A Basic History of Jiu-Jitsu

To begin with, there is no clear answer as to how old the principle of Jiu-Jitsu actually is, or how it actually began. However, it very probably began somewhere in the stone age, when some little fellow, very low in the pecking order, found that when he was being bullied, if he shut his fist and struck the bully hard, he had peace. It has always been said that “necessity is the mother of invention”, and nowhere is this more true than in the martial arts. The roots of Jiu-Jitsu, like many of the martial arts, lie not in Japan or China, but as far away as India.

India has always been rich in the ways of the study of life, and the ways of life, and this has led, in the modern day, to myriad religions. But the Indian mind also studied the ways of war and dealing death. From the old books and reference works, we can see that there were many hundreds of schools of thought on the subject of war, and the ways of waging war, also many hundreds of martial arts training schools teaching means of armed and unarmed combat. What we are left with today are a few, survivors of these many schools long ago.

The main Indian martial way is, and was then, Kalari, which is very probably the oldest martial way surviving today. Kalari teaches a complex unarmed defence/offence system, incorporating the use of two short sticks. It also teaches the use of the sword, steel whip (flexible sword), staff, archery, spear, chain and rope. It incorporates many short kicking and punching/hand strikes.

All martial arts can trace their ancestry back, with a little effort, to an Indian warrior priest/monk (Bushi) named Bhoddhidaruma, or Daruma in Japanese. This monk had studied deeply in Kalari, and in his travels he also had the opportunity to study the methods of grappling in Tibet and parts of China. In approximately 600 A.D., he traveled from India to China, where he also began to study the more complex philosophies of the Chinese people. These philosophies he combined with his already established beliefs to form a new, different school of thought in Zen-Buddhism.

The probably inaccurate abbreviation of the beliefs of Zen-Buddhism, as near as I can make it out is “Enlightenment is the ability to see ones self and life as it really is, devoid of sentimentalism and hypocrisy, and the delegation of responsibility to any but ones self.”

Enlightenment comes from deep study, both of the human condition, and all life associated with it.

Bhoddhidaruma settled for a short time in a place called Shaolin (little forest) in China, where he is purported to have meditated, “listening to the ants scream”, as he is supposed to have said.

It is reckoned he spent nine years in this place, and is reported to have spent so long in the same position that his shadow is still visible today on the wall of his cell. Apart from the mental studies, his studies of the physical were equally amazing.

Having already studied the martial arts in depth in India, and having studied the more personal methods of single combat, wrestling and grappling systems prevalent at that time in Shaolin, he began to combine the two systems, forming a new, unheard of, form of combat – incorporating selected forms from the Indian Kalari, Tibetan and Chinese grappling systems, and the mental disciplines of the emerging Zen-Buddhism.

Such was the power of this new form of combat, which he called Shaolinssu (little forest boxing), that all practitioners were taught that it was too dangerous to teach to any but a Zen-Buddhist.
The same principles are taught today in the more modern art of Shorinji-Kempo (founded approx. 1900), a Japanese interpretation of many old and modern systems.

Now we must return to 680 A.D. - Over a period of approximately 10 years, Bhoddhidaruma’s students began to travel, moving away from their home-base in Shaolin. A great new monastery was opened in a place called Shorinji, and here Bhoddhidaruma’s new system was further refined.

For the first time he taught people who were not monks enclosed in the disciplines of the monasteries and Zen-Buddhism. However, the stipulation remained that the art was only to be taught to Zen-Buddhists. In their travels the students began, naturally enough, to teach what they knew to selective groupings. As a result “new” martial arts began to blossom all over China.

This was the development of the martial arts structure in China, which now takes us to Japan.

The teachings of Bhoddhidaruma came into Japan proper, through Korea, between 1165 and 1185 approximately.

The Government in Japan at that time was the Kamakura Shogunate, a military dictatorship, with its headquarters in Kamakura, a sea coast city southwest of present-day Tokyo. They called their government the Bakufu, or tent government, as the Shogun believed that living in the palaces had made the previous governments soft, and to forget what it meant to be a true warrior. This Shogunate (Shogun: great general who subdues the barbarians) lasted from 1185 A.D. to 1335 A.D., and was the flowering of the Samurai ethic. (Samurai: from Samurao, to guard, lit. servant guard.)

