Age and Martial Arts in Arizona

Want to be active and live to be more than a 100? Move from Arizona to Okinawa! If you can’t move to Okinawa, watch calories, eat well, train hard and take evening walks.

There is a misconception in Arizona that martial arts are only for children. When I started training in martial arts in the 1960s, it was unheard of to see children in karate. So what happened?

 The misconception probably began with programs like Little Ninjas. Today, people train at almost any age and as many as 50 million people train in Okinawan karate, worldwide. I’ve had students in their mid- to late-80s training in karate and kobudo (my oldest was in his early 90s): one in particular, a professor at the University of Wyoming, had the fastest reflexes of all my students. So there is no upper age limit.

 How about kids? If you find a good instructor, kids can start very young (it’s recommended to start them young). My youngest was 3 years of age from Mesa, Arizona. But one major problem with children is attention span and maturity, so I suspect the best way to judge if a child is ready for martial arts is to determine if they can handle an entire class (45 to 60 minutes) without losing focus. If they can, it may be time to start them – just be cautious! There are a large number of martial arts schools that have no evidence of lineage (it is suggested as many as 80 to 85% have no proof of lineage or proper certification). And personally, I would also be very concerned about starting a child in judo, jujutsu, ninjutsu and aikido as these martial arts focus on joint manipulation. 

 A recent study on the elderly of Okinawa led to the access of more than 600 Okinawan centenarians. The research indicated Okinawans enjoy the longest average life-span in the world while having relatively good personal health throughout their lives. The study also indicated Okinawan people have the lowest frequency of the three leading killers of Westerners: coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer. Could this good health be a result of favorable Okinawan genetics?

 The research suggests Okinawan longevity is more a result of life-style choices of Okinawa people; particularly since Japanese people outside of Okinawa do not show the same increased benefits, and Okinawans who have been Westernized fall prey to the same health issue issues as Western people.

 Compared to Westerners, Okinawans age more slowly and are 80% less likely to get heart disease. They're also 25% less likely to be afflicted with breast or prostate cancer, they have a 50% lower risk of contracting colon cancer and they are less likely to get dementia. On average, Okinawan people spend 97% of their lives free of disabilities. These benefits are likely a result of diet and exercise.

Pencil sketch of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi – father
of modern karate.

Okinawans have learned the value of pushing away from the dinner table. An Okinawan rule ‘hara hachi bu’ (eat until 80% full) provides a guideline to limit daily calorie intake. Another Okinawan guideline: ‘eat mostly plants’ is very beneficial. The typical Okinawan diet includes green and yellow vegetables, some whole grains, tofu, fish and other legumes. Little sugar, meat, and very little dairy is in their diet. For those of you in Wyoming, this could be an obstacle. When I gave up red meat while a resident of Wyoming three decades ago, I often received strange looks from ranchers when I turned down steak dinners. Most thought I had a few marbles missing.

 The Okinawan people exercise daily in their labors in the fields, gardens and on fishing boats. And being that karate and kobudo originated on Okinawa, a significant percentage of the Ryukyu island chain population trains several times a week. And Okinawan karate and kobudo have been shown to be exceptional for burning calories. Past studies prove intense karate training burns more calories per hour than any other form of exercise. But karate should be practiced with the philosophy of Tim the Tool Man Taylor – with more power!

So what are the benefits to eating right and training all your life in karate and kobudo? The great majority of Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate masters from the Shuri-te systems have lived to be very old, not only because of their healthy diets but also because they remained active in martial arts. It’s been rumored this does not hold for martial artists from Naha-te systems: naha-te martial artists are rumored to die younger due to intensity of ibuki (breathing). But there are no statistics that I’m aware of to prove this one way or another.

There are many examples of elderly Okinawan karate practitioners. Visit the link of Soke Seikichi Uyehara demonstrating a kata. At 88 in 1992, he was quite agile. Soke Uyehara ended up living to be 100 and taught martial arts to the day he passed on!

