Ju-jitsu

The ju-jitsu , or jūjutsu or jiu-jitsu , gathers techniques of combat which were developed during the feudal era of the Japan to defend oneself when one is disarmed. These techniques are classified in 3 principal categories: Atemi waza (technique of striking); Stroke waza (technique of projection) and Katame waza (technique of control) in order to control an adversary.

In Japanese, 柔術 ( jūjutsu in transcription according to the Method Hepburn) literally means “soft” or “technical art of flexibility” or “method making it possible to use the flexibility as well as possible”. There exist various approximate transcriptions phonetic what explains the various orthographies. The orthography ju-jitsu is used in the French-speaking literature.

At the beginning of the 20th century, people worried about the disappearance of this knowledge, which had with the modernization of the army, and collected the techniques of various schools (ryu) of ju-jitsu to make of it a modern practice, adapted to the new business; thus were born the Judo, the Aïkido or more recently the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. From this fact, the ju-jitsu is often described as “art-mother”.

Note: the ju-jitsu is not at the origin of the Karaté, which is a Chinese technique Okinawa ienne and . On the other hand, before the advent of Tode on Okinawa and the archipèle of Ryukyu, the islanders practiced already a form of “Yawara” from which rises the ju-jitsu and the taijutsu. The Taijutsu and the ju-jitsu of this time were indisociale still of this form of “Yawara”. This taijutsu was a secret method of combat jealously kept by the Royal family of the Islands Ryukyu, the “Motobu”. It was a method included in a style of Ryukyu Kenpo, known today under the name of Motobu Ryu.

The Jujutsu term

The Jujutsu term is composed of 2 Kanji. According to the method of romanisation of Japanese the most spread, the Method Hepburn, these kanji should be defined as follows:

柔 “ Jū ”: slackness, tender, soft, flexible
術 “ Jutsu ”: art, means, technical

The Jujutsu thus results in “ soft art ” or “ the technique of flexibility ”.

Unfortunately, " is rather often found; Art doux" written in an erroneous way, that is to say: “ Ju-jitsu ” or “ Jiu-jitsu ”. This error is often with a bad pronunciation of Japanese by the Westerners. It is even made by large high experts graded in these same arts of engagements, which does not remove of anything, to the competence of these experts. Always according to the Hepburn method, “ Ju-jitsu ” or “ Jiu-jitsu ” would be defined as follows:

柔 “ Jū ”: slackness, tender, soft, flexible
実 “ Jitsu ”: truth, reality, sincerity

It is noticed here that the writing of the kanji “Jutsu” (術) is very different from the writing of the kanji “Jitsu” (実). The Jujitsu would thus be translated in the following way: “ the soft truth ”, “ the reality of the flexibility ” or “ the sincerity of tightening ”, etc What is very far from the method of combat which is the “ Jujutsu ”. Confusion and the bad pronunciation between “Jutsu” and “Jitsu”, go back to the first exchanges of the Westerners with the Japaneses towards the end of the 19th century. For all kinds of reasons, often political, correction with the romanisation brought forever. On the other hand, all use the goods kanji with the Japanese writing of the Jujutsu .

Another characteristic is to be noted about the Hepburn method: it does not use “features of unions” (-), nor of space, to bind two particles spelling-books or two kanji of same words. We write “ Karaté thus” and not “ Kara-té ” or “ Kara t-piece ”, “ Judo ” and not “ Ju-do ”, “ Ju C ”, “ Jiu-C ” or “ Jiu C ” just as we write “ Jujutsu ” and not “ Ju-jutsu ” or “ Ju jutsu ”.

However practice of Jujutsu require more balance that of flexibility.

Origins of Jujutsu

The principal concept of the jujutsu is the jū , literally the “flexibility”, i.e. to avoid the attack and to control it, without opposition of force. By this technique, Ju yoku go O sei suru : the soft one overcomes the hard one.

The known methods of combat as jutsu are old at least 1.500 years. The beginnings of the jutsu can be located in the turbulent period at the Japan which was spread out between the VIIIe and the 16th century. This period knew in Japan of ceaseless civil wars and the systems of classic armament were developed and tested on the battle fields. The techniques of Combat brought closer formed integral part of these systems in order to fight adversaries effectively carrying weapons and armor.

The birth of the jutsu probably coincides with the origin of the class of the Samurai S dated at the year 792. The army was made up at that time of soldiers moving with foot and armed with Javelot S. The officers were recruited among the young people wire of the big families and were trained with the handling of the arc, the command of the troops and also with the combat without weapons. The emperor Kammu built the Butokuden , a formal school for these officers whom one knows under the name of Samurai S.

At the end of the 13th century, the Mongolian try to invade Japan and the samurais defend themselves during years in terrible combat. At the 15th century, the fencing masters established schools in order to teach their style of the Kenjutsu, the art of the sword. Between 1467 and 1477, the war of Ōnin makes rage, this period sees the decline of the capacity of the shoguns and the beginning of the Sengoku Jidai , the “Age of the country in war”, which will last a hundred and fifty years.

The first jutsu Ryu recognized was formed by Takenouchie Hisamori in 1532 and consisted as well of techniques using of the saber, the Bo (Bâton) and of the Tanto (knife-saber) as Combat with naked hands. The jumps and the kicks or were not taught little in the jutsu since the techniques were often intended for combatants carrying a armor and that these techniques are risky and difficult in a situation of street (badly adapted clothing, risk to slip and fall, to be made seize the leg…). The term jūjutsu started to be used towards 1600.

