It’s really a difficult task to narrow Jujitsu as a particular style. The problem with it is that it’s the root of several different styles of combat. While the techniques vary, the essence of it remains the same.
Jujitsu was a style of combat originally founded by the samurai. Ultimately, the goal was to enable an unarmed and unarmored combatant to be able to take on a fully armed and armored samurai. From this essential philosophy, several systems of combat have been founded.
The essential style of Jujitsu is to use attacks and defenses that negate the advantage of another opponent. Originally, it was about the bare-handed warrior being able to take on a fully armed opponent. Consequently, its primary focus was on throwing techniques, pinning, and joint locks that used the aggression of the opponent against him.
At one point in Japan’s history, it became illegal for samurai to stride around fully geared for combat. This led to a style that disregarded the question of armor called Edo Jujitsu, which added the element of striking vital parts of the opponent, leading to the legendary Kyushojutsu, aka Dim Mak or Death Touch techniques.
Since then, Jujitsu has evolved into several different styles, some of which maintain the name of Jujitsu. Judo is an offshoot of this style, as is Brazilian Jujitsu. All of the newer schools of fighting maintain the old way of thinking: An unarmed combata Continue reading »
I got my first lesson in jujitsu a couple of months ago. I had been taking kickboxing for about a month and had lost over 5 pounds and my cardio had improved immensely. A buddy of mine invited a few guys from the gym over to his place to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
If you’ve ever watched a UFC pay-per-view you remember how many commercials and long lags there are between matches. The conversation turned towards Brazillian Jujitsu.
For those unfamiliar with Brazilian Jujitsu, its a fighting style from Brazil that took the original Japanese jujitsu and morphed it into one of the most unique and functional fighting styles in the world. The name “Gracie” is uttered in almost revered, hushed tones by practitioners of the sport.
One of the guys at the UFC pay per view was a purple belt in BJJ, and had been studying it about 3 years. I got to talking to him about my kickboxing and how deadly some of the guys were in my class. The purple belt was surprising respectful, but cautioned me that any decent jujitsu player could devestate a kickboxer.
Of course a verbal battle ensued, not between me and the purple belt but all the others in the TV room. I asked him to show me some jujitsu after things calmed down.
The premise of BJJ is that 90% of fights eventually end up going to the ground. Even a proficient striker is somewhat vulnerable to a takedown or a messy clinch. We did a mock battle Continue reading »