The Kamakura Shogunate represented a whole new way of politics for Japan, a veritable phenomenon, a government organization created and totally dominated by members of the Samurai/Warrior class.

From the earliest periods of history up to this point, both civil and military power had been wielded personally by the Emperor(s), assisted by an elaborate Central and Provincial bureaucracy based on the administrative systems in China.

The rising of the Samurai to this peak of power had strange roots.
At the end of the 8th century, the Emperor bestowed the title of Seii-Taishogun (great general who subdues the barbarians) on a court official and promptly sent him off to Oshu Province to conquer the hairy barbarians (the Ainu) in the north. The title, subsequently abbreviated to Shogun, was to figure greatly in later Japanese history, when it designated the military ruler of the nation. But in the 8th century there was no distinct warrior class, although there were many warrior guilds.

During the long years of the Heian period (745-1185 A.D.) when the capital was located at Kyoto, the situation began to change. The court aristocrats, who headed the Chinese style government, began to pay more and more attention to artistic and cultural pursuits, at times going so far as to discourage the learning of any aspects of the martial arts.

They began to neglect their governmental and administrative duties, particularly in the provinces. As a result, with the lack of a military to protect them, there began to emerge a new class of farmer/warrior, commonly referred to as Samurao, or guard.

To avoid tax on their land from a government which otherwise ignored them, the Samurao began to nominally entrust their lands to some powerful Daimyo or Lord, or to a local Buddhist monastery. But, in effect, they constituted private holdings, protected by the Samurao whose name began to change to Samurai: servant warrior.

To strengthen their position, the Samurai began to group together, and then placed themselves in service to one or other of the great clans, or houses. Soon they came to represent a new class of professional warrior, leaving the actual working of the lands to carefully selected stewards who represented the new middle class.

This left the Samurai free to concentrate on the development of the military arts and the ideals of fortitude that go with them.
Foremost among the weapons, which were the instruments of these ideals were the bow (Kyujutsu), the sword (Kenjitsu), Bo and So (spear and staff), and a new system of grappling, learned from mercenary Chinese soldiers, which was adopted, and then adapted by the Japanese and called Hakuda. This point takes us on, once again to 1196, to the Kamakura Shogunate.

Over the years, the Samurai class has had a certain mystique built around them, which makes it appear that they were very much like the Knights of the Round Table; they were hard, honourable fighting men, merciful and very chivalrous, to a fault.

In point of fact this was very probably far from the truth. The Samurai code of honour was Bushido, the way of the warrior, and was built around the Shinto, rather than the Zen philosophy.
Due to their culture, and the age they lived in, they were, in fact, little more than highly paid (sometimes) brutal mercenaries. The reason that so much detail is being given on the Samurai is that, while the Samurai may not have developed Jiu-Jitsu themselves, they were largely responsible, one way or another, for its development.

The first mention of Jiu-Jitsu as Jiu-Jitsu, was a reference from the history of Edo, dated 1196 A.D.. The reference states: “On this day, the birthday of our Lord of Kamakura, two Ken (senior Samurai) demonstrated an advancement in unarmed grappling/combat. They call this method Ju-Jutsu. As the demonstration progressed, it was evident that the Lord of Kamakura was most impressed at this new innovation.

For, while we have seen the traditional methods of Hakuda, this new form did consist of many strange movements of twisting and turning, and locking of joints, as well as many strikes with the open hands and the feet, and of many grips with the fingers which caused obvious pain.

At the end of the demonstration, my Lord of Kamakura called the Samurai and engaged them to teach his house. Their names were Chojun Yoshinsei from Kyoto, and Genji Suzuki from Nagasaki.”

Hakuda was the fore-runner of Kumi-Uchi (grappling), and, as the systems were developed, the Samurai found that certain selected techniques could be used while wearing armour (Kumi-Uchi Yoroi/Yoroi denoting the style of the armour).

It should be noted that Japanese armour was always totally different from European armour. While European armour was made from shaped plates of iron or steel, the Japanese armourer had a lot less refined material to work with, so they used native materials, using iron and steel sparingly.

