Category: Koryu

In the traditional Japanese martial arts or ryu-ha (流派 – school, style, flow, to a certain group, company, fraction), we meet various classical weapons, that from today’s view seem completely unconventional. In the past, their design and craftsmanship, represented a masterpiece of the top Japanese masters, and handling them was led to perfection. Although their efficiency in the time that we live in is unjustifiably put under a question mark, in our organization the lectures of utilizing the weapon that was used in the time of the samurai and the ninja are obligatory. That way, we continue the tradition of the previous generations that founded and transmitted the martial styles.   

While learning the arts for classical weapons (bukijutsu), the student not only improves his psycho-physical abilities, but in case of self-defense learns how to use any object of his surroundings. 

The training with weapons starts when the student learns well the basics of barehanded combat (taijutsu), and when the teacher is sure in his moral responsibility. During the training, to avoid more severe injuries, wooden or rubber replicas are used.

Due to the lack of space, we will mention some of the arts for weapons that are taught in our Organization:

Kenjutsu – of every serious student is expected to learn the basics of a sword combat. That way the basics of barehanded combat are strengthened and the application of the principles learned previously are practiced. The katana is the soul of the samurai, and for the ninja it represents an extended arm that can overcome the distance easier, that the victory or the defeat depends on.

Bojutsu – the art of staff combat. Rokushaku bo (180 cm), jo (128 cm) and hanbo (90 cm) are staffs with different sizes that are used to teach the basics of bujutsu. Training with them gives an excellent foundation for further prospect and opens the path to learning yari and naginata.

 

Sojutsu – spear combat (yari) in the past was one of the most important skills that was used on the battlefield. This weapon keeps the opponent on a safe distance, and the tip of the weapon can end in one of the many vulnerable points of the body anytime.

Naginatajutsu – one of the most complex weapon in the Japanese martial tradition. It is used for cutting, striking or blocking an attack.

Kusarigamajutsu – the usage of kama on which a chain is mounted with weights at the end was a specialty of the warriors of Iga. The great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi often told about the battle he had with the „man of Iga“ armed with this dangerous weapon.

Juttejutsu – the samurai that cared about the order and the peace during the Edo period, mastered the usage of the Japanese bat called jutte (ten arms).

Kakushibukijutsu – missile weapons (shurikens), metal claws (shuko), chains of various sizes (kusari), small daggers and blades and everything else that can easily be hidden under the clothing of the warrior, are a part of the art Kakushibukijutsu (the art of the hidden weapons).

Bujutsu is a generic term that is used in traditional Japanese martial arts. It is consisted of two kanji:  Bu 武 – war and Jutsu 術 – art, skill or craft.

Although the loose translation of bujutsu means „art of war“, this term has a much deeper meaning. If we interpret the ideogram Bu more deeply, that means „to stop the spear“, we can note that bujutsu is „an art to stop the war“, that indicates to the defensive character of the martial arts.

Today, the term bujutsu is used frequently to indicate the period of civil wars in Japan (sengoku jidai), when the practical use of the martial art and strategy were of key meaning to survive the battle.

On the contrary, the term budo (Bu – martial and Do – way, path) is used to indicate the philosophical aspect of the art. Hence the term gendai budo (modern martial arts) that move away from the arts (koryu bujutsu) created before the Meiji period (1868), when in Japan every form of combat that was used by the warrior class was forbidden. The suppression was instated because of the danger that the samurai could have caused and retaken the control of the land, thanks to their combat capabilities. 

Another term that is most used in the traditional Japanese martial arts is sogo bujutsu. „Sogo“ signifies composite, or complete martial arts. Unlike the modern (karate, judo, aikido, kendo, kyudo) that are concentrated only on one way of combat or on one weapon, in sogo bujutsu different arts were taught, with or without a weapon, that had the purpose to secure the survival on the battlefield. Even though the new martial arts descend from the classical, all the deadly and dangerous techniques that were used for a quick victory in the bloody battles were „cleansed“, and their appearance was more of a product of the militarization of Japan (the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century) and the memory of the famous samurai ancestors.

The term Koryu, along with the terms Kobudo, Kobujutsu and Bugei, is used in Japan so that a difference can be made between classical and modern martial arts (gendai budo).

Koryu is consisted of two ideograms (kanji): Ko 古 – old, ancient, and Ryu 流 – tradition, school. A rough translation would be „old school“ or „ancient tradition“.

Kobudo is consisted of three kanji: 古武道 and the loose translation would be „old martial ways“.

We would translate kobujutsu 古武術 as „ancient martial sciences or crafts“.

Bugei 武芸  is translated as „martial arts“.

In any case, these terms point to the classical Japanese martial styles that were used before the modernization of Japan (before 1868), when actually the samurai class was forbidden and removed as a remainder of the feudal period.

During the feudal reign in Japan, the martial schools (ryu-ha) were developed so they can secure the survival or a better position of the warriors (bushi) that were in the service of several principalities (han) led by a daimyo (the rulers of a land). At the beginning, the arts often were otome-ryu (a tradition that is transferred in the home), although later they were frequently taught to other samurai in the principality, so that survival of the whole community can be guaranteed. 

Finally, with the beginning of the Meiji period (1868), when many of the descendants of the schools remained unemployed as a result of the rejection of the samurai class, the arts started to be publicly taught as one of the ways to survive in those conditions. Precisely for that reason, many ryu-ha endured through the time, so today we have the opportunity to learn and feel the samurai spirit from feudal Japan.