Modern Ju-Jutsu |
Budo and Bu-Jutsu
“It is necessary to maintain the balance between old and new in the teaching process but we should stop the sliding into public performance and reject the sport and competitive elements”, - considers the leading Master of Toyama Ryu and the founder of his own Bu Jutsu Nakamura Ryu - Nakamura Taisaburo Sensei. The main objective of numerous modern Bu Jutsu Schools is to practice specialized hand-to-hand fighting techniques. Mostly these methods are used by law-enforcement and military Special Forces services. A number of other Schools, claiming to be Bu Jutsu, is aimed as applied self-defense and spiritual development methods at common people. Modern Bu Jutsu has maintained the spiritual seisi-o tetsu aspect - overcoming the thoughts of live and death. It is a characteristic feature for almost all the Schools of a classical directedness, which were created for applied usage in a struggle and guided by buai shinken shyobu principle that is mortal fights between professional Warriors, what tends to defeat an opponent with the most effective methods. Modern Bu Jutsu techniques training are grounded on the usage of such methods as randori (different conditions fights) and kata (formal exercises complex; these techniques are considered to be so dangerous that it is impossible to use them in a competitive fight). Physical and psychophysical preparedness methods are widely used in a training process as well. Modern Bu Jutsu techniques base consists of a wide variety of actions, which could be applied in different situations, including disarment techniques and, in some styles, units of weapon usage. The methods of fighting against several opponents are also studied. The most frequent weapons are sticks of different length, knife and rope as these objects are the most frequent in usual life. The methods of such Schools can be called absolutely pragmatic. Contrary to utilitarian Bu Jutsu objectives, Budo sets its task as the physical and spiritual perfection for realization of adherent as a personality and an active member of a peaceful society. These Schools offer the student self-defence, athletic trainings and sport. Modern Budo denies classical mortal Martial Arts and offer instead widely spreaded sport disciplines and other methods of self-realization. Brought in Budo Shiai competitive concept replaced the traditional idea of shinken shyobu - mortal fight - turning the enemy into opponent, thus changing the main idea of a combat. Lots of Masters consider that modern Budo Schools have lost completely uncompromising martial spirit of classical Martial Arts. Consequently, Budo techniques performance mostly turns into symbolical. In these cases they’re fighting in a playing manner or in a manner of competition, where strict rules, limiting the techniques appliance, are observed. Lots of modern Budo train the methods of fight against one unarmed opponent and mostly do not train weapon and disarming techniques. The system itself does not give the adherent numerous martial means and comprehension of the true hand-to-hand fighting reality. It is worth to state that lots of modern Martial Art Schools include the elements of both mentioned above systems: for instance, studying and training true effective fighting techniques but allowing their adherents participate competitions, the rules of which do have the limits but are brought near to real fighting conditions as much as possible. In these Schools, as in classical Martial Arts, the attention is paid on kata, performed with a partner, trainings with different weapon types, disarment techniques and on training and competitive fights. Health-improvement systems and spiritual perfection have a great importance as well. The teachers of lots of Schools consider that the weapon, which mastered Ju Jutsu techniques are, can not be passed to unprepared person, and make the teaching system in a way of constant leading to the ability of true martial techniques appliance (without forcing) and gradual spirit elevation. There are particular moral postulates, gathered in dojo rules - dojo kun - knowing and following of these rules is a very important element of the teaching process. Besides, we can often see how the technical system, presented in Budo, on some level turns into Bu Jutsu, having included the true effective techniques and its training methods and excluded the sport aspects, presented at the begenner’s level. Lots of modern disciplines include in their training programs the methods of bare hands and different weapon fighting, strict specialty is not welcome. On the contrary, the other Schools practise limited techniques arsenal only, which is necessary to perform limited tasks. The Schools focused on traditional Japanese Martial Arts mostly compound the first group. They underline that the majority of the Masters of the past and present, as usual, studied several disciplines, without direct specializing on some particular one, until they reached a high level in several Schools. It is considered that the majority of hand-to-hand fighting systems pay much attention on some one aspect and only the different Martial Arts training can make you a true Master. |
Almost all modern Martial Art Schools (the styles founded after abolishment of feudal system in Japan, Meiji revolution in year 1868) and the styles that have classical Japanese Martial Arts in their roots but founded in other countries in the 20th century, are united now under the common name of Sin Budo, that is new Budo. The term Gendai Budo is also frequently used for the Schools, grounded after Meiji revolution. This term generalizes the complex of disciplines, where Budo and Bu jutsu are included as its part. Generally speaking, the most of modern styles by any means are connected with traditional Arts of Japan. The founders of a number of modern styles borrowed the elements of the disciplines, which they had studied, for the technical and theoretical development of the basis of their own Schools. So lots of the elements of the traditional military preparedness Schools got in modern schools new forms, characterizing their peculiarities and originality.