Frequently Asked Questions

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Dojo history

What is ju-jitsu?

Ju-jitsu means "gentle art" or "yielding art". As a tree bends before a strong wind, so does a practitioner of ju-jitsu yield to his opponent's force and use it to his opponent's disadvantage. Ju-jitsu developed over many centuries among the Samurai warriors in feudal Japan. Combat ju-jitsu is a very effective self-defense system which employs strikes, throws, joint-locks, pressure points and ground-fighting techniques.

Ju-jitsu can be defined as various armed or unarmed fighting systems which can be applied against armed or unarmed aggressors. It has its historical roots in ancient Japan.

It is a "no holds barred" type of fighting method where winning at any cost is the rule. Its methods include kicking, striking, throwing, choking, joint locking, and the use of weapons, as well as holding and tying an enemy. Atemi, the method of striking the weak points (kyusho), is an important aspect of the system.

Generally, ju-jitsu is not a major offensive art. However, it has both offensive and defense techniques. It is naive to restrict techniques to defensive tactics alone, because a strong offense is at times your best defense.

Combat ju-jitsu was always a secondary system to the Japanese Samurai; it complemented his sword technique. Kenjutsu (sword fighting) had close-in empty hand techniques before that art became known as ju-jitsu.

The two Japanese characters for ju-jitsu give some insight into this martial art.

"Ju" is a character meaning pliable, submissive, adaptable, or yielding. The most common translation of "Ju" as "gentle" is usually incorrectly perceived by the Western mind as "soft" or "weak". The techniques are not gentle, but are better described as being flexible. An enemy who attacks with powerful, focused technique will not be turned aside with gentle technique.

When the suffix "Jutsu" or "Jitsu" is included in a fighting method's name, it denotes a fighting art. These fighting arts were used by Japanese warriors to develop complete fighting skills for use in combat. Some examples are kenjutsu (sword), kyujutsu (archery), bo-jitsu (stick), bajutsu (horsemanship), sojutsu (spear), and ju-jitsu.

Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts, Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith