What is Jujutsu?

[thefearofme]

Friends of mine are learning Jujutsu and want to know what is Jujutsu? What types of movements and techniques does it contain, as a Wing Chun practitioner I would like to know if I may combine the skills of Wing Chun with Jujutsu.

 

[Chris Parker]

Oh boy. You ready for this? Okay....

Jujutsu is a generic term first used to describe unarmed or lightly armed methods associated with the Japanese Samurai, although it was by no means an exclusive term. Other terms included wajutsu, yawara, yawaragei, te, karate, judo, taijutsu, hade, wa, goho, dakentaijutsu, katchu yawara, yoroi kumiuchi, kogusoku, koshi no mawari, and others. Add to this the fact that even if different systems use the same terminology, that doesn't mean the technical aspects are teh same, or even similar.

Being a Japanese system, there will be a prevalence towards grappling techniques (stand up, rather than ground work), although striking will also be taught, depending on the system itself. But again, this will depend mainly on the system itself.

Two main groupings to look at (in terms of the Japanese systems.... I'll deal with the other in a moment) are Koryu and Gendai systems. Koryu systems predate the Meiji Restoration (pre-1862), and Gendai systems are ones that came afterwards. Many Koryu systems may have a Jujutsu syllabus within their teachings (Katori Shinto Ryu teaches Yawaragei at a high level, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu has a Jujutsu syllabus at a high level, Yagyu Shingan Ryu has a large number of Jujutsu sections within it's teachings as well as it's weapon techniques) or are focused on Jujutsu as a primary teaching, often with weapons as well (such as Takenouchi Ryu, Kito Ryu, Tenshin Shinyo Ryu, and others).

The origins of these systems and their Jujutsu teachings often refer to application on a battlefield if you lose your weapons, although later systems (after the Tokugawa Shogunate took over around 1608), being removed from the use on a battlefield, focused more on the unarmed section itself. Some of these became "commoner's yawara, or jujutsu", being slightly simplified versions of the older samurai systems taught as a means of income to the samurai who no longer had wars to occupy them.

The Gendai systems often have their roots in Koryu (or Koryu-related) arts, such as Judo (from Kito Ryu and Tenshin Shinyo Ryu) and Aikido (from Daito Ryu Aikijutsu, with influence from Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu, Kukishin Ryu, and a few others) and so on. Another fairly commonly encountered modern system is Hakko Ryu, which has a few off-shoots as well.

A third variant on this idea is the Ninjutsu-realated systems, who teach a range of older jujutsu-style systems from a range of backgrounds, but in a Gendai integrated format (especially the Bujinkan).

Then you get your Western systems who use the name Jujutsu (or a variant of it). These include Danzan Ryu and Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ). BJJ is very well known these days, and comes directly from Kosen Judo (essentially, High School Judo) when Kano Sensei sent a number of representatives out in the world to spread his art, and one of the main proponents of Kosen Judo (Maeda) came to Brasil. He taught a family called the Machados, and their cousins the Gracies, the Kosen form of Judo, which emphasised ground work over throws and stand-up grappling. It evolved in Brasil, and became what is found now.

So, to sum up, Jujutsu refers to a Japanese or Japanese-influenced (or based) unarmed or lightly armed method of combat which is most likely grappling based, but may be more focused on striking, or at least integrate striking... then again it may have none at all! It really depends on the system itself. So, if you could provide that detail, we may be able to give you a more specific answer.

 

[Tanaka]

If I may add to Parker san.
Jujutsu was also used not just for if you didn't have your weapons.
But also along side of weapons. Modern gendai schools place heavy emphasis on unarmed combat, because it's being taught to the non fighting man. In feudal times Jujutsu was taught along with weapons. If you watch videos or seminars from Takenouchi-ryu. You'll see that they used grappling to submit an opponent to the ground. And then shove a weapon into the openings of the armor. There wasn't as much "ground fighting" back then, because if you hit the ground you were most likely finding a weapon inside of you.

I really like this video to demonstrate what Jujutsu was in feudal times.

(If you want to see the demonstration done in armor skip to 2:30)

Now that's Koryu.
If you live in western civilization. You most likely are to run into a western jujutsu school. A big way to tell is normally their spelling of "Jujutsu."
You'll see them spell it as Jujitsu or JiuJitsu.
99.999% of the time this will not be actual Japanese Koryu Jujutsu.

 

[Chris Parker]

Yep, that's why I said (twice) that it is an unarmed or lightly armed form of combat, as well as giving examples of each form in Koryu (weapons with some Jujutsu, Jujutsu with some weapons, and Jujutsu incorporating weapons).

Love the clip, though. Takenouchi Ryu is a favourite of mine, and was highly instrumental in the development of the Takagi Ryu lineages, so I'm always happy to see it!

 

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Friends of mine are learning Jujutsu and want to know what is Jujutsu? What types of movements and techniques does it contain, as a Wing Chun practitioner I would like to know if I may combine the skills of Wing Chun with Jujutsu.

Since Chris gave you a good breakdown, I'll go after your 2nd question.

If you have a good base of proficientcy in WIng Chun, then yes after serious Jujutsu training you can find ways they will help each other.
They are very differnt but I actually think that is a good thing, trapping and verticle punches are a nice addition to one's arsenal.

 

[Mark Jordan]

Yes, I think these two arts are compatible. The close range trapping is a good transition to groundfighting/takedowns.

How long have you been doing Wing Chun? If you have not developed much in this art stick to this Wing Chun first -learn as much as you can especially because a lot of important things are developed/or seen only after years of studying. Studying 2 styles at once can actually hinder your ability to be good at either. So stick with Wing Chun first and if you think you are ready to venture into Jujutsu and if good instructors are available to you then go for it.

 

[thefearofme]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.
I have been doing Wing Chun for a few months now, and I will concentrate all my mind in studying Wing Chun. But the thought of learning another martial art is after I get really good in Wing Chun. I just want to learn more about every martial art and study them to combine them with Wing Chun.

 

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.
I have been doing Wing Chun for a few months now, and I will concentrate all my mind in studying Wing Chun. But the thought of learning another martial art is after I get really good in Wing Chun. I just want to learn more about every martial art and study them to combine them with Wing Chun.

That is a good outlook.
I am a big fan of crosstraining but I also beleive it is best to have a primary art base.