Portal:Japanese martial arts
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Introduction
Japanese martial arts refer to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts.
The usage of term budō to mean martial arts is a modern one and historically the term meant a way of life encompassing physical, spiritual and moral dimensions with a focus of self-improvement, fulfillment or personal growth. The terms bujutsu and bugei have more discrete definitions, at least historically speaking. Bujutsu refers specifically to the practical application of martial tactics and techniques in actual combat. Bugei refers to the adaptation or refinement of those tactics and techniques to facilitate systematic instruction and dissemination within a formal learning environment.
Selected general articles
- Sōjutsu (槍術), meaning "art of the spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a Japanese spear (槍, yari). Read more...
- This is an incomplete list of koryū (lit. "traditional schools", or "old schools"). Koryū are schools of martial arts that originated in Japan, and were founded prior 1876, when the act prohibiting the wearing of swords (Haitōrei) came into effect after the Meiji Restoration. Read more...
- Budō (武道) is a Japanese term describing modern Japanese martial arts. Literally translated it means the "Martial Way", and may be thought of as the "Way of War". Read more...
- Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術), originally called Daitō-ryū Jujutsu (大東流柔術, Daitō-ryū Jūjutsu), is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sōkaku. Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts (including Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū and sumo) and referred to the style he taught as "Daitō-ryū" (literally, "Great Eastern School"). Although the school's traditions claim to extend back centuries in Japanese history there are no known extant records regarding the ryū before Takeda. Whether Takeda is regarded as either the restorer or the founder of the art, the known history of Daitō-ryū begins with him. Takeda's best-known student was Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. Read more...
- Battōjutsu (抜刀術, battō-jutsu) ("the craft of drawing out the sword") is an old term for iaijutsu. Battōjutsu is often used interchangeably with the terms iaijutsu and battō.
Generally, battōjutsu is practised as a part of a classical ryū and is closely integrated with the tradition of kenjutsu and is practised with the live-blade, katana, often as simply the sole kata. The training is for combative effectiveness, through factors such as distancing, timing and targeting. As such, battōjutsu is not intended for sport-like or "spiritual" purposes as are modern budo like iaido and kendo. Read more... - Jōdō (杖道:じょうどう), meaning "the way of the jō", or jōjutsu (杖術:じょうじゅつ) is a Japanese martial art using a short staff called jō. The art is similar to bōjutsu, and is strongly focused upon defense against the Japanese sword. The jō is a short staff, usually about 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) long. Read more...
- Randori (乱取り) is a term used in Japanese martial arts to describe free-style practice. The term denotes an exercise in 取り tori, applying technique to a random ( 乱 ran) succession of uke attacks.
The actual connotation of randori depends on the martial art it is used in. In judo, jujitsu, and Shodokan aikido, among others, it most often refers to one-on-one sparring where partners attempt to resist and counter each other's techniques. In other styles of aikido, in particular Aikikai, it refers to a form of practice in which a designated aikidoka defends against multiple attackers in quick succession without knowing how they will attack or in what order. Read more... - Nippon Kempo or Nihon Kempo (日本拳法) is a Japanese martial art that engages in full-contact or semi-contact bouts using a full range of techniques wearing specially developed protective gear (bogu kumite). Nippon Kempo is sometime called "Nikken" as an omission in Japan. Read more...
- Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法, shōrinji-kempō, meaning "Shaolin Temple Boxing") is an esoteric Japanese martial art considered by some as a modified version of Shaolin Kung Fu. It was established in 1947 by Doshin So (宗 道臣, Sō Dōshin), a Japanese martial artist and former military intelligence agent.
Shorinji Kempo claims to be a holistic system, whose training methods are divided into three parts: self-defense training, mental training, and health training. The basis are the concepts that "spirit and body are not separable" (心身一如: shinshin-ichinyo) and that it is integral to train both "body and mind as one" (拳禅一如: kenzen ichinyo). Read more... - Naginatajutsu (長刀術 or 薙刀術) is the Japanese martial art of wielding the naginata (長刀). This is a weapon resembling the medieval European glaive. Most naginatajutsu practiced today is in a modernized form, a gendai budō, in which competitions also are held. Read more...
A dōjō (道場) is a hall or space for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the Way" in Japanese. Read more...- The following is a list of styles or schools in Japanese martial arts.
