Descendants of Ju Jitsu
Judo
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Judo was developed by Dr Jigaro Kano (1860 – 1938). In 1877, as a young student of Tokyo university college student, he studied Tenshin Shinyo ryu ju-jitsu under Hachinosuke Fukuda and Masatomo Iso. When Fukuda died in 1880, Kano began his studies of Kito-Ryu ju-jitsu under Tsunetoshi Iikubo. Kano became disillusioned with the unsavory reputation of many of the ju-jitsu schools of the time and developed his own system of Kodokan judo in 1882. This system embodied many of the principles of ju-jitsu but altered the techniques to make them less dangerous. This allowed the development of a sport without the risk of serious injury. |
Dr Jigoro Kano |
A set of rules for judo contests was developed and is still used internationally. These rules are designed to make the contest both fair and as safe as possible. The techniques of ju-jitsu are aimed at disabling an opponent, while the intention of judo is only to land an opponent on his back, thereby winning the round.
Aikido
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Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba (1883 – 1969). In 1901 he began to study ju-jitsu and ken-jitsu, before going off to fight in the Russo-Japanese war. When he returned, he moved to Hokkaido, where he studied Daito ryu ju-jitsu under Sokaku Takeda. In 1922 he formed his own martial art called Aiki-bujitsu, but in 1942 he changed the name of his school to Aikido. Throughout his life, Ueshiba loathed conflict. Although his patriotism prevented him from speaking out against Japan’s aggressive foreign policy of his time, he promoted peace and harmony in all his teachings. |
Morihei Ueshiba |
Gracie Ju-Jitsu
Gracie ju-jitsu was developed by several members of the Gracie family. George Gracie emigrated from Scotland to Brazil. His son, Gastão, was a politician who assisted incoming Japanese immigrants, including the ju-jitsu master Koma. Koma repaid the favour by teaching ju-jitsu to Gastão’s son Carlos. Carlos in turn taught his brothers: Osvaldo, Gastão jnr., Jorge, and Helio.
As one of the most modern forms of ju-jitsu, Gracie Ju-Jitsu concentrates on taking an opponent to the ground and has adapted many traditional Ju-Jitsu techniques to work on the floor where differences in size and weight can be minimized.