Jujutsu

“ Associated with sword-play was an art variously known as shinobi, yawara, and jujutsu, names which imply the exertion of muscular force in such a manner as to produce a maximum of effect with a minimum of effort, by directing an adversary’s strength so as to become auxiliary to one’s own. ”

“ Professional wrestling-matches60 continue to draw large crowds to see the huge masses of flesh measure their strength and skill. Jūjutsu is a kind of wrestling in which skill and dexterity are more important than mere physical strength.61 Sleight-of-hand performers and acrobats are quite popular. ”

“ Once the wrist, ankle, neck, arm or leg of an assailant is firmly grasped so that added force will dislocate it, there is nothing for the seized man to do, in case he is still on his feet, but go to the floor, often being thrown clean over his opponent’s head. A fall of this kind does not necessarily mean defeat, for the struggle proceeds upon the floor, where indeed most of the combat takes place, and the ju-jutsu expert receives a long training in the art of falling without injury. ”

“ Many writers translate the term ju-jutsu “to conquer by yielding” (Jap. ju, pliant) , and this phrase well expresses a salient characteristic of the art, since the weight and strength of the opponent are employed to his own undoing. When, for example, a big man rushes at a smaller opponent, the smaller man, instead of seeking to oppose strength to strength, falls backwards or sidewise, pulling his heavy adversary after him and taking advantage of his loss of balance to gain some lock or hold known to the science. ”

“ Jiujutsu is the old samurai art of fighting without weapons. To the uninitiated it looks like wrestling. Should you happen to enter the Zuihōkwan while jiujutsu is being practiced, you would see a crowd of students watching ten or twelve lithe young comrades, barefooted and barelimbed, throwing each other about on the matting. The dead silence might seem to you very strange. No word is spoken, no sign of approbation or of amusement is given, no face even smiles. Absolute impassiveness is rigidly exacted by the rules of the school of jiujutsu. ”

“ Before paying much attention to the tricks of combat the American student of the art should, after observing the first requirements of bodily health, practise long and assiduously at the resistant and other exercises that harden the muscles and bones. Too much time cannot be spent in this manner. The fighting tricks of jiu-jitsu, if attempted by those who have not yet taken the trouble to toughen the muscles and harden the bones, are certain to result in lameness—perhaps severe strain. ”

“ One bright fellow discovered that by pressing thumb or fingers against certain muscles or nerves momentary paralysis could be produced. He also discovered that by employing the hardened edge of his hand to strike a piece of bamboo at a certain angle of impact he could break the stick. If he could paralyse his own nerves and muscles, why not another's? If he could break a stick by a sharp blow with the edge of his hand, why could he not train himself in the same way to break the arm of a dangerous antagonist? And that was the beginning of the creation of the science of jiu-jitsu. ”

“ It is to the persistent practice of Jiu-Jitsu that the Japanese owe their courage and success in battle, their almost superhuman strength and power of endurance, their low death rate and their material progress. Surely a system of physical training which has done so much for the Island Nation will interest you. Jiu-Jitsu not only embodies the ideal principles of attaining perfect health and perfect physical development, but as a means of self-defense it is as potent at short range as the deadliest weapon. ”

“ I noticed at the Judo the small waists of all these people; they breathe always from the abdomen. Their biceps are not specially large, but their forearms are larger than any I have ever seen. I have yet to see a Japanese throw his head back when he rises. In the army they have an indirect method of getting deep breathing which really goes back to the Buddhist Zen teaching of the old Samurai. However, they have adopted a lot of the modern physical exercises from other armies.
The gardens round here are full of cherry trees in blossom—and the streets are full of people too full of saké. ”

“ On certain days the wrestlers appear all dressed up in their ceremonial clothes and give a dance.
Ordinary wrestling, or sumo, must not be confused with the more scientific form known as judo, or more commonly, jiu-jutsu, which has been introduced to some extent in our own country. Here weight and strength count for little in comparison with skill and adroitness. While ordinary wrestlers are perfect mountains of men, some of the cleverest exponents of jiu-jutsu are quite small. ”

“ Jiujutsu may be briefly defined as an application of anatomical knowledge to the purpose of offense or defense. It differs from wrestling, in that it does not depend upon muscular strength. It differs from other forms of attack in that it uses no weapon. Its feat consists in clutching or striking such part of the enemy’s body as will make him numb and incapable of resistance. Its object is not to kill, but to incapacitate one for action for the time being. ”

“ In the second place, Japanese wrestling has for its object the development of strength in excess of that of an adversary, whereas ju-jutsu seeks primarily to divert an adversary's force into directions fatal to his own equilibrium. So essential is the difference between the two arts that while success in wrestling depends theoretically on preponderance of force on the side of the victor, success in ju-jutsu is promoted by preponderance of force on the side of the vanquished. A skilled wrestler of great thews fares worse than a feeble tyro at the hands of a ju-jutsu expert. ”

“ The possession of acquired agility teaches the student another valuable trick of attack. This is for him to crouch as if intending an attack at the knees, and then, as his opponent bends to meet him, to rise suddenly and make the attack upon the upper body of his descending enemy. Just as there are no "fouls" in the Japanese method of combat, so all the highest development of the art of jiu-jitsu is based upon the employment of the utmost degree of deception. ”

“ It will be seen that a victory in ju-jutsu does not mean that the opponent shall be placed in some particular position, as in wrestling, but in any position in which his judgment or knowledge tells him that, unless he yields, he will suffer a disabling injury. This difference existed between the wrestling and the pancratium of the Olympic games. In the pancratium the fight went on until one combatant acknowledged defeat, but, although many a man allowed himself to be beaten into insensibility rather than suffer this humiliation, it was nevertheless held to be a disgrace to kill an opponent. ”

