayoc
Kajukenbo – Black Belt Promoted by Sifu Bill Schettino and Sijo Adriano Emperado (one of the founders of Kajukenbo).
Goshin Jujitsu – Black Belt Fifth Degree, Promoted & taught by Master Yoichiro Matsumura.
Frank Bonanno - Dai Nan wan Ryu - Lifelong martial artist who studied under O’Sensei Richard Lazarus, Sensei Jim Rivera and Sensei Matsumura.
Michael A. Alvarez - Miyomoto Muso Ryu Bujutsu. Studied under Antonio Pereira Shinan of Miyama Ryu Ju-Jitsu
Sensei Barry O’Brien’s Black Belt Rank History for lastest Black Belt Ranks earned in a particular art:
- SEIZON RYU COMBAT JUJITSU - 5th Dan; 05/15/2013; Recognized by United States Ju-Jitsu Federation
- US Ju-Jitsu - Black Belt 6th Dan; 06/15/2021 - Awarded by the United States Ju-Jitsu Federation.
- Traditional Kodokan Judo - Black Belt 4th Dan; 06/15/2021 - Awarded by the USA-TKJ - Also Judo - Nidan awarded by Yoichiro Matsumura on 04/07/2012
- Kajukenbo (Emperado Method) - Black Belt 1st Dan; Awarded by Steven Sciandra, Bill Schettino and Vince Black on 04/03/2017 (Recognized by the Emperado Kajukenbo Association)
- Dai Nan Wan Ryu Ju-Jitsu - 4th Dan; Awarded by Frank Bonnanno on 11/17/2011
Goshin Jujitsu - Nidan; Awarded by Steven Sciandra on 05/14/2004
- Owaza Ryu Ju-Jitsu - Shodan; Awarded by Jim Rivera on 01/05/2019
Miyamoto Muso Ryu Bujutsu - Shodan; Awarded by Michael A Alvarez on 07/01/1990
Sensei O'Brien's 1st Dan Black Belt is in Dai Nan Wan Ryu and was awarded to him on 01/12/1987.
Continued Training and Teaching:
In 2020 Team Combat was forced to close their dojo in Massapequa, NY for over a year, due to the Covid pandemic.
Sensei O'Brien continued to teach Jujitsu and judo during the pandemic, free of charge, in a schoolyard located by his house. It was important for Sensei Barry's to keep his students on track with their martial arts studies. Given the hard financial times due to the pandemic, Sensei Barry has not charged his students tuition. He continued to teach despite major emergency surgery to reattach a complete tear of his left quad tendon off his knee that occurred on May 9, 2020.
The good news is that Team Combat is reopen in a new location Barry is now teaching Jujitsu and Judo in the new Team Combat dojo in Lindenhurst, NY. He teaches Jujitsu and Judo to adults and Judo to kids. Although Sensei O'Brien is a martial arts instructor, he has never stopped training and learning. He will forever remain a student of martial art.
He is restarting his private lessons with his instructor Shihan Steven Sciandra, practicing Jujitsu, Judo, Kajukenbo and Dutch-Style Kickboxing, along with knife and stick.
Sensei Barry O'Brien can be contacted at the following address:
E-Mail: finbarjr@reagan.com
Sensei O'Brien's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/finster.mcgee
Life Member - United States Ju-Jitsu Federation (USJJF) ®
Life Member - USA Traditional Kodokan Judo (USA-TKJ) ®
Member - USJJF National Technical Committee
Member - USA-TKJ National Technical Committee
Senior Instructor - Examiner, USJJF & USA-TKJ
Sensei Barry John O’Brien is a multi-disciplined martial artist. He has been actively training in martial arts for over 40 years. He started his martial arts training on 01/16/1980 at the age of 19, under Sensei’s James (Jim) Rivera and John Rivera of Owaza Ju-Jitsu.
Sensei O'Brien remembers the exact date of his first class because several days prior he had been beaten by three thugs who repeatedly kicked him in the head while he was on the ground in a shopping mall parking lot. The first words Sensei Jim said to Barry upon their introduction by mutual friends were, “you are lucky they didn’t know how to kick, or you’d be blind, mentally incapacitated or dead.” Sensei O'Brien vowed to never let that type of beating happen to him again and at that time he noted the date of his first Ju-Jitsu martial arts class: 01/16/1980. Barry also started training in Judo later that same year.
