I was reading about Wado Ryu, and I think is said it's founder started off his Martial Arts career in Ju Jitsu. Then he started training in Shoto Kan, just cause he wanted to add more powerful striking.
So what is a typical Wado Ryu class like? I have done Shoto Kan for a year, and Ju Jitsu for a couple of months. They both had different feels to them. How does Wado Ryu compare to them?
I've been training in this style for quite a while, and train in Jujutsu as well (Hakko-ryu, KJJR and many others), so I can offer a bit of my experience in this one.
Wado-ryu, in the
higher levels, includes a set of techniques called
"Wado-ryu Jujutsu Kenpo", which is really a collection of Jujutsu techniques taken (mostly) from Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu. The collection of Jujutsu techniques is arranged into several 2-person Katas, each Kata has from 5 to 10 Jujutsu techniques in it. Most Wadoka will begin learning the set by doing the
Idori no Kata, which is taken from the kneeling defenses of Shindo Yoshin-ryu. Then the next set are usually the
Joshi Goshinjutsu, a set of standing throws, locks and strikes intended for women self-defense. After that, usually the
Nage-Gyakunage follows, this is a handful of throwing techniques. After that, the
Tantodori, which are several techniques for defending against knife attacks. After learning the Kata, then we are entering the realm of
Ohyo (application), where each technique can be applied to many situations, thus making the possibilities nearly..endless.