Japan's Ultimate Martial Art: Jujitsu Before 1882 the Classical Japanese Art of Self-Defense

276 Pages·1995·8.94 MB·English

by  Darrell Max Craig

Disclaimer
Please note that the publisher and author(s) of this instructional book are NOT
RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from
practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Martial
arts training can be dangerous—both to you and to others—if not practiced
safely. If you are in doubt as to how to proceed or whether your practice is safe,
consult with a trained martial arts teacher before beginning. Since the physical
activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, it is
essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.
First published in 1995 by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions
(HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT
05759 U.S.A.
Copyright © 1995 by Darrell Craig.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written
permission from Tuttle Publishing.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Craig Darrell.
Japan's ultimate martial art: jujitsu before 1882 / by Darrell Max Craig.
167 p., 1161 p. of plates: ill.; 26 cm.
ISBN 978-1-4629-0279-8
I. Jiu-jitsu—Japan—History. 1. Title.
GVIII4.C73 1995
796.8' 15' 0952—dc20 95008843
CIP
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All photographs (except where credit is given) are by the author.
08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6
Printed in Singapore
This book is dedicated to all those teachers who carry the flickering lantern
of light so that others may follow, and to those students who stumble and fall
along the path of budo, unable to proceed by themselves.
I would also like to dedicate this work to the one student whose constant
nagging caused me to finish it and to Mrs. Mary Schulz.
CONTENTS
Preface vi
Chapter One Introduction 1
Chapter Two Basic Self-Defense Techniques 25
Chapter Three Te Waza 45
Chapter Four Nage Waza 61
Chapter Five Atemi Waza 79
Chapter Six Kansetsu Waza 97
Chapter Seven Resisting a Handgun 107
Chapter Eight Hostage Situations and Kubudo 115
Chapter Nine Hojo-Jutsu 123
Chapter Ten Yawari 131
Chapter Eleven Jo Jutsu 135
Glossary 162
About the Author 168
PREFACE
I WAS ONCE asked why I wanted to subtitle this book Jujitsu Before 1882. At
the time, I was unable to come up with an exact answer. All I knew was that the
tide "felt" appropriate because—as everyone knows—it was in 1882 that judo
gained ascendancy and jujitsu began its decline. I now know the answer: today,
judo is a sport, with highly detailed rules and regulations. Jujitsu, however, has
never been a sport. It has never had any rules, any barred techniques, or any
concept of fair play; its only point has been to maim or kill your opponent. It is
true that martial arts work best when someone is attacking you; nevertheless, in
many jujitsu techniques the technician becomes the aggressor and gives no
quarter to his prey.
This book is about jujitsu in all its traditional deadly nature, and about how it
was originally taught and applied. Beginning in 1882, some of the techniques
demonstrated in this book ceased being taught as widely and frequently as they
once were. They have, in a sense, become relics of past glories, anachronisms in
today's world. Many of the wonderful old senseis who mastered these techniques
and passed them on to future generations are no longer with us. So that their
knowledge and teachings will not be lost forever, I am particularly proud to
include them in this book.
I suspect that the reader's motivation to purchase this book is similar to that
which has recently rekindled an interest in Japan in learning traditional jujitsu
methods. Throughout the judo world there are many who realize that modern
judo has failed. Many have come to see judo not as its founder, Dr. Jigaro Kano,
saw his art in 1882 but as some type of wrestling contest. The true art of what is
left of judo lies hidden within its traditional kata. Even that has changed from
decade to decade. This book is not about judo per se but about its predecessor,
known originally as yawara and today as jujitsu, or taiho jitsu.
It was not until about 1930 that judo actually became fully separated from
jujitsu. Until then judo was still referred to as Kano Jiu Jitsu ("Jiudo"). As late as
1938 a book published by S. J. Jorgensen referred to Kano Jiu Jitsu as the
official jujitsu of the Japanese government. By that time, traditional jujitsu had
fallen considerably from the high public stature it previously enjoyed. It was still
taught, but mostly by and to ruffians and gamblers: a more refined art, called
aikijitsu, was now being taught to the upper class.
In some instances it is hard to distinguish between the two arts. The
difference lies more in how a technique is taught than in the technique itself.
Nevertheless, judo was designed from jujitsu, and aikido was refined through