Sensei Barry’s martial arts disciplines are in Japanese Ju-jitsu, Judo, Kajukenbo (Emperado Method), Bujutsu and Dutch Style Kick Boxing.
Sensei O'Brien is the founder of his own system of martial art called Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu, recognized by the USJJF. Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu - Seizon means Survival in Japanese. Sensei Barry created the art by using his many years of martial arts experience on the mat as well as his experience off the mat, with the single goal of enabling people of all abilities and age to gain an “edge” in self-defense. The purpose of Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu is to teach people a comprehensive, yet a reflexive means of self-defense. The art incorporates Awareness, Avoidance, De-escalation, Escaping, Punching, Striking, Kicking, Blocking, Parrying, Footwork, Throwing, Choking, Large and Small Joint Locking, Groundwork, Vital Point Targeting, and basic knife and stick offense and defense.
Sensei Barry’s martial arts philosophy is summed up in his “Note to Students” - Original copyright 2013.
NOTE TO STUDENTS
Our goal is to help students develop an edge in self-defense.
Students should work towards developing Strategies, Tactics, and Techniques (Policy) for self-defense.
This includes but is not limited to the following:
Understanding the interview process
Understanding jeopardy
Staying relaxed when frightened
Speaking appropriately when under duress
Running / aggressively escaping
Knowing when to defend yourself.
Knowing level of force to apply for the situation.
Knowing when to stop
Knowing how to talk to the police.
If you are in immediate jeopardy of being injured by a threat, then your self-defense should be able to stop the threat. Not punish the threat. Stop the threat. If the self-defense situation is one of life and death, then fight with everything you have and refuse to give up, until the threat is stopped. Learn to trust your gut instincts / intuition.
This takes practice.
Students should work on techniques that can be used:
When not warmed up
When recovering from illness
When tired
When otherwise preoccupied
When not athletic
When old
When injured
When feeling off
When not feeling confident
When already hit by a predator who has done this type of violence before and has picked you as a target for a reason.
Students should work on techniques that will increase the odds of success while under the pressure of the adrenaline dump (which may include the loss of fine motor skills, hearing impairment and tunnel vision). The ability to successfully go from potential victim to survivor (to get on the clock), will likely depend on your awareness at the “pre-situation”, during the situation and post-situation. The ability to take punishment (physical and mental) and to recover in the moment-of-violence will also be a factor.
A fight for survival will be ugly. You will have to live with the results, win or lose. You may look physically different. You may be mentally changed. You may be reminded of it every time you look in a mirror. The thing about fighting is that you never know. It is better to avoid a fight than get into a fight. The best fight to win is the one you never get into. Self-defense starts with getting good sleep, keeping good hygiene, eating well and staying away from mind-altering drugs, excessive booze and dangerous places.
Awareness is important (not paranoia).
Avoidance is important.
De-escalation is important if avoidance is not an option.
Escape is important.
Stay away from places where people chemically alter their brains. Stay away from fringe locations.
To the best of your ability know what your policy is for any given set of circumstances. This takes a lot of practice.
Policy may need to change in a split second. Are you alone? Are you with a child? How severe is the threat or attack? Is there a weapon involved? Is there more than one threat?
Practice martial arts with a “fighting” mindset or a fighting frame of mind. Maintain an understanding of why you practice martial art.
Have a good self defense attorney on retainer. Why? Admitting to self-defense is admitting to a crime. Whether justifiable or not will be left in the hands of others.
Suggested reading:
Rory Miller: “Facing Violence”
Rory Miller: “Meditations on Violence”
Marc MacYoung: “What You Don’t Know Will Kill You”
Marc MacYoung : “In The Name of Self-Defense”
Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder: “The Little Black Book of Violence”
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman: “On Combat”
Gavin De Becker: “The Gift of Fear”
Enjoy your training but remain cognizant as to the reasons why you train.
Sensei Barry John O’Brien, Jr. – Seizon Ryu Combat Jujitsu
Brief Bio’s of Sensei Barry’s instructors.
Sensei Yoichiro Matsumura - 9th dan Judo. NYAC, NYC YMCA and The Martial Arts Studio. Barry was mostly a private student of Sensei Matsumura. As a young boy in Japan, Sensei Matsumura was taught by a student of Professor Jigoro Kano, named Hikoichi Aida. Sensei Matsumura’s technique is flawless.