They made their armour from light materials, leather underbase, then overlaid with laminated strips of bamboo, and, at a later stage of development, overlaid yet again with steel plates. The whole affair was held together by a complex arrangement of lacing, the exposed laces being spotted with drops of molten lead or tin, over wax. They made suits of armour works of art.

The martial arts are forever changing, and this was as true then as it is today, and, as time passed, Kumi-Uchi Yoroi was adapted and changed. The system split into two factions, two separate schools of thought. First, there was the Naga-Te, which was adapted, then absorbed by the Tong of Amida Buddha, an outlawed society of assassins and mercenaries. This society was, in turn, swallowed up by the Fascho-Da, another fanatical outlawed society. From there it was taken in hand and redirected by the then rising Ninjutsu-Kai, yet another assassin society.

In contrast to today, where so-called “Ninja” are crawling out of the wood-work trying to get themselves recognized, the mark of a good Ninja was not how well known he/she was, but, how little known.

The Ninja, as a whole, were thieves, assassins and political agitators. Quite in contrast to the press they receive today, there were people with no honour and no scruples – considering these attributes to be weaknesses.

It was not unknown for a Ninja to accept a cross commission, to kill the two people who hired them. The price of hiring a Ninja to fulfil just one commission could cost a Daimyo the income from his estates for a full year, the price being measured Koku, or measure of rice.

The second school of thought was the Shuri-Te, which comprised of the older schools of Ju-Jutsu and some of the forerunners of modern Karate.

The main differences between the two schools of thought was that while the Ninjutsu schools believed that every action should show a profit, and used the methods of stealth, the dark and silent ways of throat slitting, poisoning and back-stabbing, always avoiding the possibility of direct confrontation. This is a far cry from the ‘superman’ depicted on the film screens!

The Shuri-Te favoured suggestion instead of force, and the bold, direct and forceful methods in the initial onset, followed by more psychological methods, which varied from system to system.

When the divergence from the established systems occurred, the Shuri-Te slogged on with the traditional values, adjusting their systems only when it became absolutely necessary, but, by and large, retaining all the old ways.

Then in 1330 A.D., the Kamakura Shogunate issued the first Kinbu Seisaku (a royal writ forbidding the bearing of arms by any, save the Samurai). This writ was the result of the actions of the Emperor Godaigo, who, at that time, had made several attempts to overthrow the Shogun, Hojo.

The Emperor Godaigo finally toppled Hojo in 1333 with the assistance of the two main Houses, the Taira and the Minamoto, which was no small achievement in itself, uniting the two main clans for anything, as they were always at war with each other. This ended Hojo rule, however, the Samurai ethic reigned supreme until 1887 when Western influences began to change the political structure and methods in Japan.

This led the Shuri-Te to change their systems of combat, as any recognizable weapon was forbidden to a commoner. The peasantry had to develop new weapons systems to defend themselves against both Ronin, (masterless Samurai) and the much more common, but no less dangerous bandits. For example, Sai became the ideal weapon to use against the sword. The sai was an implement used for stretching harness. The Bo, or six foot staff, became the next most deadly weapon to the sword. The bo was used as an aid when walking, like a tall walking stick.

Separate martial arts were also developed from the walking stick (4ft. staff). The So (short fishing spear), Su-Jari (toothed fishing spear), Nawa (the rope), the Gama (chain) replaced the steel whips of India, and Naihu-Do (the Way of the Knife). You cannot ban the use of the knife, as it is the most commonly used tool by Man.

More importantly, as far as Jiu-Jitsu was concerned, the Kinbu-Seisaku had a devastating affect on the unarmed systems, for the unarmed commoner now had to learn to deal, unarmed, against both armed and unarmed attackers. The peasantry had to depend on wandering Bushi (warrior monks) to teach them the basic essentials to build upon.

Now and again, they would be fortunate enough to get a Samurai who would teach them a trick or two, but a Samurai would not teach them anything unless he was in penury.

The Bushi had developed their own systems from the “true” way, and the Samurai systems differed from House to House, but, a basic technique is a basic technique, and, in the final analysis, there are many ways of teaching the same thing. When all is said and done, Jiu-Jitsu is still Jiu-Jitsu.