Another Shorin-Ryu martial artist, Sensei Teru Hendrey an instructor of Yamashita Shorin-Ryu Karate is still teaching karate. Sensei Hendrey was born to an Okinawan family of samurai lineage in 1927. She was exposed to martial arts in 1941 and began a study of Shorin-Ryu Karate in the late 1980s while in her 60s. She is now 86 with godan (5th dan) certification in Shorin-Ryu. Tadashi Yamashita himself was born in Japan in 1942 and is active teaching Shorin-Ryu karate and works as a stunt coordinator for Hollywood at the age of 71. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the world at any age, who could punch harder than Yamashita.

Another martial artist - Shugoro Nakazato began studying Shorin-Ryu Karate as a student of Chosin Chibana (Hanshi Chibana lived to be 83) in 1935 at the age of 16. He is now ranked as judan (10th dan) and head of the Shorinkan Shorin-Ryu karate system at the age of 94.

One of many paths on Okinawa. When we think of traditional karate,
we think of karate-do. The way (or path) of karate. Photo by Jesse Bergkamp.

A prominent Kendoka on Okinawa is Sensei Moriji Mochida who reportedly trains daily at the age of 90. Another Okinawan, Sensei Keiko Fukuda began studying judo in 1935 under Jigoro Kano, the father of judo, and has been training and teaching judo for many years. Sensei Keiko is a judan (10th dan) in judo and 99 years young.

Shoshin Nagame, Soke, taught Shorin-Ryu Karate until he died at 90. Nagame was a soke of Shorin-Ryu and author of a couple of significant books on karate.

The father of Japanese Karate, Gichin Funakoshi, introduced Shorin-Ryu Karate (with Anko Itosu) to the rest of Japan. He passed away at the age of 88 and his system of Shorin-Ryu was renamed Shotokan Karate to honor of the great master (Funakoshi had a pen name of Shoto). There are photos on the internet and even a few movie clips of Funakoshi teaching karate at a very late age. At the time Funakoshi was introducing karate to Japan, another great Okinawan master – Anko Itosu, the person responsible for the Pinan katas, introduced karate to Okinawan schools (early 20th century). Itosu died at the age of 83 or 84.

As far as the Naha-te martial arts masters, it would be interesting to have someone compile statistics on longevity. The first karate I studied was kokusinkai developed by Sosai Mas Oyama. Kokusinkai was basically a modification of goju-ryu, a naha-te style of karate. Oyama died at an early age of 70 for a martial artist. But he was not Okinawan: instead was Korean who had been assimilated by Japanese society and changed his name to a Japanese name. There are suggestions his style of karate may provide underlying health problems which stem from ibuki (deep breathing) taught in some kata and due to many injuries and concussions suffered by kokushinkai martial artists. But Oyama’s early passing could also be a result of fighting bulls and trees with his bare hands. He was also known to travel the world taking on any fighters.

Two other great grandmasters of Naha-te and Goju-Ryu karate were Chojun Miyagi a very powerful Okinawan martial artist who died at the early age of 65 and Gogen (the cat) Yamaguchi, who was not born on Okinawa; even so, he lived to be 80.

Arizona Jujutsu Schools

Jujutsu (also spelled jiu jitsu or jujitsu) is a combat martial art developed by samurai. The art has many traditions and had a completely different evolution than karate. Karate, which focuses on kicks and punches, is a martial art indigenous to Okinawa and was likely a combat for peasants and Okinawan royalty. As such, karate was very different from jujutsu: Japanese peasants were never allowed to train in samurai arts until after 1868. At the time of development of karate and jujutsu, Okinawa and Japan were independent kingdoms.

The uninitiated sometimes confuse MMA with jujutsu. MMA cannot be classified as a form of jujutsu since it is not even a martial art. MMA provides no traditions and no ethical or moral path that is ingrained in martial arts. Martial arts by definition are complexly intertwined with Zen Buddhism and Shinto and provide a path for self-improvement.

