Martial arts About

Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Today, martial arts are studied for various reasons including combat skills, fitness, self-defense, sport, self-cultivation (meditation), mental discipline, character development and building self-confidence. A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist.

Worldwide there is a great diversity of martial arts. Broadly speaking, martial arts share a common goal: to defeat a person physically or to defend oneself from physical threat. Within some martial arts there is a deep sense of spirituality. Each style has different facets that make them unique from other martial arts.

A common characteristic of martial arts is the systemization of fighting techniques. One common method of training, particularly in the Asian martial arts, is the form or kata (also called aka, poomse, quan dao, kuen, tao lu, hyung, juru, hsing or tuls). This is a set routine of techniques performed alone, or sometimes with a partner.

Martial arts may focus on one or more of these areas.

About Jujutsu

Jujutsu (from the Japanese jūjutsu meaning ("gentle/yielding/compliant art") is a Japanese martial art whose central ethos is to yield to the force provided by an opponent's attack in order to apply counter techniques from the resultant ensuing situation. There are many ryu (styles) of the art which leads to a diversity of approaches. Jujutsu ryu may utilize all techniques to some degree (i.e. throwing, trapping, locking, and holding down, grappling, gouging, biting, disengagements, striking, and kicking). Generally jujutsu ryu make limited use of strikes since they were predominantly developed in feudal Japan under the auspices of the samurai warrior class. The techniques evolved to become effective against armed opponents wearing bamboo body armor to protect vital parts of the face, throat, and body. In addition to jujutsu, many schools taught the use of weapons.

About Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu 

Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu originally called Daito-ryū jujutsu is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Sokaku Takeda (Takeda Sōkaku). Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts (including Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu and sumo) and referred to the style he taught as Daito-ryū. Although the ryū's traditions claim to extend back centuries in Japanese history there are no known extant records regarding the ryū before Sokaku Takeda. Whether he is regarded as the restorer or founder of the art, the known history of Daito-ryū begins with Sokaku Takeda. Perhaps the most famous student of Sokaku Takeda was Morihei Ueshiba (Ueshiba Morihei), founder of aikido.

Sokaku Takeda's third son, Tokimune Takeda, became the headmaster of the art following the death of Sokaku Takeda in 1943. Tokimune Takeda taught what he called Daito Ryu Aikibudo, an art that included the sword techniques of the Ono-ha Itto-ryu along with the traditional techniques of Daito-ryū aiki-jujutsu. It was also under Tokimune Takeda's headmastership that modern dan rankings were first created and awarded to students. Tokimune Takeda died in 1993 leaving no official successor, but a few of his high ranking students such as Katsuyuki Kondo and Shigemitsu Kato now head their own Daito-ryū aiki-jujutsu organizations.

About Judo 

Judo literally meaning "gentle way" or "way of softness", is a modern martial art, practiced primarily as a sport, and is a form of wrestling. It contains substantially the same emphasis on the personal, spiritual, and physical self-improvement of its practitioners as can be found throughout gendai budō.

Judo was created by Kano Jigoro (Kanō Jigorō, 1860–1938) at the end of the nineteenth century. Kano was a brilliant martial artist educated at the Tokyo Imperial University. The combination of martial talent and formal education enabled Kano to take the koryū martial arts he learned (specifically Kitō-ryū and Tenjin Shin'yo-ryū jujutsu), and systematically reinvent them into a martial art with an emphasis on freestyle practice and competition. Kano devised a powerful system of new techniques and training methods, which famously culminated on June 11, 1886, in a tournament that would later be dramatized by celebrated Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (Kurosawa Akira, 1910–1998), in the film "Sanshiro Sugata" (1943). In that tournament, fifteen of Kano's students faced fifteen students from a rival jujutsu school. The result was two losses, one draw, and twelve victories for the judo students.

Judo became an Olympic sport in 1964, and has spread throughout the world. Kano Jigoro's original school, the "Kodokan", has students worldwide, and many other schools have been founded by Kano's students. Of particular note is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which traces its history back to Kodokan judo practictioner Mitsuyo Maeda (1880–1941), who emigrated to Brazil in the early twentieth century and taught his judo there. Today, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a practice distinct from Olympic judo, which is the predominant form of judo practiced.

About Aikido

Aikido is a gendai budō, a modern Japanese martial art, developed by Morihei Ueshiba (Ueshiba Morihei, 1883 – 1969). The art consists of "striking", "throwing," and "joint locking" techniques and is known for its fluidity and blending with an attacker, rather than meeting "force with force". Emphasis is upon joining with the rhythm and intent of the opponent in order to find the optimal position and timing with which to apply force. Aikido is also known for emphasizing the spiritual and philosophical development of its students reflecting the religious background of its founder.

Morihei Ueshiba developed aikido mainly from Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu, incorporating training movements such as those for the yari (spear), jō (a short quarterstaff), and perhaps also juken (bayonet). Arguably the strongest influence is that of kenjutsu and in many ways, an aikido practitioner moves as an empty handed swordsman. 

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