Jiu-Jitsu

What is Jiu-Jitsu?

Jiu-Jitsu, also written as Jujutsu or Jujitsu, is not a single uniform style but a collective term for Japanese martial arts and later systems. The meaning of jū is associated with flexibility, yielding, and adapting; jutsu means art, technique, or skill.

Depending on the ryū or modern school, the curriculum may include throws, breakfalls, controls, groundwork, joint techniques, striking techniques, and weapons training. Therefore, Jiu-Jitsu should always be described together with the specific school, lineage, or competition format.

Classical Japanese ryu

Many classical Jujutsu systems originated in Japan as methods of close-quarters combat, sometimes for an unarmed or lightly armed warrior facing an armed opponent. The historical context varied by period and ryu. Not every school was exclusively unarmed, and not every school had the same technical emphasis.

The term Jujutsu was used for various older names and traditions, including kumiuchi, yawara, taijutsu, and torite. Examples of ryu associated with Jujutsu or broader bujutsu traditions include Takenouchi-ryū, Shindō Yōshin-ryū, Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū, Kitō-ryū, Yagyū Shingan-ryū, and various other schools.

Koryū and gendai

With koryū older martial arts traditions that originated before the modern reform period are referred to. Gendai Jujutsu refers to modern systems founded later that often combine elements of Judo, Jujutsu, karate, Aikido, wrestling, or other disciplines. The terms and boundaries are not used consistently by all organizations.

A school name or Japanese terminology alone does not prove uninterrupted historical transmission. Lineage, curriculum, and founding history must be verified separately.

From samurai context to modern training format

In earlier martial arts traditions, techniques may have been adapted for combat in armor, while later Edo-period systems more often took opponents in ordinary clothing into account. As society transitioned to the modern era, the purpose, equipment, and method of training changed.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many traditions were adapted for education, self-defense, police work, demonstrations, or sport. As a result, modern classes are not necessarily a complete reconstruction of historical battlefield training.

Training and curriculum

A modern Jiu-Jitsu school may work with atemi, throws, ground techniques, immobilizations, controlled joint techniques, escapes, and breakfalls. The balance between these elements varies greatly from school to school. Some traditional ryu also train forms, etiquette, weapons, or specific scenarios.

Safe training uses mats, controlled resistance, clear agreements, and a gradual progression. Risky techniques are practiced under supervision and are not elaborated on as practical instruction in this entry.

Sport jujutsu

Within the Ju-Jitsu International Federation, there are, among others, the Duo System, Fighting System and Ne-Waza. Rules determine which combinations of striking, throwing, grappling, and submissions are permitted. Other federations use different formats.

Derived and Related Arts

Judo was assembled by Kanō Jigorō from multiple Jujutsu sources. Brazilian jiujitsu developed in Brazil through Judo and Jujutsu influences, including the lineage associated with Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie, Luiz França, and Oswaldo Fadda. Aikido emerged from Morihei Ueshiba’s development of, among other things, Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, while Sambo arose from multiple Soviet and regional wrestling and martial arts sources.

These relationships do not form a simple, direct family tree. Each modern art has its own founders, rules, curricula, and historical developments.

Bartitsu and Western Systems

At the end of the nineteenth century, Edward William Barton-Wright incorporated Jujutsu influences into Bartitsu, along with boxing, savate, and stick fighting, among other disciplines. Later, modern systems emerged worldwide that combined Japanese terminology and techniques with local training cultures.

Jiu-Jitsu in the Netherlands

According to Dutch budo sources, Japanese Jiu-Jitsu was introduced in the Netherlands around the beginning of the twentieth century. P.M.C. Toepoel is regarded in several historical overviews as an important early teacher in The Hague. Amsterdam is also mentioned in connection with early classes. The exact sequence and influence of the first pioneers vary by source.

In the 1930s, more organized schools and promotional activities emerged. Names that recur in Dutch histories include Johan van der Bruggen and Maurice van Nieuwenhuizen. Their roles as the first, most important, or official pioneer are attributed to the respective sources.

After the Second World War, Dutch organizations and grading systems emerged, including the aforementioned cherry blossom system. Traditional jiujitsu is currently part of the Dutch sports structure under the Judo Bond Nederland, which organizes, among other things, Dan examinations and national championships according to its own current regulations.

In addition to traditional jiujitsu, the Netherlands has a separate BJJ scene with its own schools, federations, and tournaments. The two disciplines are sometimes collectively called Jiu-Jitsu in everyday usage, but they have different curricula and competition rules.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Brazilian jiu-jitsu generally places more emphasis on ground positioning, control, and submission grappling than many traditional Japanese schools. Its development in Brazil is linked to several teachers and lineages, including Mitsuyo Maeda, the Gracie family, Luiz França, and Oswaldo Fadda. The success of BJJ practitioners in early UFC events contributed significantly to worldwide interest in ground fighting in MMA.

Judo and Kuzushi

Judo was developed by Kanō Jigorō from several jujutsu ryū. The principle of kuzushi refers to disrupting balance and position before applying a throw or control technique. This principle also appears in various forms in other jujutsu systems.

Dutch spelling and terminology

The spelling Jujutsu follows Japanese romanization; Jiu-Jitsu and Ju-Jitsu are older or internationally common variants. The name a school uses does not automatically say anything about its historical lineage.

Train safely

Throws, joint locks, holds, and ground work require expert guidance. Train with appropriate protective equipment, respect tap-outs, and stop if you experience pain, dizziness, or loss of control. Self-defense training does not guarantee safety; de-escalation and avoiding violence remain the first choice.