Soke Hausel demonstrates te waza at Casper, Wyoming dojo.

Karate includes many jujutsu nage waza (throws), grappling, chokes etc. Some were likely derived from Japanese samurai, others from Chinese Chu'an Fa (kung fu), and still others developed independently for Okinawa Karate. This is likely because karate was designed to not only defend against the criminal element on Okinawa, but also to defend against Japanese samurai who had invaded Japan in 1609 AD. Being that samurai were well-armed with bladed weapons and often weighted down with armor, karate was developed to take advantage by employing powerful strikes to generate considerable focused power to allow the energy to penetrate armor into a body of a samurai, (this is one reason we see karate demonstrations where practitioners break tile, cider blocks and even rocks), but it also employed techniques to up-end samurai clad in armor with unusual strikes (atemi) along with foot-sweeps, leg drops, foot stomps, knee stomps, etc. that are all present in modern day karate kata.

Jujutsu had a different purpose. It was designed as hand to hand combat for samurai to defend against other heavily armed samurai on the battlefield. Punching an enemy in armor with bare hands and feet does not seem like a bright idea, thus samurai developed throwing techniques (nage waza). The samurai also used strikes (atemi) to disturb the balance of other samurai (whether armored or unarmored). These atemi were designed to unbalance an opponent and generate a shock wave propagated through armor similar to karate.  

Katie Wilson Urbanek applies ude garuma (arm bar).

Today, we recognized two general categories of jujutsu and both are practiced in Arizona: (1) Koryu (ancient) traditional jujutsu designed to defend against armed samurai with or without armor, and (2) modern Gendai jujutsu that favors self-defense applications used in sport and modern self-defense. Many Gendai schools lack lineage and tradition (i.e., Brazilian jujutsu). 

If searching for a traditional martial arts experience, search for a traditional jujutsu school. You will learn traditions and history; and certifications will be recognized through an international martial arts association. Such martial arts schools may include training in classical samurai arts associated with jujutsu such as kenjutsu, hojojutsu, hanbojutsu, sojutsu, etc. In Arizona, there do not appear to be many koryu schools.

Traditional jujutsu practitioners wear a traditional judo gi with hakama. These are available at most martial arts outlets such as KarateMart in Phoenix. If you are starting out at a Koryu jujutsu school, be sure you check with the instructor before you purchase a uniform. Very similar to jujutsu are traditional arts of ninjutsu, ninpo and Okinawa tode.

Before one can effectively throw an attacker, the aggressor’s balance needs to be disturbed. Thanks to another of many questionable federal grants, the fed discovered people in Arizona tend to sweat more than people in other states. To grab and throw someone in Arizona is difficult in the summertime simply because sweaty people are slippery and difficult to grasp.

According to the Overlook Martial Arts Dictionary, atemi translates as "body trikes". It refers to "…a method of attacking the opponents pressure points". In A Dictionary of the Martial Arts there is a more detailed description. It states that an atemi is... "…aimed at the vital or weak points of an opponent's body in order to paralyze by means of intense pain. Such blows can produce loss of consciousness, severe trauma and even death…the smaller the striking surface used in atemi, the greater the power of penetration and thus the greater the effectiveness of the blow". This may be true in modern jujutsu, but in the ancient styles of jujutsu, pressure points for armored samurai were not important on a battlefield. A samurai covered with armor, had few if any exposed pressure points.

Melinda applies choke on Neal.

Today, atemi is used to provide a distraction before leading to a throw, joint lock, or choke. This is done by redirecting an opponent into a throw through attacking vital points to cause pain or loss of consciousness. In other words, it is easier to throw a disoriented aggressor. One common atemi is a palm strike along the jaw line, ear (mimi) or neck (kubi). This was likely used against armored samurai. Even with a helmet, a powerful open hand "teisho uchi" strike to the side of a helmet would ring one’s bell.

