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Old 12-29-2006, 09:13 AM   #2
DonMagee
Location: Indiana
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,311
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Re: Jujutsu - Yawara -- definitions

Interesting read.

I am interested in this as well. In my local area there are many discussions on if bjj is really jiujitsu. Most of the local non bjj guys say that it isn't, because there is as they put it "no focus on killing". I find the argument silly. I've tried pointing at the Fusen ryu guys, the Kosen judo guys, etc. But they have a solidified mindset on what jiujitsu is. Personally, I agree with you that it is a generic term like kung-fu.

I also wonder about the statement made that bjj training methods are different then classical jiujitsu. Judo has similar methods, and was not judo derived from jiujitsu? Also was not judo concidered a form of jiujitsu? Beyond that, I'm sure Kano did not invent the idea of actually resisting and training in the 'alive' mindset. So that had to come from his experience in jiujitsu. He simply refined the idea to remove or change, the 'too deadly' techniques to allow you to train this way more frequently. I would have to say that this training method is in line with classical jiujitsu. However it is not inline with the modern take on what a traditional martial art is. I of course thing focus on kata and departure from sparing is really a creation of the last 50-60 years.

However, I'm not really qualified to talk about it. I'm just posting so I can see what other people answer.

- Don
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein
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