Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

A History of Ju Jitsu

There are many wide and varied accounts of the history of Ju-Jitsu, many are

un-reliable folk stories complete with a variety of myths and legends, and many

accounts are contradictory. There are however, some common themes which

provide a good indication into the origins of the art.

No matter what the exact source of the art is, it is important to understand:

1. The principles of the art

2. The history of the art and the environment in which the art developed (the

history of Japan)

These two points will now be outlined further

The Principles of the Art

The word “Ju-Jitsu” is formed from two Japanese Kaji symbols. The first, "Ju" can

be translated to mean "flexible, pliable, or yielding" note, the lack of a reference

to attributes such as; power and strength, words often associated with the martial

arts. Instead, the implication here is more aligned to manipulation and the use of

force and balance.

The second symbol "Jitsu" can be translated as "art", technique, method, or

school" which when proceeded with “Ju” character provides an insight into the

very essence of Ju-Jitsu, the method of manipulation of an opponent’s force

against them. The defender yields to an attackers force and redirects it for

maximum advantage.

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

The History of the Art

The precise origins of Ju-Jitsu are difficult to pinpoint, with an acute lack of solid

historical evidence. There are some accounts of a man named Chingempin, who

left China after the fall of the Min dynasty, and settled in a Buddhist temple in

Yedo, now better known as Tokyo. This particular story continues that within the

same temple lived three master-less samurai, known as Ronin. (A samurai

became master-less following the death of his master, or after the loss of his

master's privilege or position within society).

One day Chingempin told them that in China there was an art of seizing a man,

which he had seen himself, practiced but had not learned its principles. On

hearing this, these three men made investigations and afterwards became very

skillful.

In particular around 1671, one of these Ronin became so proficient that he

repeatedly defeated opponents much stronger than himself. This is where the

spread of Ju-Jitsu begins as two of his students became especially skilled, and

foundered of separate schools, named Miura and Terada.

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The origin of ju, which is equivalent to jujutsu, is traced to these three men, from

whom it spread throughout the country. This is the most common account of the

origin of the art, referenced in many sources but again, with little supporting

evidence.

The Environment in Which Ju-Jitsu Developed

Perhaps it is more historically accurate to trace the origins of Ju-Jitsu by

reviewing the environment in which it developed.

The earliest traces of civilization in Japan can be found in the Kofun burial

mounds, some of which trace back to prehistoric times. Here, pottery “haniwa”

Warriors and their horses can be found, some with details so great that they

appear to be wearing armour and carrying swords and bows.

The “Kofun” mounds are where the early tribal leaders of Japan can be found.

The most important tribal leader claimed to be a direct descendant of the sun

goddess and as such established Japan’s first capital, Kyoto, with his family line

becoming the first Japanese Imperial Family.

Japan, like most other early tribal civilizations was constantly in a state of unrest,

tension and tribal war and by the 8th century decades of battlefield warfare lead to

the emergence of skilled warriors who had chosen to lead a life of warfare and

dedicate themselves to the perfection the required skills, they fought because

fighting was part of their philosophy, their reason for living.

As most of the land in Japan is mountainous with only a relatively small amount

being suitable for essential agriculture two problems became apparent; firstly, the

terrain made it difficult for any centralized government to establish itself and

civilized communities far from the capital, leading to communities establishing

themselves and “self-governing”. This in turn leads to the second problem, power

struggles and skirmishes between clans or tribes over fertile land and it is this

situation which allowed the skilled fighters to not only develop and practice their

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“art” but also to have a purpose, the defense of their tribes land, or the capture of

another’s.

In an effort to bring order to a warring set of tribes (which by 200 AD had grown

to a size more akin to “states” or “cities”) the then Emperor Suijin granted a

commission for a military commander in chief, known as the “Shogun”. The

Shogun very quickly became the most powerful man in the country as, in the time

of warfare, power drifted away from the Emperor to the various war lords, of

which, the Shogun was the most prominent.

The earlier mentioned skilled warriors, now well versed and skilled in battle (and

thus highly valued) lead to the development of so called “warrior families” who

continued the fighting traditions by contesting neighboring warrior families for

land, wealth or simply status and recognition of superiority.

Ancient Ju-Jitsu Training

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The members of the warrior families served their master or the head of the

family, usually the provincial lord or “daimyo” (they we’re not always direct

relations and “adopted” members we’re common) and became known as the

“bushi” or warriors, these “bushi” we’re further assisted by their students, known

as “Samurai” which literally translates as “one who serves” and it is here where

the term so synonymous with Ju-Jitsu occurs. By the 14th century, these

“students” became regarded as warriors in their own right, warriors who served

their master or lord and chose to pursue a life of warfare under a code known as

“Bushido”, the Way of The Warrior”

Bushidō is word in common usage since the late 19th century, used to describe a

uniquely Japanese code of conduct adhered to by the samurai, and loosely

relating to the more familiar old English concept of Chivalry. This code is said to

have emphasised virtues such as loyalty, honour, obedience, duty, filial piety (a

love and respect for one's parents and ancestors), and self-sacrifice.