The term ‘jūjutsu’ was coined in the 17th century, after it became a blanket term for a wide variety of grappling combat forms. Jujutsu (柔術) translates as the 'art of softness' or 'way of yielding'. The oldest forms are referred to as Sengoku jujutsu or Nihon Koryu Jujutsu developed during the Muromachi period (1333–1573 AD) that focused defeating unarmed, lightly armed, and heavily armed and armored samurai – thus a greater emphasis was placed on joint locks and throws.

Later in history, other koryu developed that are similar to many modern styles. Many of these are classified as Edo jūutsu and were founded in the Edo Period (1625-1868 AD) of Japan. Most are designed to deal with opponents without armor. Edo jujutsu commonly emphasizes use of atemi waza. Inconspicuous weapons such as a tantō (knife) and tessen (iron fans) are included in Edo jūjutsu curriculum.

Heather applies yubi waza (thumb throw) at University jujutsu clinic in Wyoming.

Weapons training were important to Samurai. Koryu schools included the bo (six-foot staff), hanbo (three-foot staff), jo (4-foot staff), tachi (sword), wakizashi (short sword), tanto (knife), jitte (short one hook truncheon), yari (spear), naginata (halberd), ryofundo kusari (weighted chain) and bankokuchoki (knuckle-duster).

Edo jujutsu was followed by development of Gendai Jujutsu at the end of the Edo Period. Gendai, or modern Japanese jujutsu, shows influence of traditional jujutsu. Goshin Jujutsu styles developed at about the same time, but the Goshin styles are only partially influenced by traditional jujutsu and have mostly been developed outside of Japan.

Today, many Gendai jujutsu styles have been embraced by law enforcement officials and continue to provide foundations for specialized systems by police officials. The best known of these is Keisatsujutsu (police art) or Taihojutsu (arresting art) formulated by the Tokyo Police.

Jujutsu is the basis for many military unarmed combat training programs for many years and there are many forms of sport (non-traditional) jujutsu, the most popular being judo, now an Olympic sport. Some examples of martial arts that have been influenced by jujutsu include Aikido, Hapkido, Judo, Sambo, Kajukenbo, Kudo, Kapap, Kempo and Ninjutsu as well as some styles of Japanese Karate, such as Wado-ryu Karate, which is considered a branch of ShindōYōhin-ryū Jujutsu.

The training uniform (keikogi) provides an excellent indicator of traditions in a jujutsu dojo. Traditional schools wear plain white gi often with a dark hakama (the most colorful uniform might be plain black or the traditional blue of quilted keikogi. Lack of ostentatious display, with an attempt to achieve or express the sense of rustic simplicity is common in traditional arts. The use of the traditional (Shoden, Chuden, Okuden, Kirigami and Menkyo Kaiden) ranking system is also a good indicator of traditional jujutsu. These are parallel to the common dan-i (kyu/dan) ranking used in traditional karate.

Kobudo (Martial Arts Weapons) Classes and Schools in Arizona

Few in Arizona know what kobudo (and its counterpart – kobujutsu) is. This alone suggests how difficult it is to find a martial arts school that teaches and stresses kobudo, or basically, Okinawan martial arts weapons. When one learns about the history of martial arts and karate, it is puzzling as to why it’s a secret in Arizona.

Karate and Kobudo were blended into one martial art centuries ago, and only recently in the 20^th century, some Japanese forms of karate elected to eliminate kobudo. And when karate was introduced to the US, even more schools chose to eliminate kobudo from the curriculum. Yet, one Okinawan master of martial arts stated that the two were intertwined, “Karate and Kobudo can be likened to tires of a bicycle. Both are needed to make the bike move,” and should not be separated.

Kobudo employs a variety of Okinawan farming & fishing implements as weapons including nunchaku, nitan bo (batons), kama (sickles), short staff (hanbo), tsue (cane), bo (long staff), iiku (oar), ra-ke (rake), kuwa (hoe), surichin (weighted rope), tanto (knife), fish hook, short rakes, rope, weighted chain & more.

