Kito-ryu
起倒流A Japanese jujutsu school of the early Edo period. It rests on throws and breaking balance; from it Kano drew judo'"'"'s koshiki no kata.
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About Kito-ryu
Kito-ryu is a Japanese school of jujutsu from the early Edo period, that is the seventeenth century. The sources name Fukuno Shichiroemon as its founder, and alongside him the name Terada appears as co-founder; the exact year of foundation is not documented, and this page therefore leaves it out. The figure 1650 and the name that previously stood here could not be verified. The school's name means "the school of rise and fall". This is not ornament: it states the principle on which it rests. Kito-ryu does not work strength against strength but through the breaking of balance — what Japanese calls kuzushi no ri. The opponent is first brought into a position in which he can no longer stand, and only then does the throw come. The syllabus contains strikes, throws, joint locks and chokes, but its centre of gravity lies in throws and sweeps. A substantial part of the techniques is designed for fighting in full armour, which explains their shape as well: in armour there is no point in aiming at small targets or working from a grip on clothing, but there is every point in taking an opponent off balance and putting him on the ground. The school's importance far exceeds the number of its present-day practitioners. Jigoro Kano studied Kito-ryu and derived from it part of the principles on which he built modern judo; the direct survival is koshiki no kata, one of judo's forms, which is based on Kito-ryu techniques and keeps them in living practice.
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