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Yagyu Shingan-ryu Heihojutsu

柳生心眼流兵法術

The Sendai branch of a samurai school from around 1600. Armoured combat with sword and staff, and hard shoulder strikes in place of punches.

Quick Facts

FounderTakenaga Hayato
Country of OriginJapan
Foundedc. 1600
RegionAsia
Primary FocusHybrid
Contact LevelLight contact
Belt SystemCertificates

Character & Origin

StatusLiving, organized
LineageTraditional
Era of OriginEarly modern

Training

AttireTraditional dress
SparringPartner drills only
Role of WeaponsWeapons at the core
Role of FormsForms at the core

Who It Suits

Kids ProgrammesNot taught to children
Senior FriendlySuitable for seniors
Physical Demand2/5
Injury Risk2/5
Learning Curve5/5
Self-Defence Value2/5
Fitness Value3/5

Organisation & Competition

Grading SystemCertificates
Competition FormatNo competitions
Weight ClassesNo
Olympic StatusNot Olympic
Estimated PractitionersUnder 10k

What the style is built from

Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.

Hand strikesSignificant
KicksNot used
Throws & takedownsCore
Ground fightingMarginal
Locks & holdsCore
WeaponsCore

About Yagyu Shingan-ryu Heihojutsu

Yagyū Shingan-ryū Heihōjutsu is the Sendai branch of an ancient samurai school which, according to sources, was founded by Takenaga Hayato around 1600. The date is approximate, and the source itself marks it as such; no more precise date is documented. Hayato studied in Edo under Yagyū Munenori, and the Sendai line still states today that it was Munenori himself who allowed him to use the name Yagyū; the Edo branch tells the same matter differently, so the catalogue gives both accounts and does not decide between them. The school later split. The Sendai branch carries the name Heihōjutsu and is today led in its fifteenth generation; the Edo branch, known as taijutsu or araki-dō, descends from the fourth head of the school, Koyama Samon, is led in its eleventh generation, and has its own entry in the catalogue. The curriculum is far more than swordsmanship alone. Alongside yawara, unarmed combat both in and out of armour, it includes kenjutsu, battōjutsu, bōjutsu, naginatajutsu, sōjutsu, torite, and kappō, that is, resuscitation techniques. Characteristic of the school are hard strikes with the shoulder and hip, by which the opponent's balance is disrupted. This is not roughness for its own sake: in combat between men in full armour, a punch has nowhere to land, whereas making an opponent lose his balance under the weight of heavy armour is decisive.

Similar styles

Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.

Takamura Shindo Yoshin-ryuAraki-ryu Torite KogusokuNinjutsuBujinkan Budo TaijutsuGenbukan Ninpo BugeiTogakure-ryu Ninjutsu