Daily blog #10
Gentleness controls strength
We are 10 days into my 100 days straight of daily blog posts and so far things are going well, meaning I have yet to encounter writers block. The last few posts I exercised my first amendment right by sharing my perspective on some of today’s trending topics unrelated to Jiu Jitsu. However, I must clarify that this blog is not meant to talk about Jiu Jitsu only. “The Jiu Jitsu Way” is a spin on the direct translation of Judo. To help you understand I will explain what Judo and Jiu Jitsu have to do with each other, so throw your kimono on and grab your katana.
Ju Jutsu (original spelling) was an art practiced by the samurai class going back as far as 1532. It involved many of the techniques you see today (throws, pins, chokeholds, joint locks and strikes) along with various weapon forms and capturing methods such as lassoing someone off their horse. Lol. The word “Ju” means soft and yielding, used to describe a way of manipulating someone’s force with technique. The word “Jutsu” means skill or technique, making the literal translation soft or gentle skill. It is important to point out that the description only refers to physical skills.
After the end of the Shogunate Empire (military government) in 1867 began The Meiji Restoration period. This is when Japan began to follow the Western world in the direction of industrialization and modernization. Practice of Ju Jutsu was frowned upon at the time, unless you were a gangster or thug. That was until a man by the name of Jigoro Kano began using Ju Jutsu to strengthen his frail body. He fell in love with the art and saw it as more than a system of techniques but rather a path to physical, mental, spiritual and emotional transformation. In 1882 he named his new methodology Judo, the word “Do” meaning path or way of life which more accurately represented his understanding of Jiu Jitsu as a whole. In 1964 Judo would become an Olympic sport based on throws, pins and submissions (armlocks or choke holds where the adversary is forced to tap out).
Mr Jigoro is credited with the existence of Jiu Jitsu today, his life’s work was spreading Ju Jutsu or Judo which led to it being taught and practiced worldwide. As a result you see Jiu Jitsu in Brazil (this led to it’s appearance in the UFC via Royce Gracie) where it is widely practiced and one of their top sports. One of Jigoro’s students Vasili Oshchepov is known as the father of Sambo, a Russian fighting system responsible for producing some of the greatest MMA fighters to date such as Fedor Emelianenko and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Without Jigoro’s fighting system and principles, Jiu Jitsu and Judo may not have existed today. The reason for “The Jiu Jitsu Way” is based on learning to improve physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally with maximum efficiency and minimum effort for the benefit of one’s life.