Simon Ogden – New Zealand Ju-Jitsu Federation

Profile

Senior Ju Jitsu instructor, coach, and mentor with more than twenty years of continuous teaching and leadership in New Zealand’s Ju Jitsu community. Simon is best known as the founder and chief instructor of Jitsu New Zealand, a long‑standing Ju Jitsu, Judo and Aikido teacher in the Wellington region, and a past chairman of the New Zealand Ju‑Jitsu Federation.
Practical, enthusiastic and student‑centred. Simon is described as teaching with humour and an emphasis on keeping the inner curiosity of students alive. His approach blends traditional Ju Jitsu principles with practical self‑defence and cross‑training influences. He has additionally studied a wide range of martial arts including boxing, muay thai, karate, aiunkai, systema, kali, and sambo, and draws on those experiences in his coaching.

Martial Arts Background

Simon started training in Shorinji Kan Ju Jitsu in the UK in 1994 at the UCL Jitsu Club in London. He progressed to teaching roles in the UK before relocating to New Zealand in February 2002 and immediately established a club at the Wellington Judo & Ju Jitsu Academy, inherited from John Haanstra. He currently holds a Rokudan (6th degree black belt) in Shorinji Kan Ju Jitsu and Fuji Ryu Goshindo Ju Jitsu, an
Olivecrona Ju Jitsu Godan (5th degree black belt), a Nidan (2nd degree black belt) in Judo and a Shodan (1st degree black belt) in Aikido. In addition he holds formal coaching qualifications of an NZJJF C4 Expert Instructor accreditation, a Judo NZ Club Coaching qualification, and an NZQA Level 3 Sports Coaching Diploma.

Notable Contributions

Founder and Shihan of Jitsu New Zealand, Simon has been the organisation’s chief instructor and has been the central figure in developing Shorinji Kan Ju Jitsu in this country. He has coached Ju Jitsu for over 25 years and Judo for more than 16 years. Simon has also served in governance roles, including as chairman of the New Zealand Ju‑Jitsu Federation, and was recognised with the NZJJF Outstanding Service Award in 2018.
Simon’s teaching spans club classes, instructor development, and national‑level coaching. He also holds Tertiary Fellow status with the TJF UK and has trained and graded many students to dan ranks in New Zealand.

Order of Sporting Achievement (OSA)

Head of Jitsu New Zealand and Masterton Judo & Ju Jitsu Academy. Presented at Palmerston North, 29 September 2018

Simon’s first encounter with ju-jitsu was Spirit Combat Ju Jitsu in 1992 and in 1994 he began training in Shorinji kan ju-jitsu at The Jitsu Foundation’s University College London club. He achieved shodan (1st degree) in Shorinji kan in 2001 and immigrated to New Zealand the following year. He co-founded Jitsu Australasia with Rowan Searle, inherited the Wellington Judo and Ju Jitsu Academy 2002 and started Masterton Judo and Ju Jitsu Academy in 2010 when he moved to Wairarapa. He is currently graded yondan (4th degree).<br>

In 2003, Simon approached the Sport Ju-Jitsu (NZ) committee to ask if it would extend its leadership to the recreation side of ju-jitsu. The New Zealand Ju-Jitsu Federation was subsequently founded that year and Simon took a place on the committee as the JJ(NZ) CEO until 2008, when he moved back to the UK. He returned to New Zealand in 2009 and was re-elected to the NZJJF committee, taking over many of the IT responsibilities, upgrading the NZJJF website, writing newsletters and spearheading publicity. He has been a committee member since, notably holding the SJJ(NZ) CEO office from 2012 to 2017.<br>

However, Simon’s greatest achievement for the federation was the development of its ju-jitsu-specific Instructors’ Coaching Programme. The C1 Assistant Instructor was rolled out in 2012 with the C2 Club Instructor made available in 2015. The C3 Advanced Instructor course was released in 2017 and, currently, two streams of C4 Expert Instructor (traditional and sporting) are being reviewed before their release. All levels of the programme were researched and written by Simon, with input and review by Doug Bailey. Just this year, Simon completed his C3 Advanced Instructor qualification, the first graduate of the course.

The Instructors’ Coaching Programme has seen almost 30 ju-jitsuka gaining ju-jitsu-specific qualifications and has resulted in improvements in the quality of ju-jitsu instruction, club management and safety in participating clubs. Further, it allowed Simon to instigate the NZJJF Quality Awards in 2015, giving the public an objective means of comparing the quality and authenticity of ju-jitsu clubs. Simon’s service to the New Zealand ju-jitsu community has been immense and his work towards raising the quality of ju-jitsu will be long-lasting.