aikijitsu. My first real exposure occurred in 1973, when I was in Japan studying
kendo with Sensei Setsuji Kobayashi of the Imperial Palace Police. Through our
conversations, I found out that Sensei Ichiro Hata had studied jujitsu, or, as the
Japanese now called it, taiho jitsu. Sensei Hata was a government official with a
deep and varied experience in Japanese martial arts.
I must admit that the names confused me at first. My first thoughts were that
they were two different martial arts. As time passed and I was taken from police
gym to police gym to study or observe, I realized that judo or kendo was taught
to every policeman, while taiho jitsu was taught only to an elite officer group
analogous to what we would call a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team,
men in their middle or late twenties. Their workouts were Monday through
Saturday for one hour, and they were the most excruciating I have ever
witnessed. I was so impressed by what I saw that, when I returned to the United
States, I wrote Sensei Hata a letter inviting him to come to Houston.
About one year later, Sensei Hata arrived for a three-week stay, and I began
my study of jujitsu. Since that introduction, I have gone to Japan several times to
study with Sensei Hata, and he has returned here several times. The experience
has, for me, been invaluable.
The techniques demonstrated in the following chapters are of the Kaisho
Goshin Budo Taiho Jitsu Ryu (Kaisho—Tokyo Police; Goshin—self-defense;
Budo—martial way; Taiho Jitsu—body techniques). I have deliberately used
Japanese terms throughout this book. This may, at times, be frustrating to the
reader, but as the international art of ballet uses French terminology, the
international art of jujitsu currently relies upon Japanese. To assist the reader,
however, I have supplied a glossary of commonly used Japanese terms.
Similarly, because this book concerns itself with classical methods of jujitsu,
the illustrations depict classical Japanese attire. Thus, the attacker (uke) is
always depicted wearing the traditional loincloth (the heko), and the defender
(tori) is always shown wearing the traditional uniform top (uwagi) and divided
pantlike skirt (hakama). I hope these drawings will get the readers in the mood
of the times and increase enjoyment of this book. Rest assured: even though the
attire may look a little strange, the techniques demonstrated work just as well on
today's mean streets as they did centuries ago in the Japanese countryside.
History is made by human activity. Unless history can be observed from the
perspective of the personalities who make it, it cannot be fully understood or
precisely recorded. The Japanese jujitsu man has played an extremely important
role in the history of the Japanese nation, but his role has yet to be fully probed
in contemporary writings. In this small attempt to discover more about jujitsu,
we pay tribute to the countless and often nameless thousands of persons of the
past and the present who have made the art of jujitsu possible.
My special thanks go to three wonderful people of whom I have had the
extreme pleasure of being not only teacher but, more importantly, friend. First,
Mary Schulz produced the hundreds of drawings found in this book from
photographs, penciled stick figures, and sometimes my not-so-accurate memory.
Second, Claudia Smith dedicated countless hours to the typing of this manuscript
and provided technical advice, sometimes serving as a model reader of the text
to clarify the directions. Last, but not least, Gary Grossman expended endless
effort in editing, correcting spelling, and sometimes making sense out of
something Claudia and I wrote that did not make sense even after we read it.
Additionally, I'd like to thank—though they have already passed through this
thing we call life—Master Harutane Chiba of the Hokushin Ito Ryu and Master
Ichiro Hata. Without their vast knowledge of the past and their incredible
understanding of how to make a technique work in the present, this book would
have remained a drawer full of random notes and drawings. Their spirit will live
on through these pages.
Without doubt, I have failed to include a photograph of someone who
contributed to my martial arts training. For this I apologize. In considering the
hundreds of photographs taken throughout the years, I tried to narrow them
down to people whom I had practiced with in Japan or those senseis who had
given clinics at my dojo. Additionally, if there is a misspelling of a Japanese
name, I take full responsibility. Please accept my shortcomings.
I am indebted to all of these sympathetic colleagues, for without their
considerable aid, this book would never have been completed.
This book is not meant to be an answer to all questions; it is meant only as a
guide to self-improvement. Keep this in mind:
There are two people who never have enough time —The very old and the
very young.
—Author unknown
Darrell Max Craig Houston, Texas March 1993