It is assumed that Kobudo became part of the Okinawan culture in the 15^th century. In 1480 AD, King Shoshin of Okinawa outlawed bladed weapons due to his non-violent Buddhist belief; however, most Okinawan peasants were concerned for their safety & developed the art of kobudo in secret. Then the inevitable happened, Okinawa was invaded in the early 17th century by well-armed samurai from Japan. As a result, Okinawa continued to develop kobudo and karate in total secrecy for self-defense against Japanese occupation forces.

Some weapons of kobudo:

• Bo (6-foot staff).
• Nunchuku (rice flails).
• Tonfa, Tuifa (rice grinder handles/baton)
• Kama (sickles).
• Kusarigama (weighted sickles).
• Manrikigusari (weighted chain, rope).
• Hanbo (3-foot staff).
• Surichin (weighted rope)
• Nitanbo - two sticks
• Keibo, Kioga (expandable telescopic baton)
• Tsue, Jou (cane)
• Kobuton, Tanbo (short stick)
• Nireiki (two rake)
• Eku (oar, paddle)
• Tanto (knife)
• Hari (Fish Hook)
• Katana (samurai sword)
• Naginata (halberd, polearm)
• Yari (spear)
• Kuwa (hoe)
• Kumade, Ra-ke (rake)
• Teko (Knuckle Duster, Okinawan brass knuckles)
• Hojo (Rope)



Next time you are in the Sears, Home Depot or Lowells garden center, look at all of the
kobudo weapons on display. And you thought they were for gardening. Here, Sensei
Paula Borea from Japan trains with kuwa (garden hoe) with husband Bill Borea who has
a bo (6-foot dowel).

• Konobo, Konsaibo, Tetsubo (war club)



Kobudo should be very practical and also provide an extension of karate techniques.  The twirling of martial arts weapons makes a mockery of the martial art. Students (deshi) should learn to use such weapons as weapons of power and focus, along with kata for kobudo weapons and bunkai (applications) kumite (sparring) for both kobudo and kobujutsu weapons. Sparring must be kept to a minumum and controlled.

In seaching Arizona for classes and schools in kobudo, one will likely find kobudo practiced at most Shorin-Ryu and Shito-Ryu martial arts schools. If a martial arts school has Okinawan influence, then kobudo should be a very important part of the training.

   

Arizona Police Baton Training

Luis (from Cuba) applies kubi waza to Todd (from Utah) at a night-stick (hanbo) clinic at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate on the border of Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona.

A common tool used by law enforcement personnel is a night-stick, also known as expandable baton, asp, telescopic baton, collapsible baton, tactical baton, kibo, kioga, etc. Similar tools used in law-enforcement include the side-handle baton (tonfa), billyclub, hanbo, and other batons. We even found a few sheriff departments that use nunchaku in place of a night-stick.

 

Training to use these weapons for law enforcement or for the general public is typically limited to a brief introductory course. Otherwise they must seek a qualified traditional martial arts school. We were surprised to find very few martial arts schools in Arizona provide intermediate and advanced training in these tools, even though these are commonly associated with Okinawa Karate and traditional Japanese Jujutsu. 

 

One weapon known as a hanbo (半棒) is basically a stripped-down version of a night-stick. This tool for martial artists is a half-bo (one-half of a bo staff). A similar Japanese weapon is known as jo, which is used in many jujutsu and iaido martial arts schools. The jo (4-feet in length) and hanbo (3-feet in length) have different lengths and are used differently. Other similar weapons include nitanbo, bokken and tsue (martial arts cane).



Soke Hausel from Gilbert, Arizona instructs martial artists at the University of Wyoming in Laramie in use of the expandable baton (asp).

This hanbo is very simple but to use it effectively, some techniques can be complex, thus to be good at this weapon, just like any martial art, one must reach a level of mushin from constant practice.  Hanbo is taught in many traditional jujutsu and ninjutsu (ninpo) systems.

