Hakko-ryu Jujutsu
八光流柔術Japanese jujutsu from 1941 with no strikes and no kicks. Its whole content is work on the joints with the least possible force — a joint must not be broken.
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About Hakko-ryu Jujutsu
Hakko-ryu jujutsu was founded in 1941 by Ryuho Okuyama, born Yoshiji Okuyama, who lived from 1901 to 1987. He came out of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu, studying under Hosaku Matsuda and later under Sokaku Takeda. The name means the school of the eighth light and refers to the spectrum: there are seven visible colours, and the eighth, infrared, is not seen but felt as heat. With it Okuyama expressed what he wanted from his system — a technique that cannot be seen and is known only by its effect. Hakko-ryu has no strikes, no kicks and no sporting throws. Its whole content is work on the joints applied with the least possible force, with the aim of making the opponent yield through pain rather than injuring him. From the first lesson the student is taught that a joint must not be broken; the hand stays soft and the pressure comes from the thumb and fingers, not from a grip. A peculiarity of the school is that alongside the martial part it also teaches its own therapeutic method, koho shiatsu, which Okuyama likewise assembled. Both branches are transmitted together, which is unusual among Japanese schools. The hombu is in Omiya in Saitama prefecture, and the founder''s son took over its leadership. Several independent schools split from Hakko-ryu in the second half of the twentieth century.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.
