Category: Styles/Ryuha

The jō (杖 – wooden staff, usually 50”) in Aikidō is fascinating because it’s not just a weapon — it’s a bridge between kenjutsu (sword schools), jōjutsu (staff schools), and Morihei Ueshiba’s own adaptations. Here’s a breakdown of the sources…

The phrase Shomin Yawara 庶民柔術 means “common‑people jūjutsu” — a civilian‑oriented self‑defense system rather than the full, warrior‑class jūjutsu. It emphasizes practicality, speed of learning, and use in daily life rather than lengthy training for battlefield readiness. Samurai jūjutsu systems often…

Aikidō (合気道) is a Japanese martial art focused on blending with an attacker’s force instead of meeting it with force. Instead of trying to overpower someone, you redirect their energy while controlling their balance and neutralizing them through joint locks…

Hōbaku (捕縛) refers to a set of skills used in the Edo period of Japan for capturing and subduing criminals. These techniques were essential for the policing forces of that time, which included both high-ranking samurai and low-ranking warriors.These techniques…

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was one of Japan’s most accomplished martial artists and most renowned swordsman. He founded a school called Hyohō Niten Ichi-ryū (兵法 二天 一流), which can be loosely translated as “the school of the strategy of two heavens…

Suiō-ryū (水鷗流) is a classical Japanese martial tradition (koryū) founded during the early Edo period (c. 1615). It is one of the oldest, fully preserved iaidō / kenjutsu / jōjutsu systems still practiced today. Founded by Mui no Shinden Sadatake…

In classical Japanese martial arts, Koryū Bujutsu (古流武術) is best described as pre-modern samurai combat systems preserved through direct lineage, emphasizing weapons, battlefield tactics, and kata-based transmission, preserved through lineages that existed before the Meiji Restoration (1868). Koryū Bujutsu systems…

Iaido (居合道) is the art of drawing the Japanese sword (katana), cutting, and resheathing it — performed with control, awareness, and grace. It’s both a martial discipline and a meditative practice centered on drawing and cutting with the sword in…