 

The origin of the hanbo is not known with certainty. It has been suggested that Kuriyama Ukon introduced the weapon to the Kukishin-Ryu (九鬼神流) school in the 16^th century. In one account, it is reported that Kuriyama fought against General Suzuki Tangonokami Katsuhisa at the Nagashino castle in Japan in 1575. During this battle, Kuriyama armed with a yari (spear) fought General Suzuki who was armed with katana (sword). Suzuki sliced through Kuriyama’s spear cutting it in half, but Kuriyama was able to overwhelm the Suzuki with what remained of the handle of his yari. After this battle, Kuriyama developed the hanbo into an art that became part of taijutsu (体術). Taijutsu is a term often used interchangeably with jujutsu, and uses many arresting techniques in law enforcement, in particular, munadori waza (lapel grabs).

 




Officer Brett Philbrick of the Laramie Police Department uses restraint and asp on Kyle Gewecke from Gillette, Wyoming at martial arts clinic.

Other historians suggest taijutusu was part of Kukishin-Ryu since the 14^th century.  Today, a hanbo is considered as a half stick that traditionally is three shaku (90.9 cm or 35.8 inches) long, or essentially half a length of a traditional bo. A bo is sometimes referred to as roku-shaku-bo, or a stick of 6 shaku.

 

Shaku is an archaic unit of length used until the Japanese adopted the metric system in 1961. Prior to 1961, a shaku was a common measurement that equaled 30.3 cm (11.93 inches), or nearly one foot in length. The shaku was derived from nature and is the average length between mature bamboo nodes.

 

Confusion arose because another measurement was in use in Japan that was also known as shaku. This latter shaku, was used to measure cloth and was equal to 37.9 cm (14.9 inches) in length, or the length of an average whale’s whisker. This latter shaku was adopted by law in 1881 for measuring cloth. To distinguish between the two shaku, the cloth shaku was referred to as kujirajaka (kujira meaning whale); and the bamboo shaku was referred to as kanejaku. The use of shaku ended in 1961, but periodically appears in traditional Japanese carpentry.

The hanbo has been used as a defensive and arresting instrument by Japanese law enforcement officials in the past. During the late 19^th Century, low-ranking officers of the Edo period were armed with these wooden staffs. Such non-samurai police typically worked in teams attack simultaneously from all sides until they could disarm and restrain the individual with a rope. The Edo period occurred from 1603 to 1868, and is known as the beginning of the early modern era of Japan, and was a time of stability. It ended with the Meiji Restoration.  During the Edo period, samurai were important officials with many privileges. The Meiji Restoration included a chain of events that led to major changes in the political and social system in Japan, and was a result of the opening of Japan due to the arrival of Commodore Perry.

Dr. Teule trains with side-handle baton (tonfa) at the Arizona Hombu
in Mesa

During the Meiji era, the samurai class was eliminated and the wearing of swords prohibited. Additionally, all Japanese males were required to serve in the military for 4 years, which caused unrest with the samurai, who prior to this event, were allowed to bear arms – unlike peasants. As a result of the Meiji Restoration, samurai were no longer allowed to carrying swords, which was considered to be a very significant status symbol, and this led to a rebellion by the samurai, and to civil war.

Most hanbo kata have evasion techniques designed to avoid strikes by a sword followed by fast strikes to head or sword hand, or thrusts to the attacker's body. Not meeting the sword attack directly is characteristic response to an attack with a hanbo.

Randori typically involves two practitioners who actively spar, attempting to defend against incoming strikes from an "opponent." Such sessions are great refiners of applicable techniques, and excellent training for coordination, speed, and timing.

What matters most in the use of hanbo in randori is development of a spontaneity and accuracy of action. In modern taijutsu, members typically train to defend against an unarmed attacker or against an attacker armed with a knife or club. Defense techniques are often completed with blocks, strikes, throws and finished with restraints.

 

Judo in Arizona

"Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered. Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win." - O Sensei Ueshiba

This lady use to scare some of the men in the jujutsu
classes at the University of Wyoming with her
 powerful technique.