The actual term bushidō is surprisingly extremely rare in ancient texts. It does not

even appear in famous texts supposedly describing this code, such as the

Hagakure of Yamamoto Tsunetomo. We do know that at various points in

Japanese history certain feudal lords devised prescriptive "House Codes" to

guide the actions of their students (retainers), but finding evidence of a single,

unified "samurai code" which all Japanese warriors adhered to is difficult.

As time past, Samurai combat changed, as did their armour and their weaponry.

The old formalities of basic combat were left and armour grappling flourished,

driven by need on the battlefield. Many martial arts schools adopted and

improved grappling techniques to cater for this, many allowing the use of small

knives to be utilised in close combat situations. The 15th and 16th centuries

brought major changes to the Samurai and Japan's social system. At this point in

time anyone could bear arms and climb the social ladder if they had the drive,

talent or were ruthless enough.

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

Japan entered “the Age of the Country at War", a civil war that lasted around 150

years. This war returned the country to the early Samurai feudalism and by 1590,

following many years of fighting the country was united under one ruler,

Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi put into motion the rules of social reform that created a

strict social structure that effected Japan until the 20th Century.

Firstly Hideyoshi held a great sword hunt, all except samurai had to surrender

their weapons, highlighting the social importance and status that the Samurai

had now climbed to. He then classed people according to their profession, with

Samurai being at the top of the ladder and peasants at the bottom. Movement

between the classes was not possible, if you were born a farmer then you stayed

a farmer until the end of your days no matter how much money you had .The

Samurai were now distinctive separate class even though they only ever

numbered around 8% of the total population.

Japan entered an age of peace with an established government and with peace

the need for skilled, experienced battlefield warriors, the Samurai, declined

dramatically. In 1650 a law had to be passed to stop Samurai dueling and

feuding with each other (which occurred frequently simply because there was no

war to fight, the samurai lived to fight and without a war, they fought each other)

and in 1694 another law had to be passed to force Samurai to train in the martial

arts, which began the movement away from the treasured sword.

At this time the hand to hand elements of the battlefield techniques flourished.

The "Golden age" of Jiu Jitsu was the Tokugawa period when Japan was at

peace. There were reportedly 725 distinctive styles being practiced at its peak.

The most important principle of these schools teaches was throwing, practiced to

disturb the center of gravity of the opponent, and then manipulate the opponent

so that they cannot stand (note again the reference to manipulation and skill, not

brute force or strength) lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground, with some

encouragement to ensure victory.

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

A series of techniques or methods of yielding or manipulation were taught in

relation to the different motions of feet, legs, arms, hands, the thigh and back, in

order to accomplish this objective. Choking via the hands, forearms, or by

twisting the collar of the opponent's clothing around the throat, holding down and

pushing, using any part of the body and twisting and bending using the arms,

hands and fingers, and sometimes the legs.

Most students of these schools wanted a teaching license, as this, in the

absence of war, became a way of earning a living. This system of operating was

strengthened in 1717 when the police forced all schools and styles to be

registered. The similarities between this and the club structure of martial arts

schools today are obvious.

The final blow for the Samurai came in 1867 when a law was passed forbidding

the wearing of swords, the very symbol of the Samurai. The Samurai warrior

class had now become obsolete, redundant, no longer required in a time of

peace.

The end of the Samurai class in 1867 very nearly meant the end of Ju Jitsu also.

Many schools closed down due to lack of interest and Ju-Jtsu went into decline

as it was considered to be an inappropriate image for the new Japan that the

government wanted the rest of the world to see.

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Ju-Jitsu training in the 1920’s

Britain a New Home for Ju-Jitsu

Whilst fundamentally important to any students understanding, for me personally,

the history of Ju-Jitsu in Britain holds more interest and relevance as it is this

very history which I am now a part of.

Britain was one of the first western countries to receive Ju-Jitsu instructors. The

first recorded demonstration took place in March 1892 at the inaugural meeting

of the Japan Society, by a Mr. Shidachi. Mr. Shidachi, like many of the Japanese

living in London at the time had trained in Ju-Jitsu in Japan and was no doubt an

excellent and highly skilled practitioner, however it’s important to note that he

was not a proclaimed Ju-Jitsu instructor, in fact he was a secretary at the London

branch of the Bank of Japan.