It only took a short time before the Shogun realised he had made a very serious error of judgement, and far from turning Japan into a nation of unarmed sheep, the writ began to produce some amazing results, as it turned every man or woman who owned a rake (kami), an axe (maskari), or even a simple length of rope, into a warrior who could match, and very possibly defeat, his best Samurai.

Therefore, in 1332, common sense prevailed and he lifted the Kinbu-Seisaku. However, the damage was already done and the martial arts were now, for better or worse, in the hands of the peasantry – the common man, irrespective of religion, caste, or position.

The new systems continued to develop. Some of the old writings of that period mention the founding of the following schools of the new Ju-Jutsu. (Jiu-Jitsu is a bastardization of Ju-Jutsu – the European tongue found it easier to pronounce the “i” sound in the middle of a word than the foreign sounding “u” sound).

1421; Sochin-Kai. 1421; Go-Kan. 1576 Keikyo-Ryu. 1585; Yoshin-Ryu. 1595; Kito-Ryu. 1598; Hakko-ryu.

Ju-Jutsu is given Chinese origins, as, at that time, anything with a Chinese pedigree was considered learned and scientific. There is sufficient evidence to support the proposal that Ju-Jutsu was practiced as first Hakuda, then Kumi-Uchi-Yoroi, then and finally as Ju-Jutsu.

In Japanese culture, Ju-Jutsu evolved in a strife torn Japan, policed by samurai, who needed to restrain or cripple, rather than kill, unless they struck dead, for insult, as was their right.

A more definite version is that the founding of Yoshin-Ryu in 1585. Having studied the modern (at that time) systems of Jumi-Uchi-Yoroi, and the earlier systems of Hakuda, Akiyama, a physician from Nagasaki was caught in the mountains during a blizzard, and discovered the principle of Ju (yielding) while watching the reaction of trees to the elements.

The solid trees like the Oak and the Pine stood erect and were snapped by the weight of snow and the ferocity of the wind. He noticed that the Willow and the Aspen bent before the wind, and, when they became laden down with snow, bent to the ground, shedding the weight, and sprang erect again, undamaged.

From this was born the concept of Ju, “not responding to violence with violence”. The opposite of the dominant “Ken” principle at that time, which is to counter violence with a greater violence.

Many of the histories of Jiu-Jitsu agree on this occurrence as the origin of the term Ju-Jutsu (yielding science), despite the discrepancy in the dates. The principle was adopted with alacrity by the other systems, and within a very short period of time, other systems began to appear.

Hakko-Ryu was “adjusted” using the older system of Hakuda, turned to the “new” principles, and did very well, even up to the present day. Shortly after came the Kito-Ryu system, and later still came Tenjin-Shin yo-Ryu, a branch of Yoshin-Ryu.

As Ju-Jutsu developed and more and more people became proficient in its use, the Zen philosophy, rather than “pure” Buddhism or Shinto became most prevalent, and largely remains so today. Although in the 20th century the philosophical attitudes and religion seem to be regarded as less important, less vital to the art.

One of the main reasons Samurai found for adopting the Zen philosophy rather than any other was the annual tournaments (Basho) held by Royal Decree each year. These tournaments were a far cry from the tournaments of today. The rules were almost non-existent, and the combat continued until one or other of the contestants was killed or maimed past continuing.

The Buddhist ethic forbade the taking of life, any life, and all life was considered sacred. The Zen ethic was not so strict. The tournaments were very important, in that the winners were automatically inducted into the Palace Guard – politically a very desirable place for a member of a Samurai family.

A Samurai was expected to be proficient in all weapons, but the primary weapon was not, as is assumed, the sword, but the bow. That being the case, they were expected to be proficient in the use of the box (kyujutsu), the sword (kenjutsu), the way of the knife (Naihu-Do), 6ft. staff (Bojutsu), swimming in armour (Batjutsu), horse riding and Zen philosophy, and poetry.

Up until the 15th and early 16th centuries, the kicking techniques of Ju-Jutsu had remained basically the same, whereas the Chinese art of Shaolinssu, founded by Bhoddhidaruma, had developed very spectacular, effective and very efficient kicking techniques.

