Koryu Jujutsu

Hi Dave,

Been looking into some classical jujutsu lately, have a couple of questions and thoughts to throw your way

Firstly, do you know of many people in UK who actually teach real traditional jujutsu? of that I mean, defence against sword, arrest/restraint using sword scabbard, grappling in armour etc.
Aside from RBSD and combat jujitsu, I'm interested in learning classical stuff.

I was reading that seated techniques, or techniques from seiza, were used as a really subtle defence, in the sense that, guests are to sit in seiza when waiting to be recieved, and this is the ultimate defence, because the lack of circulation and general position meant an attack was very difficult to do without easily being spotted and immobilised.
How much truth is there to this? or is it just coincidental that the etiquette of seiza is an advantage to a possible sneak attack.
Seems a very clever and crafty method of using ettiquette as preventative defence.
Do Japanese suffer circulation problems or are they used to sitting in seiza because of the culture? I thought it was only westerners who suffered because we're not used to it, and Japanese can naturally sit for a long time in seiza.

My other question, is of multiple attackers, I know you mention that Goshinkwai (SDF Combat JuJitsu) derived from Yamabushi and they were constantly being attacked by multiple attackers at times, and this makes it a realistic system against multiple attackers

But, shouldn't jujitsu also be perfect against multiple attackers, as it there was always multiples vs multiples on the battlefield? or do you mean, unarmed vs multiple when you talk of Yamabushi?

From what I see, and learn, Jujitsu (and a lot of other martial arts) should be applicable against multiple attackers, if the techniques are done to completion and done fast.
So any armlock should be an arm break,
but you don't often see it trained this way (unless its RBSD/SDF etc.)

Do you think the reason general martial arts struggle the pressure tests of real self defence because they've been softened up too much? because techniques aren't being taught to maim and kill anymore? and if they were, maybe they'd be more applicable to multiple attackers, because you wouldn't be engaging too long with each attacker, because the techniques would be instant injuries and finishers.

Thanks

Stefan

Hi Stefan

Well mate some of your questions are in fact self-answered

I dont know of any genuine traditional ju-jutsu schools in the UK, there are a few pretty close, but no traditional Japanese in this country.

the ju-jutsu styles are split into THREE main sections generally..
1. traditional old style ju-jutsu
2. Nihon ju-jitsu, which are modern styles devised by japanese themselves.
3. GAJIN Nihon ju-jutsu.. which are modern ju-jitsu styles devised by 'foreigners'
the third section is the most common one in the west.

the yamabushi were solitary travellers therefore they had no choice but to develop a style that worked against more than one attacker. the yamabushi also used a lot of weapons as well 'unarmed' stuff.

the rest of your comments/questions are about right in themselves..

Seiza is a natural (or at least WAS) posture for the japanese.. some could sit without discomfort for several hours at a time and get up with no problems.

the normal ettiquette was simply to sit on tatami matting in seiza, with your swords in a rack by the doors... the 'host' could still keep his swords with him, guests couldnt.

which is why methods like Tessen-jutsu or the use of the folding fan came into use..

Did you know that what we use for umbrella stands today are an off-shoot design of sword stands in bygone days...

it always difficult to segregate traditional old methods that once had massive validity from methods that have lost their validity.

some good questions mate