The identity of Jujitsu

Henry Agallar
3 min readOct 18, 2022

A martial art with a long history, Jujitsu has changed and adapted throughout the years. It all began in Edo, Japan, in the early seventeenth century. The Tokugawa shogunate, which devised the system, sought to limit the frequency of conflict by passing stringent regulations around the possession and usage of firearms. Furthermore, prominent Japanese educator Fujiwara Seika disseminated Neo-Confucianism, a philosophical movement devalued firearms to insignificance. As a result, new methods of dealing with unarmored foes evolved during this time, and hand-to-hand combat became popular as self-defense.

Carlos Gracie saw his first Jujitsu exhibition while he was a teenager. As a result of his interest, he decided to learn more about the craft. Later, he trained under teacher Mitsuyo Maeda and rose to the ranks. Over time, Gracie established his school to teach martial arts. And Gracie welcomed challengers to his expertise. Decades were spent on the struggle.

There are other Jujitsu systems, but Gracie Jujitsu stands out for its philosophy and practical applications. The original purpose of the art was self-protection. It’s a method of self-defense that trains you to spot your adversary’s vulnerabilities and confidently exploit them. Many famous fighters and future fighters have been taught Gracie Jujitsu because of the effectiveness of its methods and concepts.

Jujutsu is a traditional Japanese martial art that arose to satisfy the necessities of the Samurai. It employs a variety of blades, including katanas and tantos, to negate the might of its foes. Historically, it was utilized by Samurai to teach combat skills to aspiring young soldiers. Therefore, practitioners needed to have a method that would allow them to rapidly and effectively beat an adversary because combat was frequently harsh.

After the Tokugawa shogunate, the Tokyo Police Department adopted a new curriculum incorporating art instruction for its personnel. Jujutsu has served as an inspiration for unarmed military fighting styles. Nearly all branches of the armed forces currently offer unarmed combat training based on the principles of jujutsu.

The technique developed by Jigoro Kano is a complete system of martial arts for self-defense and conflict. Jigoro Kano created it in the 19th century. It was founded on the core tenets of Judo, a martial art that places a premium on effectiveness in battle. Kano’s strategy includes giving in to and blending with an opponent and then deflecting his assault.

He was born in the city of Mikage, Japan, and went on to become a teacher. He took up Ju-Jitsu as a youngster, and it became a major part of his life. A contemporary sport known as Kodokan Judo grew from the martial technique he created.

Mitsuo Maeda, a legendary martial arts expert from Japan, was one of Kano’s students at the Kodokan academy. He was renowned for his proficiency in both naval and land combat. When Maeda first arrived in Brazil in 1914, he became fast friends with a man named Carlos Gracie. After learning the new form of Judo from Maeda, Gracie and his brothers established Brazil’s first judo academy.

Jujitsu, the art created by Mitsuo Maeda, was the inspiration for the development of Brazilian Jujitsu. It was developed by feudal Japanese Samurai as a last-ditch method of defense. A more contemporary spin was added to the art in the 1920s when it was altered to include ground fighting.

Developed in Japan in the 1880s, modern Judo is a kind of unarmed fighting. It’s a type of martial art that’s been incorporated into the Olympic Games and is widely practiced throughout the globe. The art of Judo, a martial art that emphasizes the use of leverage and submits to win matches, is very well-liked. Kata and free sparring are the two fundamental components.

In 1882, a young man named Osamu Ryu opened a dojo in the Eisho-Ji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan. This marked the birth of Judo. It was the original Kodokan judo dojo and only fit twelve mats.

Discipline and perseverance are key to the current Jujitsu ethos. Therefore, it calls for extensive education over a long period of time. Thankfully, it’s an art form that has practical uses in daily life. Because of this, persons who study Jujitsu will improve their quality of life in a variety of ways.

As its name suggests, Jujitsu was created to aid Samurai in combat. However, over the years, the art was reworked to fit a variety of contexts and aesthetic preferences. After the Commodore Perry Expedition in 1853 ended Japan’s isolation strategy, martial arts gradually lost popularity in the country. Around this time, Judo was revolutionized by Master Jigoro Kano, who established the practice of tossing one’s opponent to the floor.

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Henry Agallar

Henry Agallar has been teaching martial arts for more than a decade and specializes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and no-gi grappling techniques.