The techniques were far superior to anything on the Japanese mainland (Korean martial systems developed independently both of Japan and China). So it was only natural that a Ju-Jutsu exponent would sooner or later learn to adapt them, then introduce them into the system.

These new techniques were first seen in Japan in a tournament in 1680 “when one Hideyoshi Miyari, in fighting the previous years champion, Takei Suyori, proceeded with many strange and wonderful kicks, to beat suyori Takei to death”.

This, in turn, led to many more advances being made in Ju-Jutsu technique, including the development of Atemi-waza (vital point techniques) developed from Shiatsu, Tsuppari, developed from the slapping techniques from Sumo wrestling, and Ate-waza (hard hand slaps) from Chinese Kempo/Shaolinssu.

From its origins as an effective combat system, Jiu-Jitsu has differed from all other martial arts. As Jiu-Jitsu was not, strictly speaking, a military art, therefore, it is not taught by the military regimented methods of say, Karate, where all students are required to do the techniques exactly the same regardless of each person’s individual physical capabilities.

Jiu-Jitsu is taught today as it has always been taught, as a series of “tricks” of defence/offence. A student, depending on grade, is given up to five “tricks” at a time to practice. All “tricks” are initially learned by rote, and then the student is encouraged to use their initiative, adapting the basic technique to their own physical capabilities/needs, while not losing sight of the basic technique and its relevance.

All these defences consist of breaks on balance, throws and strikes with hands and/or feet, strikes with open hands, elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, ankle spurs, head. Also finger locks, joint locks/holds, head/neck locks, and nerve or vital point strikes.

The next series of major changes in Jiu-Jitsu occurred in the late 17th century and the reason for the first of these changes was the arrival from Portugal of the matchlock rifle, or Ho. The most major effect of this weapon was, strangely enough, on the unarmed systems – the hand to hand systems like Jiu-Jitsu.

The advent of the gun meant that hand to hand combat would be far more limited than before and, when possible, much more savage. The role of the traditional weaponry systems had to change completely (the sword/spear/naginata/knife).

However, the role of Ju-Jutsu was assured as the primary method of unarmed combat, as it was taught to an emerging civilian police force who needed to restrain, more than kill, but would find it necessary to kill as well should the situation warrant it, and Jiu-Jutsu suited this role perfectly.

The reason for the next big change was the arrival in the late 19th century of Admiral Perry, the first American Ambassador, who, having been kept waiting in Yokohama Bay, in true old fashioned Japanese political fashion, for six months, finally lost his temper.

In a fit of righteous anger, he stuck a cannon between Japan’s eyes and said “either awake and join us in the modern world, or we will blow you to the other side of the Pacific Ocean”. (In point of fact, he lost his temper and fired one cannon in annoyance to attract the attention of the Japanese envoy on shore, but the Japanese thought they were firing in earnest). The point was well taken and the awakening was, to say the least, sudden and dramatic.

Seven hundred years of Western development had to be crammed into decades, and it only took four decades before Japan proved herself worthy to join the International Mugging Society by slapping first China, and ten years later, Russia, into a state of political stupor in 1894 and 1904 respectively.

However, back to Jiu-Jitsu, we will go back to 1873 when a Royal edict ended the Samurai charter of rights, the right to wear a sword in public, the right to a state pension, the right to strike dead for “disrespect” and the right to immunity from prosecution for debt and from the process of common law.

This, naturally enough, resulted in a growing discontent among the Samurai, and in 1874 they split into two factions. One group joined the newly established force so that they could continue to wear their beloved swords, for after all, the sword was and still is considered to be the soul of the warrior.

The other group also united and formed Machi dojo, or free gyms, and continued to protest, both verbally and physically about unfairness of the Royal edict until 1877. This is the year in which what came to be known as the Satsuma rebellion took place. The rebellion flared from a protest march in Nara.

The final knell sounded for the samurai that same year when an army of the new militia met and defeated the Samurai, who had a vastly superior force, in a final battle. (The militia was mainly composed of the sons of peasants, merchants and farmers.)

