There are a vast number of historical documents, books and websites that will describe how Ju Jitsu came about. One thing is clear, the formation of the art we practice today is very much different to when it first evolved. There are references to a fighting system that could be used by the samurai, if they found themselves to be unarmed in combat. So, for some, Ju Jitsu could be considered a battlefield martial art, where it would be kill or be killed. If facing the foe in full armour, wielding weapons, the unarmed warrior would have to exploit the weak areas of the enemy, if they were to overcome them. Typically, this would involve attacking places which required movement of limbs, using joint manipulation and striking into the joints and inaccessible areas of the body. The type of fighting employed is likely to have led to the development of grappling-based systems which have developed and evolved over time.
In other texts, the development of Ju Jitsu is traced back to the Edo period, sometimes also referred to as the Tokugawa Era. This period in history is somewhat different from feudal Japan. It was one of peace and so the practice of unarmed combat became more popular. Perhaps this was attributable to swords and other weaponry being banned for all but the samurai. Nevertheless, the evolution of Ju Jitsu is probably a combination of experience in the brutality of war, coupled with the flourishing economic, cultural and social growth in its aftermath.
The first real school (ryu) teaching only movements of Ju Jitsu was introduced by Takenouchi Hisamori during the Edo period (1532) and it is his style that is often considered as the foundation of the art we practice today. By the early 1600’s there was over 700 Ju Jitsu schools in Japan. When the Tokugowa Shogunate collapsed to the Meiji Restoration, martial arts were outlawed and the masters were either forced underground or moved abroad to pass on their knowledge. As time passed the system generally moved further away from weapon-based combat, and grappling based techniques became ever more prevalent. During this time a student of both the Tenjin Shinyo-ryu and Kito-ryu styles of Ju Jitsu developed the principles he learned and formed a new style. His name was Kano Jigoro and is the founder of Kodokan Judo.
Kano Jigoro is not only the founder of Judo but is also important to our linage here at Five Towns Ju Jitsu Ryu. Yukio Tani was a pupil of Kano Jigoro and through him Jack Britton opened the door to the Alpha School of Ju Jitsu in Kensington. Prof. Robert Clark, the founder of the World Ju Jitsu Federation (WJJF) was one of his pupils and so the linage continued from him to Prof. Terry Parker, the founder of Jikishin Ju Jitsu International and my sensei Prof. Martin Rogers of Tora Ryu Kempo Ju Jitsu.
There are many other people and schools through history, who have influenced the system we now practice at Five Towns Ju Jitsu Ryu. We are committed to uphold the ethos of those who have gone before us and as a student in our club, you can be assured of the authenticity of the art which we practice.
