Jujutsu - The Gentle Art of Self Defense

 

                                            

      Jujutsu was the unarmed combat art of the Bushi, the Nobility and the Warriors of feudal Japan. Along with the right to wear swords, training in the Warrior Arts, weapons, tactics, and spirit was pretty much confined to the Bushi. The Samurai were the most sophisticated and fearsome Warriors of their time.

   “In aggregate, Jujutsu could be defined as an art or technique to attack barehanded or with a short weapon or to defend himself from an opponent barehanded or with the weapon.” Kano Jigoro.

   With this definition the Founder of Judo summarized the broad spectrum of technique that is Jujutsu. This includes throwing, striking vital centers, joint twisting, joint locking, choking, arresting and restraining techniques. Training in safe falling, footwork and body management, even mind control are all encompassed in Jujutsu.
   Jujutsu is about self defense. In traditional Japanese Jujutsu there are no rules of competition, no unfair techniques, and no targets off limits. Classical Jujutsu is not contested. The techniques are such that the risk of injury is unacceptable.
   Though not restricted by rules or defined by technique, Jujutsu is guided by principles. Among these principles are:

    Ju - soft, gentle, yielding.
    “Yield and overcome, bend and be straight.” Lao Tsu
    Jujutsu is literally the art of yielding. Often described as using an opponents force against himself. Deflecting, avoiding, and redirecting an attack allow a weaker smaller force to overcome a stronger greater one. Bamboo in a hurricane is laid over by the wind, but straightens when it passes, while mighty oaks are broken. Flexibility, mental and physical, is a great asset.

    Restraint - to use force only when necessary, and only as much as necessary.
   In a society of sword armed Warriors, Bushido, like the code of Chivalry in Medieval Europe, provided a framework for honor, reason, and virtue, and discouraged excess and abuse of power. The skills of Jujutsu allowed a warrior to defeat unarmed attackers, or unworthy opponents without the dishonor of having to use lethal force, or draw his sword.
    For us refraining from unwarranted aggression or overreaction is the responsibility that comes with the privilege of learning this art.
    Our Bushido includes a simple Budo pledge.
    I will never use my Budo ability to injure or intimidate another person unless necessary to defend myself or others.
    I will never demonstrate my Budo ability in an arrogant or aggressive manner.
    I will practice Budo with care and respect for myself and others.
    I will teach Budo only with the knowledge and consent of my Sensei.
    I will respect my art and obey my Sensei

    “To win a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the highest skill. To overcome an enemy without fighting is the highest skill.” (Sun Tzu).
    A fight is over when you can safely walk away.

    Zen - meditation. A word associated with Zen Buddhism, but meditation is a stand alone principle, not specific to any philosophy or religion. The regular practice of meditation should be an integral part of Jujutsu training. While the ideal of meditation is enlightenment, the virtues and benefits of meditation are many and practical.
Managing ones negative emotions so that fear doesn’t devolve into panic, nor anger become rage.
Quieting the mind, helpful at any time, essential when dealing with urgent situations, allows clear sight, heightened awareness, spontaneous reaction.
Integrating body, mind and spirit.
    It is a Samurai maxim that “The spirit, controls the mind, controls the body.”
    Training the body, practicing until technique be comes reflexive. Seeking knowledge and wisdom. Meditating regularly. These are the practices that bring mind, body and spirit into harmony.

    Ki - the power of the Spirit.
    When we act without inhibition or reservation, either through training, or in desperation, we are capable of extraordinary feats. The power we access, called Ki in Japanese (Chi in Chinese), is demonstrable, if quasi mystical. Ueshiba created Aikido, developing many exercises to enhance and demonstrate the power of the spirit. Ki flows in all of us. When our motives are free of ego and inhibition we can direct and apply a higher power.
 
    Rational technique. For it to be Jujutsu, a technique must be effective, efficient, and appropriate.
    Effective - it only counts if it works.
    Efficient - the maximum effect with the minimum effort.
    Appropriate - necessary and sufficient to meet the needs of the situation.

   A little historical perspective
   In the 12th century Minamoto no Yoritomo defeated the Taira clan and consolidated his power as the first Shogun (warlord) of Japan. A form of warrior wrestling (sumai) was then practiced by the Samurai. According to some accounts the personal army of Yoritomo, Ainu from the island of Hokkaido, were trained in a Ju, or gentle, form of self defense inherently so superior it was rapidly adopted by the Bushi.
   Jujutsu evolved for over the next 300+ years under several names and schools, or family systems, called Ryu.
In the 16th century Takenouchi Hisamori, founder of Takenouchi Ryu Jujutsu, attempted to chronicle and consolidate the schools and styles including Taijutsu, Taido, Wajutsu, Jujutsu, Aikijutsu, and Yawara  under the Jujutsu name. The art continued to flourish until the end of Japan’s feudal period and the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
   As one of the Bugei arts that were the combat training of the Samurai, Jujutsu had been taught in secrecy and only to the Bushi class for hundreds of years. With the end of feudal Japan many of the hundreds of Jujutsu and Bujutsu schools fell into obscurity. Others quietly kept their legacy alive.  
   Kano Jigoro, a master of Kito Ryu and Tenshin Shinryu Jujutsu, founded the Kodokan in 1875. Preserving the spirit of Jujutsu while limiting the more dangerous techniques by rules of competition Kano created the first Budo (modern Japanese martial art). Judo, the way of gentleness, was taught openly to Japanese and westerners alike. Yamashita Yoshiaki, an inner student of Kano, brought Jiu Jitsu* to the United States at the outset of the 20th century, training President Teddy Roosevelt himself as well as many of his family and staff.
                                                                     
    At about the same time Mitsuyo Maeda, Kodokan trained, emigrated to Brazil where he taught Carlos Gracie and others. In recent years Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has emerged as a combat sport, emphasizing and refining the Katame Waza (matwork), or grappling aspects of the art. The success of the Gracies and their students in UFC competition and other submission grappling venues in the past two decades has propelled BJJ to prominence as a recent addition to the modern sport forms. 

    Ueshiba Morihei, a student of Jujutsu and protege of Takeda Sokaku, founder of Daito Ryu AikiJutsu, taught the style while training as a Shinto Priest. From his Jujutsu and spiritual training Ueshiba created another Budo art, Aikido, the Way of Oneness with the Spirit, and founded the Aikikai Hombu. Ueshiba, too, believed in teaching Aikido to any sincere student. Shihan Goody studied at the Hombu under Ueshiba, and was one of the first two Americans he ever certified as Sensei.
   
    * Judo, Aikido, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu all are direct descendants of Jujutsu. In the early twentieth century Kodokan Jujutsu was interchangeable with Judo. The variant spellings (ju jitsu, jiu jitsu) attempt to Americanize the translation from Kanji into Romaji.