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

Some 8 years later, Mr. Barton-Wright, who had lived and worked, like many

Westerners as an engineer in the new “industrial” Japan and had trained in Ju-

Jitsu in Tokyo, returned to Britain. He demonstrated his Ju-Jitsu capabilities

(which he referred to as “Bartjutsu”) and also wrote to his Japanese instructors

Master Yukio Tani and his brother, inviting them to Britain to form an academy of

Ju-Jitsu.

The Tani Brothers

Early demonstrations by the Tani brothers and their associates who arrived with

them we’re unfortunately badly managed and did not give the Japanese the

opportunity to showcase the true value of the art against the more commonly

seen wrestling, boxing and circus strongman. The disinterest lead to a number of

instructors returning to Japan, with the exception of the Tani brothers, who did

not give up.

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To promote the art of Ju-Jitsu, Mr. Barton-Wright decided to tour the country

showing the art of Ju-Jitsu and placed challenges to all comers to defeat the

Japanese Tani brothers.

Yukio Tani was at the time, only a young exponent of Ju-Jitsu and a natural

showman. He led the two men into touring the Music Hall circuit across the UK.

Yukio Tani would challenge anyone willing to test his skill against him and with

the temptation of winning £1 for lasting each minute, or £5 for winning, there was

never a shortage of challengers.

Despite being only 5 feet 6 inches (1.67m) Tani allegedly lost only one music hall

match and that was not to a British contestant but to a fellow Japanese national,

Taro Miyake in 1905.

In 1900 Yukio Tani’s brother returned to Japan and a new name appeared on the

music hall circuit, Sadukazu Uyenishi, who used the stage name "Raku" but soon

he moved into teaching self defence and physical education at the Army

Gymnastic HQ in Aldershot after word of the skill of these men reached the

military ranks.

Tani split from Barton-Wright in 1903 and in 1904 he opened the Japanese

School of Ju-Jitsu at the Anglo-Japanese institute in London with Sadukazu

Uyenishi. It was at this institute that a Mr Jack Britten, a London born boxer who

earned money fighting in the boxing booths around the city came into contact

with Ju-Jitsu under Yukio Tani, and Sadakazu Uyenishi, and other Japanese

who stayed in London whilst in transit to other European capitals. Jack became a

highly proficient student of Tani and Uyenishi but was eventually called up to fight

in the First World War from 1914- 1918. With the end of the war in 1918 Jack

eventually returned to London looking for work.

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Jack Britten

Sometime in 1921 he came to Liverpool and opened a pet shop in Smithdown

Place, above which he established a small Ju-Jitsu School. Later in the 1930s he

moved to Shiell Road, Kensington, Liverpool, taking over a very large house that

had 5 rooms, rooms he converted into matted dojos calling his school the Alpha

School of Ju-Jitsu.

When I first heard of the Alpha School of Ju-Jitsu, it did not mean a great deal to

me, that was until I became old enough and experienced enough to ask my

instructor, Soke Robert Clark where “our” Ju-Jitsu came from. Soke Clark

explained that The Alpha School of Ju-Jitsu was considered to be THE best

martial arts school outside of London, this was due to the superiority of Tani and

Uyenishi’s teachings, passed on to Jack Britten.

One of Jack Britten’s most famous students was who we now know as Soke

Robert Clark who developed the first recognized syllabus of Ju-Jitsu outside of

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Japan and later joined forces with other Ju-Jitsu students Richard Morris and

James Blundell to form the British Ju-Jitsu Association. James Blundell’s journey

in Ju-Jitsu follows a similar pattern (all be it, there are less details available) in

that he was taught by a man named Harry Hunter who studied in Japan whilst

stationed there with the British Navy and opened his own school upon returning

to the UK where his most senior student, named William Green in turn taught

James Blundell.

Soke Robert Clark

Mr Clark, later sought to establish Ju-Jitsu across Europe with the help of

Richard Morris and The World Ju-Jitsu Federation was born with The British Ju-

Jitsu Association (BJJA) being its British Branch. With particular interest

generated in Italy, Ju-Jitsu found a second home and one of Mr Clark’s students

and a fellow martial artist Giacomo Bertoletti became the president of the WJJF.

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

Eventually, the WJJF and BJJA split (the reasons for this are not documented

and) and the WJJF under Mr Clark grew to an international organization, with

clubs existing now in 72 countries and the famous blue jackets linking together

thousands of black belts around the world.

Members of The World Ju-Jitsu Federation

The Psychological Approach to Training after Shodan

Getting my black belt was a huge anti-climax.

On the day, I felt that I had achieved something special, Sensei Clark pushed

Sensei Fred Fitzgibbon across the mat towards me when the belts we’re being

given out so that he could tie my black belt around my waist. In that moment, I

have never felt prouder.

I had already decided, at this point, that I wanted to be an instructor, Sensei

Fitzgibbon had spent countless hours making minute corrections to the position

of my feet, hands and the execution of my techniques, corrections so small that

at first I couldn’t see the benefit and yet once I’d taken the small critiques on

board, I improved ten-fold. It was this attention to detail and the immense

benefits that such small corrections made that made me determined to help

others achieve in the way that Sensei Fred had with me.