All this directly affected Jiu-Jitsu, as it was now cast out on its own as an independent entity, rather than as an addition to other art forms. After the Satsuma rebellion all the martial arts went into decline. Initially, one of the causes of the decline of Jiu-Jitsu was the anxiety of the Japanese to impress the Westerners, both culturally and economically.

Jiu-Jitsu was considered too hard for the Western mentality. Therefore it would have to be softened if it were to attract the “new” Japanese and the Westerners.

So it was at this time that a young man named Jigoro Kano took up Jiu-Jitsu to help build up his body, which was pitifully wasted due to a very sickly and delicate childhood. Jigoro Kano studied didigently in his chosen art from of Tenjin-Shin-Yo-Ryu system of Jiu-Jitsu, which was an off-shoot of the Yoshin-Ryu system. His instructors were Fukuda and Iso Sensei, and they taught in the Koma Sho Central Martial Arts College in Kyoto. This college was superceded in 1885 by the Butoku Kai. After the death of Fukuda Sensei in 1882, he continued his studies for a time under Iso Sensei and finished his training in the Kuto ryu system under Ikubo Sensei.

In later 1892, the now Doctor Kano began to clarify his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu and the related arts to the point at which he considered he was ready to demonstrate to the public, and to this end he acquired a small room at Eishojii Temple and founded the Kodokan for the study of Judo and Kano Jiu-Jitsu.

In the early stages, there was very little difference between Jiu-Jitsu and the sport of Judo today. On the mechanical level, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu do resemble one another, but only on the mechanical level.

With the vast range of hand/fist/foot/elbow and knee strikes, plus a massive repartoire of throws, locks, chokes and strangles, Jiu-Jitsu combat had to be very tightly controlled. Even so, in consequence, the sparring, whether in competition or otherwise, invariably ended with a death or a serious injury.

Up to this point, no system had reduced its form to the level of Kano Judo (Jiu-Jitsu, still), and Dr. Kano continued to refine his new system, reducing it even further to provide the possibility of competition, removing the more dangerous throws, reducing the severity of some of the locks, removing some of the locks altogether, restricting the use of the restraining locks, and restricting the groundwork, and in the process he created a new SPORT, and not a new martial art.

During the development of Judo, Dr. Kano took great pains to remove any part or element which he considered excessively dangerous, however, other Masters disagreed, and preferred to retain many of the old ways in their systems. They called their system Combat Judo, and operated loosely under the cover of the Jutokukai.

In 1896, after the founding of the Judokan, which was then, and still remains today, the Headquarters of Judo in the world, there was a lot of bad feeling about between the Machi Dojo and the Kodokan, as the Kodokan considered itself superior to all methods which lacked its own characteristics.

There were insults bandied about, and finally a group from the Machi Dojo broke into the Kodokan and vandalised it to provoke a response. The response was in the form of a number of challenge matches. At these matches Kano Judo was always represented by one Sakujiro Yokoyama, the foremost Judo/Jiu-Jitsu exponent of his day, and he always won, not very surprising, as he was also a master of the Aiki aspect of Jiu-Jitsu as well – a bit like using a hammer to crack an egg!

But basically Jiu-Jitsu remained a very silent art, that is, no one talked about it much, but anybody who was anybody in martial arts knew about it. A demonstration was arranged of the Tenjin-Shin-Yo-ryu system and the Yoshin-Ryu system, using the top Jiu-Jitsu exponents of the day. The actual demonstration was shredded by the press.

One noted reporter from the London Times, wrote “This so-called devastating art could be very easily put in its place. If any of these so-called “fighters” were to be pitted against even a third rate wrestler from Devon, it could very easily be shown how the wrong person could be thrown”.
And so the match was arranged, the English were represented by one of the top wrestlers from Yorkshire, and the Japan Society represented by Hironori Ikubo, and Jiu-Jitsu was demonstrated to be a very devastating art, indeed, the wrong person not being thrown.

In 1913, the American armed forces tested and approved Combat Judo for use by their troops, and the British followed suit shortly after. Teddy Roosevelt, the American President, was a Jiu-Jitsu exponent, and was one of the reasons why the Americans developed their own “style” of Jiu-Jitsu:- Juko-Ryu.