The legend of Doctor Akiyama

It is very a long time lived in Japan a certain doctor Akiyama. At the time of a voyage in China, it made knowledge, in Mandchourie, of a sect nun which practiced a kind of Auto-défense based on the knowledge of the human body. The doctor could not take share with the drives but was authorized to look at the exercises. The discipline, which was called Hakuda , made it possible to be demolished of an armed adversary and obviously more extremely. Of return to Japan, it tried to teach these techniques with its family. But as it had not practiced, it did not include/understand the basic principle of the hakuda . This principle, it found it in a very natural way. It noted that during the winter, the large branches of the Chêne break under the weight of snow, whereas the fine branches of the willow yield and reject snow. Here what was the spirit of the hakuda : to employ the violence and the weight of the adversary to embank it. It named this new method of combat the jūjutsu , soft art.

Note: one finds the bending of the branches under snow in the legend of the creation of the judo, but the observation which is made by it is allotted to a monk.

Period Edo

In 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa form a military government and brings back peace and economic stability and policy in the country. This marked the beginning of the period Edo (1603 - 1868). Under the direction of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the company was divided into four classes: the Samurais, Country S, the Craftsman S and commercial S. Only the samurais were authorized to carry two swords, the Wakizashi (short sword) constantly and the Katana only outside. This period of peace presented a problem for the samurais who for lack of battles did not have any more incomes. To make another thing would have made them lose their statute to lower them with a lower row. The samurais without Master became Rōnin S. The government tried to help them in their allotting subsidies and pushing them towards education. Many samurais became professors of Martial arts, but learning then from the styles without weapons. These styles without weapons were developed starting from the styles of armed combat and were collectively called jūjutsu . During the apogee of the Edo period, there were 725 officially recognized styles. These styles differed according to whether they were centered more on the kicks, punches, projections or the keys.

Restoration Meiji ( Meiji Jidai or Meiji Ishin )

Most of the population started to feel oppressed by the mode of the Tokugawa and more particularly the growing class of the merchants who wanted to increase his contacts with the America and the Europe. In 1868, the mode of the Tokugawa collapses at the time of a civil war known as the Meiji restoration. This marked the end of the period Edo, the capacity left the shogun to be allocated to the emperor. As most of the class of the samurais supported the shogun, this one was dismantled by the emperor Meiji who introduced the “imperial Oath of the five articles”. The class of the samurais thus lost his privileged position when feudalism was abolished in 1871. In 1876, Meiji proclaims a law prohibiting the port of the swords, the ultimate symbol of the warrior. The dissatisfied samurais fomented many rebellions during the Années the 1870, most famous was carried out by the hero of the restoration Takamori Saigō. They were repressed with great difficulties by a lately formed national army. The samurais had definitively lost their profession and their right to carry the swords. Their higher social position was repealed after more than thousand years of existence.

The Japan carried out its total rebuilding in a few decades. Retrospectively, it seems to have been as fast as radical. However, the changes do not take place day at the following day, but by successive and moderated rehandlings systems in place. The rehabilitation of the Tennō , which hardly had of imperial than the name, was the principal vector. The first reform consisted in redesigning the administrative and social structures. As of 1870, the Daimyō were dispossessed as of the their strongholds, replaced by prefectures, and the peasants could buy grounds. The samurais had to give up the port of the Daisho . Reduced to the row of ordinary citizens, they lost same blows any privilege economic. But if the revenues of the lords decreased, they were still sufficiently high so that these modernistic reforms are not accompanied, like elsewhere, a violent one sudden starts.

expansionist Period

An imperial edict declared criminal the practice of the old styles of martial arts. However, certain Masters continued to practice their art in secrecy or expatrièrent themselves to allow their style to perpetrate itself. It is only later, following the end of the American occupation in 1951 that the round of applause on the jutsu was raised, allowing a free practice of Article.

contemporary Period

During the American occupation, the various styles of jutsu were banished because it was thought that they could contribute to Japanese militarism. From this moment, style of C , more centered on self-control and of its aggressiveness (from a point of view of peaces that the others practical sporting divide), and rising from the jujutsu gained in popularity (Judo, Aïkido). The jujutsu was not essential like sport also easily, of this fact the competition plays only one minor part there.

The jujutsu was exported and taught by a Japanese immigrant with the Pardoned Brésil with the Famille; it became over there a practice close to the free Combat, that one names Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

In France, he is taught in clubs affiliated to the French federation of Judo, “ Jiu Jitsu ”, Kendo and associated Disciplines. One finds there the two aspects of technique of coil-defense and sport.

In the beginning, traditional teaching in the form of coil defense was majority in France. For a few years, the fighting system has developed in parallel of the duet system. The duet system corresponds to the technical expression. The demonstrations and competitions are done by mixed couple or not and require a high degree of accuracy of movement and muscular intensity/explosion. The fighting system is the shape of combat being held in 3 parts not hyerarchized in time: foot-point, projection and tender. To gain a combat it is necessary to mark a ippon in each part (full ippon). This modern form is aggressive and evolves/moves very quickly, integral of the techniques of grappling or fight to gain in effectiveness. For certain combatants it is an alternative interesting or a springboard for the free combat.

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