Many of us visualize judo as two sweaty people wearing heavy, white uniforms grabbing at each other’s uniform to foot sweep or throw in a dazzling display of the art. Judo reminded me of wrestling when I was young, but with different rules and a different uniform. It was suppose to be a self-defense, but I was a bit confused in my youth because it looked more like a sport or contest than self-defense.

Some judo was taught in the US military for combat even though that which was taught, had little practical application.


Judo (柔道) translates as ‘gentle way’. Based on history, judo is a relatively new martial art compared to most traditional arts and most varieties of judo are practiced as a combat sport: only a few traditional judo clubs focus on judo as self-defense (the way it was intended) rather than sport. And is a soft art? Far from it! It is brutal and requires incredible endurance.

Demonstration of yubi waza (thumb throw) on Brett Philbrick
at the University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate club.

Judo had origins in Japan in the late 19th century. Its most distinctive characteristic is the majority of practitioners compete. Judo was introduced as an Olympic sport in Tokyo in 1964, and at that time, competitors were separated into 4 weight classes. The object of the contest was to throw, immobilize, subdue an opponent through grappling, or to force an opponent to submit by applying joint locks, or execute a choke restraint to get your opponent to submit.


Although most are familiar with throwing and grappling in judo; judo also includes self-defense applications such as hand strikes, kicks and even weapons. But the strikes in the sport are used only in kata and are not part of competition or randori (judo free sparing) which has a tendency to lessen the value of Judo as a self-defense. However, the practice of randori is beneficial in providing practitioners a method for building timing and reflexes and to teach to react to attacks, rather than think about the attack. If judo practitioners provided equal time to randori and self-defense applications, judo would be an excellent self-defense – but the majority of judo practitioners focus on competition and little time on self-defense.

As a young adult, the creator of judo, Jigoro Kano did not weigh more than a hundred pounds; thus he was bullied and decided to pursue jujutsu at the age of 17. At Tokyo Imperial University, he studied martial arts and literature and eventually received a referral to study Tenjin Shin'yō-Ryu: a jujutsu style that emphasized technique over formal exercise.

The early history of judo cannot be separated from its founder: Jigoro Kano (1860–1938). Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family: his father was a Shinto priest. Kano initiated a major reformation of jujutsu and included techniques that emphasized development of the body, mind and character. At 22, he began studying jujutsu at the Eisho-ji Buddhist temple in Kamakura. This became known as the Kodokan, or "place for teaching the way". Today, the Kodokan Institute for Judo is in Tokyo and is the official headquarters of the judo world that was established in 1882 by Kano.

The primary focus on Judo is throwing (nage-waza) and groundwork (ne-waza). Sparring in judo known as randori means ‘free practice’. Randori involves two practitioners who continuously attack one other with any judo throw or grappling technique in their arsenal. Striking techniques (atemi-waza) such as kicking and punching, along with knife and sword techniques are retained in judo kata but not in randori. For reasons of safety, chokeholds, joint locking and sacrifice techniques are subject to age and rank restrictions.



Kano saw jujutsu as a group of disconnected tricks and he wanted to connect these, eliminate useless techniques, and make his art flow like water. His reformation of jujutsu discarded techniques that relied solely on superior strength and adapted techniques that redirected an opponent's force to make use of superior leverage. Judo was originally called Kano Jiu-Jitsu and later called Kodokan Jiu-Do or simply Judo. The word ‘judo’ shares the same Chinese root ideogram as "jujutsu": "jū" (柔). This kanji refers to ‘gentle’, ‘soft’, or ‘supple’ depending on context. The use of jū is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the ‘soft method’, characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. It is the principle of using an attacker’s strength against himself.

