Jujutsu has become more or less a household name for martial arts. This is mostly due to some pretty fantastic branding and promotion over the years by the Gracie family as well as other masters of the art. Brazilian Jujitsu is offered in just about every state, every major city in America and all over the world. And some pretty influential celebrities apparently train in the art, people like Mark Zuckerberg, Keanu Reeves and Ed O'Neill. It's a tough and competitive sport, a natural go-to for retired collegiate wrestlers and MMA fighters looking to enhance their "ground game."
BJJ is fun and fascinating to watch. There is a supreme amount of technical skill as well as physical stamina involved in this sport which has its roots in Judo. That fact, by the way, explains why it has become so popular. Interested? Give me a couple minutes.
Jigoro Kano, the founder of Japanese Judo, was an educator and jujutsu master whose family had been heavily involved in the art for many years. Judo was one of the first modern martial arts offered to the general public in Japan shortly after the Meiji Restoration in the latter part of the 1800s, which brought an end to the military class, aka the samurai. We can only imagine the huge cultural shift that happened when Japan's class system of government, in place for almost 300 years, swiftly changed to a monarchy. And of course, you suddenly had a bunch of out-of-work samurai warriors whose entire lives revolved around fighting skills. Hence, the beginning of modern Japanese martial arts (budo) such as judo and kendo.
But how did judo become so popular so quickly? Well, Kano Sensei took many of the vicious throws, joint-locks, pins, and chokes designed to break bones and kill an adversary and changed their nature. Throws, for example that were originally designed to land a person on his head and break his neck were altered so that he could land safely and train vigorously. Train vigorously...that is a fundamental concept of Japanese Budo. Kano developed the ranking system and basic uniform, (gi) used in most martial arts today. He also helped developed a point system for contests. The central theme of budo, especially in contact sports like judo, kendo and karate-do is self-perfection first, self-protection second. There was no longer a need, or a societal tolerance for warriors to develop lethal skills. That was a job for the military armed with guns and cannons. The new government of Japan wanted a peaceful society.
During Japan's cultural shift, there were a plethora of martial arts schools opening up, offering combat skills to the general public for the first time ever. Many of those were schools of jujutsu, and invariably, there were a lot of young men influenced by the past warrior culture, now emboldened and educated with the same lethal skills their forefathers had. And they started to use them in street brawls and local contests that often resulted in severe injury and death. The new government wasn't pleased and shut most of those schools down. If you wanted to take all of your testosterone and angst to a dojo, it was going to be judo, kendo and eventually, karate-do. The modern and acceptable form of civilian close-quarter combat. Did guys still get hurt? Sure. But all under the confines of the central theme: self-perfection first.
I didn't realize how much of an influence judo had on modern forms of jujutsu until I lived in Japan. In the United States, I studied a relatively new form of jujutsu, a derivative of Danzan Ryu created by Professor Seishiro Okazaki, and I thought it was authentic Japanese Jujutsu. Well, not really. I mean, there are some pretty devastating techniques, but this modern adaptation was primarily designed for street fighting and had strong ties to judo. A lot of guys I knew wanted to compete, so they trained in judo and jujutsu simultaneously, though my jujutsu teacher warned us not to do so. "Judo will mess up your jujutsu" he'd often say. Why? Consensual fighting. Same with karate and I believe, same with kendo, though I've never trained in the art. In short, if you want to be competitive and not get your "clock cleaned," (sorry, old-school reference), you need to train for an equally skilled, equally matched opponent.
Let me give you an example. The predominant form of Japanese Karate is Shotokan. Modern Shotokan is based in very powerful strikes, exquisitely performed kata (it's beautiful, really) and expert point-style fighting. And looks absolutely nothing like original karate from Okinawa that contained joint breaks, neck breaks, take-downs, eye gouges and groin shots. Like older forms of karate, Japanese jujutsu is kind of, well, boring. Straight and to the point. Most older forms of jujitsu were performed on a wood floor...not on tatami mats. That's because dudes weren't taking 30 or more falls in a single session. You had an attacker and a defender. The techniques were simple and direct and you trained methodically in order to take a life and save your own. Jujutsu and Aikijutsu (Aikido) were the methods a warrior used when he lost his sword or was too close to use one. And because his adversary was going to be in some form of armor, striking was not the best bet in most cases. If you were lucky, you were able to dodge a sword attack, take down an assailant and break his neck or stab him with your wakizushi, or short sword. You did not tie him up into a neat little ball and you didn't roll around. That would be tough in armor.
I like to think the karate and jujutsu we offer is a healthy mix of useful and reliable techniques that, with vigorous and meaningful training, will enhance your life (self-perfection) while helping you to protect it and those you love. Your art, not matter what it is, is only as good as the reps you put in. If it's nothing more than an occasional hobby, chances are, if you are ever in a contest or confrontation...you'll get your clock cleaned.
Dave Magliano
Tatsu Dojo
Jissenkan Budo
Dojo Cho