Jujutsu

Jujutsu (柔術, jūjutsu), also known as jiu-jitsu or ju-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and close-combat system designed for both defense and offense. The name combines "jū," meaning gentle, soft, or yielding, with "jutsu," meaning art or technique, giving it the sense of "yielding-art." Its central idea is to redirect an opponent’s force against them rather than meeting it head-on. This art was developed to deal with the armored samurai of feudal Japan, where striking proved ineffective, so practitioners focused on pins, joint locks, and throws. These methods rely on using an attacker’s energy rather than opposing it directly.

Various schools of jujutsu exist, leading to a wide range of approaches. Techniques can include throwing, takedowns, leg sweeps, trapping, pins, joint locks, holds, chokeholds, gouging, biting, hair pulling, disengagements, and striking. Many schools also teach weapon use. Today, jujutsu is practiced in both traditional self-defense forms and modern sports. Derived sports include judo (developed by Kanō Jigorō in the late 19th century from traditional jujutsu styles), as well as sambo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which came from judo.

The spelling "jujutsu" comes from the Hepburn romanization system. Before the mid-20th century, "jiu-jitsu" and "ju-jitsu" were more common, even though they don’t match standard Japanese pronunciation. This arose because English speakers heard the second short "u" (pronounced /ɯ/) as a short "i," possibly reflecting the Shitamachi dialect that merges "ju" into "ji." Since Japanese martial arts became widely known in the West during that period, these older spellings persist: "ju-jitsu" is common in France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, while "jiu-jitsu" is used in Germany and Brazil. In the United States, the word is still usually pronounced as if spelled "jujitsu."

Some define jujutsu narrowly as unarmed close combat for defeating or controlling an unarmed enemy, with methods including striking, thrusting, punching, kicking, throwing, pinning, strangling, and joint locking. The bushi (classic warriors) also developed defenses such as parrying, blocking, receiving throws or joint locks (by falling safely or blending to neutralize a technique), escaping grasps, and shifting position to evade attacks. Since jujutsu is a collective term, different schools (ryu) emphasize the principle of "ju" to varying degrees.

From a broader perspective, based on classical Japanese arts, jujutsu can be seen as unarmed methods for dealing with an armed enemy, along with techniques using minor weapons like the jutte (truncheon), tantō (knife), or hidden weapons such as the ryofundo kusari (weighted chain) or bankokuchoki (knuckle-duster), to defeat armed or unarmed opponents. The term was also used for infighting tactics with major weapons like the katana or tachi (sword), yari (spear), naginata (glaive), jō (short staff), and bō (quarterstaff). These close-combat methods were part of battlefield martial systems, generally categorized as Sengoku period (1467–1603) katchu bu Jutsu or yoroi kumiuchi (fighting with weapons or grappling in armor), or Edo period (1603–1867) suhada bu Jutsu (fighting in normal street clothing like kimono and hakama).

The first Chinese character of jujutsu (柔) is the same as the first in judo (柔道). The second character (術) is the same as the second in bujutsu (武術). The written history of jujutsu began during the Nara period (c. 710–794), combining early sumo and other Japanese martial arts used for battlefield close combat. The oldest known styles include Shinden Fudo-ryū (c. 1130), Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (c. 1447), and Takenouchi-ryū (founded in the Sengoku period, c. 1530s). Many jujutsu forms also extensively taught parrying and counterattacking long weapons such as swords.