 The second Chinese character used for judo and jujutsu differ. In jujutsu (柔術), this means "art" or "science" of softness. In judo (柔道), it means ‘the way’, ‘road’ or ‘path’, which has philosophical overtones which was Kano’s intent. This is the same kanji also used to distinguish budō from bujutsu and karatedo from karatejutsu. Use of do was a deliberate departure from the ancient combat martial arts, whose sole purpose was for killing. Kano saw judo as a means for governing and improving oneself physically, mentally, emotionally and morally.



Wrist restraint - any law enforcement agent would do well to train hard and constantly in jujutsu or judo. The public has a strange perception that jujutsu is not as violent as karate. But that's only because they have not seen the throws and restraints used by the greatest living martial artist - Dai Soke Sacharnoski. It is enough to put fear in any person. In this photo, Shihan Dai Kyle Gewecke of Gillette applies wrist restraint on Sensei Brett Philbrick of the Laramie Police Department during a police baton (kioga) clinic at the University of Wyoming.

Judo practitioners traditionally wear heavy, white uniforms called jūdōgi, or ‘judo uniform’. The jūdōgi was created by Kano in 1907 and similar uniforms were later adopted by many martial arts groups. The modern jūdōgi consists of white drawstring pants with a matching white jacket that is fastened by a belt (obi). The jacket is intended to withstand the stress of grappling, and as a result, it is much thicker than a karate uniform (karategi).

Most judo today is sport, thus in randori when an opponent successfully executes a chokehold or joint lock, the other will submit, or ‘tap out’. When this occurs the match is over, the tapping player has lost, and the chokehold or joint lock ceases. Judo is also a self-defense art and uses forms (kata) that are pre-arranged patterns of attack and defense, which in judo are practiced with a partner for the purpose of perfecting technique. Knowledge of various kata is a requirement for the attainment of a higher rank.

Randori assists in tuning reflexes and the ability to respond to attacks without thinking, making this a relatively effective method for self-defense practice. Many forms of jujutsu focused on individual techniques in self-defense applications that were choreographed without randori. But through time, most jujutsu styles have adopted randori into their training regimen.

 Seven judo kata are recognized by the Kodokan. In addition, there are a few kata not officially recognized but practiced by some Judo clubs.

 Grandmaster Soke Hausel applies te waza (hand technique) with foot choke on Shihan-Dai Kyle Gewecke (4th dan) from Gillette, Wyoming during a self-defense clinic at the University of Wyoming in Laramie (2004)

Joint locks (kansetsu-waza) are effective combat techniques because they enable a jūdōka to control an opponent through pain, or if necessary, to cause separation of the locked joint. Chokes and strangulations (shime-waza) enable the person applying the choke to force the adversary into unconsciousness. In competition, the jūdōka wins if his opponent submits or becomes unconscious. Rules in judo are intended to avoid injuries and ensure proper etiquette.

Applying wrist lock on Wade Stenger from
Albuquerque at University of Wyoming
class (about 1990).

Judo has three categories of points: ippon, waza-ari and yuko. An ippon means one point and wins a match. An ippon is awarded for (1) a throw that lands the opponent on their back in a controlled manner with speed and force; (2) for a mat hold down (or control) of sufficient duration (25 seconds); or (3) for opponent submission. A waza-ari is awarded for a throw that does not quite have enough power or control to be considered ippon; or for a hold of 20 seconds. A waza-ari is a half-point, and, if two are scored, they constitute the full point needed for a win. Yuko is a lower grade score, and is only considered as a tie-breaker; it is not cumulative with one another. Yuko points are scored for a 15-second hold down. If the person who secured the hold down already has a waza-ari, they only need to control a hold down for 20 seconds to score ippon by way of two waza-ari. Throws lacking the requirements of an ippon or a waza-ari might score a yuko.

Judo has formed the basis for military training around the world. The Japanese police have trained in judo since 1886, when judo (at the time known as Kano Jujitsu) defeated several established schools of jujitsu in a tournament.  Judo's lineage in traditional jujitsu combined with police and military applications, has resulted in kata specifically designed to teach technical principles for self-defense.



Soke Hausel instructs members of the military in self-defense.