“ A wrestler who can lift up a big stone, or catch hold of a bull by its horns, would be easily beaten by a youth of fourteen scarcely able to lift a small cannon ball, provided the boy were well trained in jiujitsu. In wrestling, therefore, all jiujitsu tricks are forbidden. This will explain why no Occidental, even a champion wrestler, has ever succeeded in defeating a Japanese jiujitsu man. Perhaps you remember one of our jiujitsu men, who is in England, won the Gold Championship Cup last year, and yet in Japan he is not considered a first-class man in [Pg 100] the art. ”

“ Of course the combatants in both exercises strive to get the upper hand of each other, but the great difference is that the wrestling relies chiefly on strength, whilst jiujitsu depends on all sorts of tricks, based upon a careful study of physical organism, and therefore physical strength may be said to be of little value, nay, in truth, it uses the strength of the opponent against himself. We, in Japan, have also a method of competition resembling the wrestling of the West, and we apply to that the Western name "wrestling." ”

“ Every member of the feudal class, from the shōgun downward, received regular instruction in this art, and regarded his two swords with the utmost love and veneration, the skill and spirit shown by him in their use being justly a source of pride to Japan. Spears and firearms were also widely employed, and the practice of jiūjitsu—a species of gymnastics based on the laws of balance and reaction and directed to purposes of self-defense—received general attention. Men conspicuous for skill in fencing and other martial exercises built schools and became teachers of their respective specialties. ”

“ It was a secret art, jealously guarded from those not privileged to use it, until the feudal system was abandoned in Japan, and now ju-jutsu is taught in the schools, as well as in public and private gymnasia. In the army, navy and police it receives particular attention. About the beginning of the 20th century, masters of the art began to attract attention in Europe and America, and schools were established in Great Britain and the United States, as well as on the continent of Europe. ”

“ You see, our Samurai do not like to be arrogant or offensive to other people, and therefore they profess to use jiujitsu only when attacked, hence the name of self-defence, and this point is one of their ideals; but as a matter of fact, it is an art that can be used for attack equally well, and therefore may be called an art both offensive and defensive. The advantage of knowing this art is that we can throw an opponent without hurting or killing him, because it requires no weapons, not even a stick. It is done by catching hold of various parts of the opponent by the hands. ”

“ The physical training necessary to produce expertness is the most valuable feature of ju-jutsu. The system includes a light and nourishing diet, plenty of sleep, deep-breathing exercises, an abundance of fresh air and general moderation in habits, in addition to the actual gymnastic exercises for the purpose of muscle-building and the cultivation of agility of eye and mind as well as of body. ”

“ The floor of the school is padded thickly and softly, so that the young man cannot injure himself. The instructor can do little when this exercise is being followed. The young man must learn the art of falling safely through his own practice and observation. He must learn what muscles are wrenched when he falls, and must study out for himself how to avoid the wrench. When one practising jiu-jitsu is thrown he must know how to aid in the throw himself in such a manner that he will not be weakened — and this knowledge can be gained by any one who practises assiduously. ”

“ While the development of the portion of the body from the waist to the shoulders, and including, of course, the rigorous training of the arms, is considered by Japanese trainers as being of prime importance, only a few days are spent in the jiu-jitsu school before the student is taught how to strengthen his legs.
In the leg exercises, as in the arm work, the resistant principle is the one employed. In all feats the man who is "attacked" yields gradually to the pressure of his "assailant." It matters not which of the contestants is the stronger ”

“ The real thing, however,—not the play,—is much more dangerous than a Western wrestler could guess at sight. The teacher there, slender and light as he seems, could probably disable an ordinary wrestler in two minutes. Jiujutsu is not an art of display at all: it is not a training for that sort of skill exhibited to public audiences; it is an art of self-defense in the most exact sense of the term; it is an art of war. The master of that art is able, in one moment, to put an untrained antagonist completely hors de combat. ”

“ The object of the work is to develop the upper leg; and when all of the muscles of the upper leg are not brought into play so thoroughly that both students are aware of the muscular tension, then the exercise has not been properly performed. This is one of the feats of jiu-jitsu most difficult of comprehension by the average student. Perhaps for this reason, and certainly because of its importance, the exercise should be persevered in until the learner discovers that the muscles of the upper leg have been greatly strengthened. ”

“ Moderation in exercise, with all the other forms of right living indicated by the Japanese system, will make a reasonably strong man of one who has become something of a physical and nervous wreck. But absolute good nature is the only tonic of value that can be found at Nature's drug-store. Twenty-five hundred years of training in jiu-jitsu, with the constant application of its cardinal principles of good nature, has made the Japanese people the calmest, coolest, happiest, bravest, and strongest people in the world. ”

“ A modern bout at ju-jutsu usually begins by the combatants taking hold with both hands upon the collars of each other’s jackets or kimonos, after which, upon the word to start being given, the manœuvring for an advantageous grip begins by pushes, pulls, jerks, falls, grips or other movements. ”

“ When our jiujitsu is called "wrestling," it hurts our feelings a little.'
—'Why, how is that?' demanded the duchess.
—'Well, nothing very serious, but the reason is this: jiujitsu has always been regarded in Japan as an art chiefly practised by men of the higher classes. It has never been a profession, still less a public show, and the reason why now and then the art is made an object of [Pg 97] exhibition in a public hall of the Western towns, is only an outcome of the altered conditions of the time. ”