In 1920 a Japanese named Gungi Koizumi founded the Budokwai in London, and brought over a leading Jiu-Jitsu exponent, Yukio Tani to teach. He was a very gentle man who became very much respected by the martial arts community as a whole, and he continued to teach in the Budokwai until his death in 1951

Subjects taught in the Budokwai were: Judo, Kyudo, Jiu-Jitsu (Yoshin-Ryu), Hakko-Ryu, Tenjin-Shin-Yo-Ryu and Yagyu-Ryu, as well as Kendo and Zen philosophy. Today, the subjects also include four styles of Karate, Tae-Kwon-do and Tai-Chi-Chuan.

From the beginning, the Japanese have maintained that a martial art, with Japanese origins, should automatically be run by the Japanese, who they consider to be the only true authorities on the art, whether it be Karate, Judo, Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu.

Common sense would dictate that the Japanese lost control of the martial arts when the first “gaijin” with a knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu stepped off the ship in Portugal in the mid 15th century.

However, there are schools of Jiu-Jitsu who teach very much in the old ways, and, as such, it is taught to Europeans with less stress on the Zen philosophy, but much more emphasis on self control and self discipline, as the Zen teachings seem to jar with Western attitudes.

It is an ideal art form for use by the military, as it is used by the S.A.S., who learn Jiu-Jitsu with Bong-Soo-Do and Karate; G.S.G. 9, the anti-terrorist unit in Germany, who learn Jiu-Jitsu with Nin-Jutsu; the British Commandos who were the first military to accept Jiu-Jitsu instruction; the Green Berets in America who have also developed their own system of unarmed combat; Hong-Kong police who use Jiu-Jitsu alongside many forms of Kung-Fu; the San Francisco police who were the first to adopt a Jiu-Jitsu weapon, the Ton-Fa (the word is Chinese, the weapon is not), and quite recently there have been many discussions on the adoption of the use of the Yubi-Bo or finger staff by the police force in England.

As a self defence system, it is second to none, and is taught from the very beginning with this in mind.

Bibliography

There are some aspects of this history which have not been 100% proven. However, they have not been, or cannot be, proven either, so I have taken the diabolical liberty of using them anyway!

The first dubious reference is the reference to Kalari, which came from the Scarlet Book of Edo Province, the diary of Sun Tzu Tzusa, secretary to the Royal court, 629 to 692 A.D.
The second reference is to the origin of the kicking techniques, this was taken from two letters from Hideoshi Miyari to a friend in Sinkiang, Ite Kanawa, and an old book, The Matchless Warrior by Tadaki Kemura.

Books and Reference Materials

Jui-Jitsu Manual for Beginners by Jean Du Bellosar

Modern Jui-Jitsu by Eric Dominy

Jui-Jitsu Today by R.B. Kirk

Ancient Oriental Grappling by G. Hayashi

On Life and Death by Funakoshi Gichin

Go Rin No Sho by M. Mushashi

Unarmed Combat the Oriental Way by Lt. Col. J.B. Harbison

Basic Jui-Jitsu by W.Jay

The Philosophical Outline of Jiu Jitsu

To understand the philosophical principles, it is necessary to look at the religious state of Japan from, the 6th century A.D.

Tradition states that in the mid 6th century, Buddhism was introduced into Japan from Korea. At first, it met stiff competition from the more strongly established Shinto faith, in time, however, it became quite fashionable among the upper classes, and soon the government was taking an active role in encouraging the “new” faith, and even built a temple to the Buddha Vairochana in 749 A.D.

However, Buddhism itself was changing in much the same way as the martial arts.

In 835 A.D., a new school of thought was introduced into Buddhism called the Shingon school, which encouraged the use of song and dance. This was considered an ideal situation for the Samurai who adopted it with alacrity.

Then Zen Buddhism was introduced into Japan in approximately 1220 A.D., and this form of Buddhism, more than anything else was to lay the philosophical guidelines for the various systems of Ju-Jutsu.

Akarue No Chichiki Kan Jiu-Jitsu
Basic Philosophy

Founder John D. Lupton
“Knowledge is not determined by Physical Ability”

No direct confrontation, therefore, no physical harm.
Discussion and reason before action.
Should action be taken, total destruction.
Respect for all the martial ways.
People first, always.