For historical (koryū) schools, see List of koryū schools of martial arts.*Aikido (合気道/合氣道)- Araki-ryū (荒木流)
- Bajutsu (馬術)
- Battōjutsu (抜刀術)
- Bōjutsu (棒術)
- Bujinkan (武神館)
- Chitō-ryū (千唐流)
- Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術)
- Genseiryū (玄制流)
- Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流)
- Hakkō-ryū (八光流)
- Hojōjutsu (捕縄術)
- Hōjutsu (砲術)
- Iaido (居合道、居合術 Iaijutsu)
- Isshin-ryu
- Jōdō (杖道)
- Japanese kickboxing
- Judo (柔道)
- Jūkendō (銃剣道)
- Jujutsu (柔術、Jiujitsu, Jujitsu)
- Juttejutsu (十手術)
- Karate (空手)
- Kendo (剣道)
- Kenjutsu (剣術)
- Kenpo (拳法)
- Kosho Shorei Ryū Kempo
- Kūdō (空道)
- Kusarigamajutsu (鎖鎌術:くさりがまじゅつ)
- Kyūdō (弓道)
- Kyūjutsu (弓術)
- Naginatajutsu (薙刀術)
- Maniwa Nen-ryū (馬庭念流)
- Ninjutsu (忍術)
- Nippon Kempo (日本拳法)
- Okinawan kobudō (沖縄古武道)
- Seishinkai
- Shindō jinen-ryū (神道自然流)
- Shitō-ryū (糸東流)
- Shoot Boxing
- Shoot wrestling
- Shootfighting
- Shōrin-ryū (少林流)
- Shōrinji Kempō (少林寺拳法)
- Shorinji-Ryu
- Shōtōkan-ryū (松濤館流)
- Shūdōkan
- Shūkōkai
- Shurikenjutsu
- Sōjutsu (槍術)
- Sōsuishi-ryū (双水執流)
- Suijutsu (水術)
- Sumo (相撲)
- Taido (躰道)
- Taijutsu (体術)
- Takeda Ryu Nakamura Ha
- Takenouchi-ryū (竹内流)
- Tantojutsu (短刀術)
- Tegumi (手組)
- Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流)
- Tessenjutsu (鉄扇術)
- Togakure-ryu
- Toyama-ryū
- Uechi-ryū (上地流)
- Wado-ryū (和道流)
- Yabusame (流鏑馬)
- Yagyū Shingan-ryū (柳生心眼流)
- Yoseikan Budo
- Yoseikan-ryū (養正館流)
Aiki from a Japanese budo term, at its most basic is a principle that allows a conditioned practitioner to negate or redirect an opponent's power. When applied, the aiki practitioner controls the actions of the attacker with minimal effort and with a distinct absence of muscular tension usually associated with physical effort. Read more...- Kyūjutsu (弓術) ("art of archery") is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow (yumi) as practiced by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Although the samurai are perhaps best known for their swordsmanship with a katana (kenjutsu), kyūjutsu was actually considered a more vital skill for a significant portion of Japanese history. During the majority of the Kamakura period through the Muromachi period (c.1185–c.1568), the bow was almost exclusively the symbol of the professional warrior, and way of life of the warrior was referred to as "the way of the horse and bow" (弓馬の道, kyūba no michi). Read more...
- Aikido (Japanese: 合気道, Hepburn: aikidō) [aikiꜜdoː] is a modern Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury. Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the way of harmonious spirit".
Aikido's techniques include: irimi (entering), and tenkan (turning) movements (that redirect the opponent's attack momentum), various types of throws and joint locks. Read more...
Hojōjutsu (捕縄術), or Torinawajutsu (捕縄術), or just Nawajutsu (縄術), is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope (said nawa 縄 in Japanese). Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different schools, Hojōjutsu is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of Japanese history and culture.
As a martial arts practice, Hojōjutsu is seldom if ever taught on its own but as part of a curriculum under the aegis of the body of study encompassed by a larger school of bugei or budō, often as an advanced study in jujutsu. Whatever their source, Hojōjutsu techniques and methods are seldom demonstrated outside Japan. Read more...- Judo (wikt:柔道, jūdō, meaning "gentle way") was created as a physical, mental and moral pedagogy in Japan, in 1882, by Jigoro Kano (嘉納治五郎). It is generally categorized as a modern martial art which later evolved into a combat and Olympic sport. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objective is to either throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defenses are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata, 形) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori, 乱取り). A judo practitioner is called a judoka.
The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from koryū (古流, traditional schools). Read more... - Iaidō (居合道), abbreviated with iai (居合), is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to a sudden attack.
Iaido is associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword (bokken) depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use the blunt edged sword, called iaitō. Few, more experienced, iaido practitioners use a sharp edged sword (shinken). Read more... - Sumo (相撲, sumō) is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet. The characters 相撲 literally mean "striking one another".
The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. It is generally considered a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), but this definition is misleading, as the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Read more... - Uchi-deshi (内弟子, lit. "inside student") is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in kabuki, rakugo, shogi, igo, aikido, sumo, karate and other modern Japanese martial arts. Read more...
- Karate (空手) (/kəˈrɑːti/; Japanese pronunciation: [kaɾate] (
listen); Okinawan pronunciation: [kaɽati]) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called te (手), "hand"; tii in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese Kung Fu, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints and vital-point strikes are also taught. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家).
The Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed by Japan in 1879. Karate was brought to Japanese archipelago in the early 20th century during a time of migration as Ryukyuans, especially from Okinawa, looked for work in Japan. It was systematically taught in Japan after the Taishō era. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university karate club in mainland Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate clubs. In this era of escalating Japanese militarism, the name was changed from 唐手 ("Chinese hand" or "Tang hand") to 空手 ("empty hand") – both of which are pronounced karate in Japanese – to indicate that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style. After World War II, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there. Read more... - Maai (間合い), translating simply "interval", is a Japanese martial arts term referring to the space between two opponents in combat; formally, the "engagement distance". It is a complex concept, incorporating not just the distance between opponents, but also the time it will take to cross the distance, angle and rhythm of attack. It is specifically the exact position from which one opponent can strike the other, after factoring in the above elements. For example, a faster opponent's maai is farther away than a slower opponent. It is ideal for one opponent to maintain maai while preventing the other from doing so, meaning that they can strike before the opponent can (rather than both striking simultaneously, or being struck without being able to strike back). Read more...
Jujutsu (/dʒuːˈdʒuːtsuː/ joo-JOOT-soo; Japanese: 柔術, jūjutsu
listen (help·info)), also known as Jujitsu or Jiu-Jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses either a short weapon or none. Read more...- Zanshin (Japanese: 残心) is a state of awareness, of relaxed alertness, in Japanese martial arts. A literal translation of zanshin is "remaining mind".
In several martial arts, zanshin refers more narrowly to the body's posture after a technique is executed. Read more... - Kuzushi (崩し:くずし) is a Japanese term for unbalancing an opponent in the Japanese martial arts.
The wooden sword is no longer an effective weapon since the attacker's balance has been compromised
The noun comes from the transitive verb kuzusu (崩す), meaning to level, pull down, destroy or demolish. As such, it is refers to not just an unbalancing, but the process of putting an opponent to a position, where his stability, hence the ability to regain uncompromised balance for attacking is destroyed. Read more... - Ninjutsu (忍術), sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term ninpō (忍法), is the strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practiced by the shinobi (commonly known outside Japan as ninja).[page needed] Ninjutsu was a separate discipline in some traditional Japanese schools, which integrated study of more conventional martial arts (taijutsu) along with shurikenjutsu, kenjutsu, sōjutsu, bōjutsu and others.
While there is an international martial arts organization representing several modern styles of ninjutsu, the historical lineage of these styles is disputed. Some schools claim to be the only legitimate heir of the art, but ninjutsu is not centralized like modernized martial arts such as judo or karate. Togakure-ryū claims to be the oldest recorded form of ninjutsu, and claims to have survived past the 16th century. Read more... - Iaijutsu (居合術) is a combative quick-draw sword technique. This art of drawing the Japanese sword, katana, is one of the Japanese koryū martial art disciplines in the education of the classical warrior (bushi). Read more...
- 'Mushin' in Japanese and 'Wuxin' in Chinese (無心 "no mind") is a mental state. Zen and Daoist meditators are said to reach this state, as well as artists and trained martial artists. They also practice this mental state during everyday activities. Read more...
- Kenjutsu (剣術) is the umbrella term for all (koryū) schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. The modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century included modern form of kenjutsu in their curriculum, too. Kenjutsu, which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, means "the method, technique or the art of the sword." This is opposed to kendo, which means "the way of the sword" and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu).
The exact activities and conventions undertaken when practicing kenjutsu vary from school to school, where the word school here refers to the practice, methods, ethics, and metaphysics of a given tradition, yet commonly include practice of battlefield techniques without an opponent and techniques whereby two practitioners perform kata (featuring full contact strikes to the body in some styles and no body contact strikes permitted in others).
Although kata training was always the mainstay, in later periods, schools incorporated sparring under a variety of conditions, from using solid wooden bokutō to use of bamboo sword (shinai) and armor (bōgu). In modern times sparring in Japanese martial art is more strongly associated with kendo and is mainly practiced by students or the police force. Although kendo is common in Japan, it is also practiced in other countries around the world. Read more...
Kyūdō is the Japanese martial art of archery. Experts in kyūdō are referred to as kyūdōka (弓道家). Kyūdō is based on kyūjutsu ("art of archery"), which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan. Kyūdō is practised by thousands of people worldwide. As of 2005, the International Kyudo Federation had 132,760 graded members. Read more...- Shurikenjutsu (手裏剣術) is a general term describing the traditional Japanese martial arts of throwing shuriken, which are small, hand-held weapons used primarily by the Samurai in feudal Japan, such as metal spikes bō shuriken, circular plates of metal known as hira shuriken, and knives (tantō).
Shurikenjutsu was usually taught among the sogo-bugei, or comprehensive martial arts systems of Japan, as a supplemental art to those more commonly practiced such as kenjutsu, sojutsu, bōjutsu and battlefield grappling kumi-uchi (old form jujutsu), and is much less prevalent today than it was in the feudal era. Read more... - Kendo (剣道, kendō, lit. "sword way") is a traditional Japanese martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and many other nations across the world.
Kendo is an activity that combines martial arts practices and values with strenuous sport-like physical activity. Read more...
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