I remember the following Monday, after black belt grading day vividly. I arrived for

my session with Sensei Fred as normal; we trained together before I assisted

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

Sensei Campbell with the children’s Ju-Jitsu mat. I hadn’t even set foot in the

downstairs dojo when Sensei Fred shouted “don’t you be coming in here with

that belt if you think it does anything else but hold your gi together”. In that one

sentence, I suddenly felt like a 5 year old white belt, in my t-shirt and shorts, in

my first Ju-Jitsu lesson where I knew no one and nothing.

In that very instant, I understood what Mr. Campbell had meant when he told me

getting your black belt meant you have to “start learning” and I very quickly

decided that I was not ready to be an instructor, nearly as quickly as I had

decided, two days before, that this was what I wanted to do.

There is a big mystique around the black belt, which since the day mentioned

previously, I have never understood. Personally, Dan grades mean nothing other

than to serve as a measure of how long someone has studied a martial art. It

doesn’t necessarily make you technically good, it does not make you a good

instructor and your 5th Dan does not mean that your belt is any better at holding

your gi together than a 1st dank

It is this reflection which lead me to take a break from gradings, I should be

taking my 5th Dan in March 2013, but instead, I will be concentrating on

developing the techniques in the syllabus, trying to go from good, to excellent,

finding all of the coaching points for both adults and children, exploring additions,

linking techniques, counters, combinations etc etc.

With my feet firmly planted on the ground by Sensei Fitzgibbon, I was

encouraged to take my coaching badges, which I did and I discovered my love of

coaching by beginning to teach at my secondary school at 17 whilst studying for

my A-Levels. I realized now why Sensei Fred’s attention to detail was so

important, I had to analyze every aspect of the throws and locks I’d been doing

for years, break them down into very simple language and movement, make

Paul Breen – Sandan Grading

minor adjustments for effectiveness (and safety) and know the answer to every

question a child raised.

Breaking techniques down allows you to see a whole manner of possibilities, the

subtle aspects of the movements and positions which can be adapted, amended

and linked to other techniques, more effective techniques, different techniques,

other ways of doing the technique and more. I found I questioned why I did things

this way and more interestingly….why don’t I try that way.

The thing I enjoy about coaching, more than the stripping down of a technique

and its analysis, is the confidence I can instill in another person by showing them

how to do something they do not think they can do, or have struggled with. My

black belt helps me to do this, but it only helps. The number of times I have had

to ask Sensei Fred “how do I do this again?” must go into the thousands, add to

that the number of questions I have asked other instructors and we’re into

hundreds of thousands.

As I have progressed and studied Ju-Jitsu, I have founded that throwing isn’t

enough, I have studied the striking elements of the art, the ground work and the

standing grappling elements in isolation and tougher and one thing strikes me

with great effect. Whilst many of my friends and a large part of the UK martial

arts population are now moving to study what has been termed Mixed Martial

Arts (MMA), I realize that my art, the art of Ju-Jitsu is the original mixed martial

art, it has it all and it was developed in a time when your life depended on the

effectiveness of your fighting skills.

I am furthermore stating to realize that the more I practice, the more “aware” I

have become, I just “know” what’s coming before my opponent makes the initial

movement, what’s more, I find that I use less effort to complete a technique that I

might have done 5-6 years ago. I believe this is a direct result of two things:

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1. Sensei Fred keeping my feet very firmly on the ground, forcing me to

accept that the black belt doesn’t mean an awful lot (despite the effort

involved in getting it) and that I now had to really “learn”.

2. Moving into coaching, breaking down everything I do, questioning the best

way to teach it (which ironically lead to improving my own technique) and

answering and getting answers to the hundreds of questions that are

asked of you as a coach about the “why” and the “how”.

I no longer look at our syllabus as a set of belts but only as a set of techniques

that need to be continually practice and applied to achieve this goal, the same

can be said of the many katas I have studied.

To me, this granular level of study is more important than the next black belt, this

isn’t to say I do not appreciate the belt system, it’s a good indication of a

student’s ability, it’s just that it’s not the ONLY indication of a student’s ability and

sometimes, it’s not the most accurate.

Your black belt is what you make of it, if you believe it reflects that you are a

superior student and that you have a greater level of understanding against

others, you are probably correct to a point. It takes a lot to get your black belt and

it does mean that you have a greater level of “knowledge” over a Kyu grade but it

doesn’t mean you have a greater level of “understanding”.

If you believe your black belt is there to hold your Gi together and you are ready

to accept that you now need to begin to really understand what you are doing

and why you are doing it, then you are at least on your way to becoming

proficient.