I better wind this series up soon, or I’m going to have to try to remember what C and M are in Roman Numerals!
I’ve dealt with mostly Atemi-waza (percussive arts) up till now. But Japan has a long history of armed arts and of unarmed nage-waza (throwing and projecting) arts as well.
The Samurai learned techniques similar to what the ancient Israelites had to learn – what to do if someone….
In the case of the Samurai, it was, “What to do if someone gets inside my guard?” The Samurai sword, the Katana, is a frightening weapon. But the Ninja figured out a defense. A shorter sword. By having a sword that was usually half a foot shorter, the Ninja got inside the defenses of the Samurai.
Distance was key in Japan. Two Samurai would keep distance out of sword range. If you got within sword range, it was presumed that you meant violence, and a preemptive strike was delivered.
But some Samurai of course discovered that if you rapidly got inside someone’s guard and jammed your hand down on the pommel of the sword, the Katana was trapped in its sheath.
Thus, Jiu-Jutsu was born. The idea of re-directing strength at close range, trapping, pinning or throwing someone came from this awareness that one was very vulnerable at close range. The Japanese Tanto knife was also invented for such occasions. But Tanto-jutsu was considered rude and shameful. A well executed sword strike had elegance and romance. Jabbing a knife into someone’s chest over and over again until they bled to death was considered, well, kind of rude.
Jiu-jutsu featured a way to lock someone’s wrist if they tried trapping your sword. Then throwing or projecting was added to the art. This is why some Ryu feature kneeling kata – two men kneeling at close quarters, uke grabs nage, the nage arm locks then pins or projects the other. It’s a typical sneaky samurai duel. If you forgot what the Japanese words mean, the Uke is the attacker, and the Nage is the defender. I told you that you needed to remember!
Jiu-Jitsu was practiced in various ways in various Ryu. Some more flowing, some softer, some tougher and harder. I would put it that if two Samurai are suddenly having to fight like this, there’s not going to be anything gentle about it.
Finally, around the turn of the 20th century (someone straighten me out on the date!), Jigoro Kano adapted the style of Jiu-Jutsu he’d learned into a more robust form, called Judo. It lacks the grace of Karate, but it has immediate results – you get really sick to your stomach doing ukemi (breakfalls) your first three months.
Judo features the clinch (opening move, where you’re grabbed), the kamae (finding your footing) and the nage-waza (the throw). I’ve got a 2 hour film of Mifune doing Judo that is like an encyclopedia of Judo techniques. If you find it, don’t watch his arms. Watch his hips. His hip movement is central to his judo.
Jigoro Kano was enthralled with Karate when he saw Gichin Funakoshi demonstrate it, and Funakoshi was invited to give lessons inside the kodokan, the Judo halls. Kano wanted his judo-ka to learn karate, but was somewhat distressed to find out it wasn’t a quick “show me this technique” thing.
Judo and Jiu-jutsu reigned supreme in Japan for some time. It was after world war II that things changed.
during the 40’s and 50’s a talented Jiu-jutsu scholar, Morehei Ueshiba, went into a retreat, where he began to study intently Kenjutsu (use of the katana) Jo-jutso (use of the short staff), tanto-jutsu (use of the knife) and refining his Jiu-jutsu.
When he unveiled his system to the world, he called it Aikido (eye-kee-do)– the way of harmony. Ueshiba did not worry about who challenged him – opening his demonstrations to any challenger was a regular part of the demonstration. My father actually is in film as a US marine in the 1960’s, watching Ueshiba throw everyone around. He described him as a “little old Japanese man standing there with a silly smile on his face while six men try to push him over.” My father tried to talk me out of learning Karate and Kung Fu, and wanted me to learn Aikido instead. Alas, there was no Aikido dojo where I grew up. So Kung Fu and Karate it was!
Ueshiba transformed Jiu-Jutsu into an art form of balance, simplicity, and misdirection. The most experienced Aikido-ka speak of how to invite an attack. Literally, they’re using a combination of facial features and open body posture that makes the uke attack when THEY want you to. And then they do something annoying like grab one of your toes between two of theirs and drop you to the floor in agony. If you control WHEN uke attacks and HOW uke attacks, you win the fight every time. Writers, take note.
Aikido demonstrations seem to have a lot of laughter. Everyone I’ve seen do one usually had some kind of joke they’d make that had the audience laugh, except Seagal. Seagal’s demonstrations just left you wincing.
Unlike many martial arts, there’s only one real stance in Aikido, and three foot moves (tenkan, irimi and kaiten). Learn those, and you’ve got it all. The three movements are part of the 18 techniques. That’s it! 18 techniques, three movements, one stance. Some kneeling.
And a lot of pain. Because there’s a world of variations based upon whether someone grabs your wrist if the hand is up or down, how you lock or pin, how you throw or project. It’s all in how uke is standing or moving. It takes years to learn it, but when you learn it, wow – you don’t have to worry about if your attacker is 7 feet tall and 400 pounds. They’re not going to win.
Aikido has one and only one drawback – if the uke is not fully committed to the attack. That’s why Aikido demonstrations are done full speed and power. Keep your palms on the floor when you watch a demonstration, so you can feel the floor shake. The best description of Aikido I’ve ever heard is “you’re running down the stairs and think there’s 18 steps, but there’s only 17. That’s Aikido.”
A word on the strange strikes used in Aikido. nobody but nobody strikes a bare hand straight down at your skull (Jodan). Nobody.
Unless they’re holding a katana. And any Aikido black belt will be glad to demonstrate against a katana wielding opponent, but they’re going to insist on the Uke holding a bokken (wooden sword) for their own safety. No kidding, some of the moves in Aikido actually involve techniques that force the Samurai onto his own sword. Attack all you want. It’s going to hurt. Want a sure fire way to defeat an aikido-ka?
When he invites the attack, ignore him, fire up your kindle and read a book instead. Ta-da!
Anything else invites disaster.
Last but not least is Kenjutsu or Kendo. There are schools of Kendo that are downright scary. I’ve seen a Kendo master perform iai-do (drawing the sword and cutting in one move), and put a bokken up against Uke’s neck in the blink of an eye.
So, the question – Kung Fu sword versus Katana – who wins? The Samurai will probably win right away. If he fails to kill the Kung Fu swordsman, and the battle continues for a length of time, the balance of power switches noticeably. Kendo and Kenjutsu are based upon the most likely outcome – he who strikes first and fastest wins. The variation of Kenjutsu called Iai-jutsu is the most aggressive. Dai-ten Kenjutsu is scary – you’re fighting a swordsman with two swords. That’s the school started by Miyamoto Musashi.
Next – modern arts. BJJ, Jeet Kun Dao and MMA.
