Ju-Jitsu history - my version

A Short History of JU-JITSU –

 According to Laura Peil Sensei

As I am an Abstract/ Random Learner I would find it difficult to bore you with dates and timelines, so I wont. Instead I will present a selection of theories based on historical fact.

I cannot profess to know the true origins of Ju-Jitsu, as I was not around at the time. Most of the texts I have read seem to agree that its about 2, 500 years old, originated in India and then passed on to China, Okinawa, and then Japan.

One good hypothesis that I have read is that the take downs and ground work techniques of Ju-Jitsu similar to wrestling could have come from Ancient Greece in the form of Pankrateon. Pankrateon was a sport that involved both boxing and wrestling techniques. It was later overshadowed by the Roman Gladiators, and then banned from the Olympics by Christian leaders of the Roman Empire. Greek customs and ideas spread to India, where Ju-Jitsu's foundation was likely to have been born.

Another theory is that it came from china around the time of the Ming dynasty. The story states that a man named Chen Yuang ping came to live in Tokyo at a Buddhist temple. Here he met three Ronin. Chen Yuang ping told the Ronin about a grappling art he had seen in China. The Ronin were interested and Chen Yuang ping started teaching in Japan, this later became Ju-Jitsu.

A similar story states that Chen Yuang ping introduced an early form of Ju-Jitsu called Kempo that was mainly strikes and this was developed into a more effective art and called Ju-Jitsu.

Another theory is that it came from Chikura Karube a sport wrestling from 200 B.C.

The origins of Ju-Jitsu that I learned while coming up the grades was that Ju-Jitsu could be traced as far back as 712 AD and it was widely practiced by the Samurai warriors. The Ju-Jitsu practiced by the Samurai focused primarily on annihilating the enemy, which led to the development of dangerous and fatal techniques. Of course today the techniques are modified slightly for practice otherwise you wouldn’t have too many people wanting to be your Uke!!! Also we don’t wear armour and as far as I know no one teaches Art, calligraphy, poetry any of the other stuff the Samurai were also masters of in their Dojo today.

My theory is that Ju-Jitsu probably did start in Greece, which spread to India and then China, Okinawa and then Japan. I believe the Samurai used various forms of it on the battlefield and other classes possibly used it to defend themselves too. In fact I think the term Ju-Jitsu was used as a blanket term for martial arts in Japan as the samurai practiced many unarmed arts with emphasis on different aspects of combat.  The various unarmed arts developed into schools (Ryu). One was started by a man called Jigoro Kano. Kano studied two styles of jujitsu Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū and Kitō-ryū. Kano took the bits he liked from these and started Kano Ju-Jitsu which later became Judo.

Another pioneer of Ju-Jitsu was E W Barton Wright he was a railway engineer when Japan was building its railroads in the Meiji era. He was in Japan building railroads and learning Ju Jitsu.  He studied Shinden Fudo-Ryu Ju Jitsu and Kano Ju Jitsu. He returned to London in 1898 and opened his own school (Bartitsu) in 1901. Two instructors that Barton Wright brought over with him were Sadakazu Uyenishi and Yukio Tani; they trained at the Handa School of Ju Jitsu in Osaka.  Once they separated company with Barton Wright they set up their own Ju Jitsu School called The Japanese School of Ju Jitsu, based in London. One of their students was Jack Britten, who went on to set up the Alpha Ju Jitsu Institute in Liverpool.

Since then Ju-Jitsu has spread and there are many different schools. It is difficult to trace particular school lineage, as there are few records. Today some Schools have tried to make Ju-Jitsu a sport, some concentrate more on groundwork, others self defence and a few try to keep the traditional art alive.

Personally I like a mixture, I want to keep the traditional stuff alive but I also believe that Ju-jitsu should keep evolving just as we are evolving.