Japanese Jiu-Jitsu Origins

The precise origins of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu are quite unclear. Speculation points to the Buddhist monks in India, as the first to develop the art centuries ago. What’s known is that it was used as a survival tool for the Japanese Samurai and Ninja warriors. The idea was that in unarmed combat, striking would be completely ineffective because of the warriors’ armor. In such cases, grappling methods that involved throws and joint locks proved to be a superior method of combat.

Japanese Jiu-Jitsu has come a long way from its original military form. The traditional values of the art have survived as the knowledge of the art was passed from generation to generation. As time went by, the art developed into a more sport-friendly format, despite it being the art of choice for military and law-enforcement personnel to this day.

Brief History of Japanese Jujutsu

Japanese Jujutsu (JJJ) is an ancient martial art used in warfare, which stems from sumo and other Japanese martial art techniques. These techniques originate from the Nara period, but one of the oldest known styles of JJJ is Shinden Fudo, which was established in 1130AD.

The term ‘Jūjutsu’ means ‘gentle art’. This is because the techniques require very little of your own strength and use your opponent’s strength against them. ‘Jujutsu’, ‘Ju-Jitsu’ and ‘Jiu-Jitsu’ are all different spelling variations of the same techniques. The variations only came about due to the Western pronunciation of the word.

A major change in traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu was the introduction of Randori or free sparring. It took the creation of Judo by Dr. Jigoro Kano to introduce this change in the art. As such, Judo later pulled apart from Jiu-Jitsu as a separate grappling martial art. Judo, though, specializes mostly in the throws department, while traditional Jiu-Jitsu is still a very diverse martial art with plenty of elements.