O’Sensei Richard Lazarus - Dai Nan Wan Ryu Jujitsu. This art was founded by O'Sensei Richard Lazarus in the 1960s. His main focus of study was in Miyama Ryu Jujitsu, learning directly from the famous Antonio Pereira Shinan, founder of this eclectic system. O’Sensei was just the 12th person to earn a black belt under Pereira Shinan, ranked on 12/23/1966. Now this art is practiced all over the world. O’Sensei took his experiences as a police officer working homicide, arson and vice in Fort Apache, South Bronx, NYC, and applied the street to his martial art and his martial art to the street.
Sensei James (Jim) Rivera - Owaza Ju-Jitsu - Sensei Jim was a student of O’sensei Richard Lazarus. Excellent teacher and the man who changed my life. He instilled in me a strong martial artwork ethic that changed my life for the better forever.
Shihan Steven Sciandra - The Martial Arts Studio plus private lessons at Team Combat, until forced to stop due to Covid. He is a gifted athlete and teacher.
Wrestling – Three-time Division One; NCAA with over 100 D1 wins. Taught by Gray Simons (Wrestling Hall of Fame).
Kenpo Karate - Black Belt
Judo Black Belt - Promoted by Master Yoichiro Matsumura
Certified Sayoc Kali Level II Instructor taught by founder Tuhon Chris Sayoc
Kajukenbo – Black Belt Promoted by Sifu Bill Schettino and Sijo Adriano Emperado (one of the founders of Kajukenbo).
Goshin Jujitsu – Black Belt Fifth Degree, Promoted & taught by Master Yoichiro Matsumura.
Frank Bonanno - Dai Nan wan Ryu - Lifelong martial artist who studied under O’Sensei Richard Lazarus, Sensei Jim Rivera and Sensei Matsumura.
Michael A. Alvarez - Miyomoto Muso Ryu Bujutsu. Studied under Antonio Pereira Shinan of Miyama Ryu Ju-Jitsu
Sensei Barry O’Brien’s Black Belt Rank History for lastest Black Belt Ranks earned in a particular art:
- SEIZON RYU COMBAT JUJITSU - 5th Dan; 05/15/2013; Recognized by United States Ju-Jitsu Federation
- US Ju-Jitsu - Black Belt 6th Dan; 06/15/2021 - Awarded by the United States Ju-Jitsu Federation.
- Traditional Kodokan Judo - Black Belt 4th Dan; 06/15/2021 - Awarded by the USA-TKJ - Also Judo - Nidan awarded by Yoichiro Matsumura on 04/07/2012
- Kajukenbo (Emperado Method) - Black Belt 1st Dan; Awarded by Steven Sciandra, Bill Schettino and Vince Black on 04/03/2017 (Recognized by the Emperado Kajukenbo Association)
- Dai Nan Wan Ryu Ju-Jitsu - 4th Dan; Awarded by Frank Bonnanno on 11/17/2011
Goshin Jujitsu - Nidan; Awarded by Steven Sciandra on 05/14/2004
- Owaza Ryu Ju-Jitsu - Shodan; Awarded by Jim Rivera on 01/05/2019
Miyamoto Muso Ryu Bujutsu - Shodan; Awarded by Michael A Alvarez on 07/01/1990
Sensei O'Brien's 1st Dan Black Belt is in Dai Nan Wan Ryu and was awarded to him on 01/12/1987.
Continued Training and Teaching:
In 2020 Team Combat was forced to close their dojo in Massapequa, NY for over a year, due to the Covid pandemic.
Sensei O'Brien continued to teach Jujitsu and judo during the pandemic, free of charge, in a schoolyard located by his house. It was important for Sensei Barry's to keep his students on track with their martial arts studies. Given the hard financial times due to the pandemic, Sensei Barry has not charged his students tuition. He continued to teach despite major emergency surgery to reattach a complete tear of his left quad tendon off his knee that occurred on May 9, 2020.
The good news is that Team Combat is reopen in a new location Barry is now teaching Jujitsu and Judo in the new Team Combat dojo in Lindenhurst, NY. He teaches Jujitsu and Judo to adults and Judo to kids. Although Sensei O'Brien is a martial arts instructor, he has never stopped training and learning. He will forever remain a student of martial art.
He is restarting his private lessons with his instructor Shihan Steven Sciandra, practicing Jujitsu, Judo, Kajukenbo and Dutch-Style Kickboxing, along with knife and stick.
Sensei Barry O'Brien can be contacted at the following address:
E-Mail: finbarjr@reagan.com
Sensei O'Brien's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/finster.mcgee
