I was at the dojo the other day and Daiji Sensei brought up an interesting point.



When performing strikes in Wado Ryu line drills your body moves in a very precise line without any massive hip twists beyond those that are used for punching. My sensei told me that some of this is attributed to traditional Japanese clothing. If you are wearing traditional clothing (which could involve carrying your swords), as I am modeling above (the clothing I am modeling was for an archer in the Edo period), your hip movement is restricted.

I believe that the very straight line drills in karate could be attributed to the traditional attire that it was meant for. If you wear western clothing (or lets just say different clothing) then it will totally change the way a martial art would develop.

I think this is an interesting point that could be a good discussion.

Great picture Tony!

(Can't believe nobody's responded to this topic?)

Wu ming347 wrote:
Great picture Tony!

(Can't believe nobody's responded to this topic?)

Yea, me too. Those swords are real by the way (unsharpened). I would have thought I would have got a comment about that after the sword laws in the U.K. discussion.

Tony Swain wrote:
Yea, me too. Those swords are real by the way (unsharpened).

am impressed!

I understand what you're saying about the clothing, BTW! I just don't know enough about straight line drills to comment.

No, by the time karate was introduced to Japan (and especially by the time Wado-ryu was developed), the wearing of swords had been outlawed-

I thought the idea of the linea movements in Karate was to generate timing and power though constructive practise. Its the art of open hand so I don't think its related to the sword. Second to that I believe a form of Ju-jitsu was the art of un armed combat in the samurai days???

upstarts wrote:
No, by the time karate was introduced to Japan (and especially by the time Wado-ryu was developed), the wearing of swords had been outlawed-

I don't just mean Wado Ryu. I am aware of the history of Wado Ryu and know that Supreme Master Otsuka learned from Funokoshi who created Shotokan Karate. I have trained with Supreme master Otsuka the second so it means that the basis of my style was created only a few generations ago. The things they were based upon however would have been based on more ancient Chinese kempo styles that were adapted for Japanese martial artists wearing Japaense traditional clothes.

Ryusui_Ryu wrote:
I thought the idea of the linea movements in Karate was to generate timing and power though constructive practise. Its the art of open hand so I don't think its related to the sword. Second to that I believe a form of Ju-jitsu was the art of un armed combat in the samurai days???

From what I know, Ju-jitsu is quite a modern art. Aikido was responsible for a lot of samurai based unarmed combat attacks. Aikido has many wrist locks and throws that can be used to stop people from drawing their sword or using their sword whilst it is drawn.

Having worn traditional Japanese clothing, I know it is difficult to move in certain ways. I would not be able to do a TKD roundhouse kick in my kendo armour because it would be like doing so in a skirt (not that I have experience in wearing long skirts). I have however been more successful in delivering a karate roundhouse kick because it chambers like a front kick and then twists in Japanese karate instead of using a powered swing like TKD.

Sometimes I think that techniques could be more effective, like "Why can't I reel back and then throw everything I can into a kick" and getting answers like "kore wa karate ja nai kara" (Because its not karate), however, when you are practicing traditional arts in a traditional way, you realise that when you are practicing an art for an art, it is not alwats 100% effective.

Sword stopping wrist locks in Aikido in modern society...WTF!

Aikido is not older than Ju-jitsu.
Aiki jitsu was before Aikido and daito ryu was also before Aikido. Those are 2 styles which the founder Master Ueshiba created Aikido.

Ju-jitsu is hundreds of years old and dates back to samurai days as it was the un-armed combat samurai's used when they was disarmed.

Jujutsu - literally meaning the "art of softness", is a martial art consisting of grappling and striking techniques. Jujutsu evolved among the samurai of feudal Japan as a method for dispatching an armed and armored opponent in situations where the use of weapons was impractical or forbidden. Dating back to before 17th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jujutsu

Just in case your interested.

Wikipedia says a lot of things

I see people wearing kimono(s), hakama(s), yukata(s) day by day. My argument is that it is based on the fact that people wearing these clothes can still use their training.

Could you imagine doing a TKD head level kick in jeans?

well wikipedia is correct in this case


Actually I was out with the Marital Edge team on the weekend and Lesley was wearing some tight jeans (which looked good of course) but she couldn't perform a highkick in those, and she did kind of try which was most amusing

Tony,

Aikido is a relatively new addition to the martial arts. Jujutsu is much older. Jujutsu is the forefather of Judo, and is connected to the creation of both Aikido and Hapkido as well. Both Hapkido and Aikido owe the direct lineage to a system called Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu.

I don't know as much about the development of Karate though. I was under the impression that Karate didn't really hit Japan until the late 1800s. Until then it was really an Okinawan thing, and since the Okinawans were subjugated by the Japanese I'm pretty sure the average Okinawan wasn't carrying swords by this time.

dmccarthy wrote:
Tony,

Aikido is a relatively new addition to the martial arts. Jujutsu is much older. Jujutsu is the forefather of Judo, and is connected to the creation of both Aikido and Hapkido as well. Both Hapkido and Aikido owe the direct lineage to a system called Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu.

I don't know as much about the development of Karate though. I was under the impression that Karate didn't really hit Japan until the late 1800s. Until then it was really an Okinawan thing, and since the Okinawans were subjugated by the Japanese I'm pretty sure the average Okinawan wasn't carrying swords by this time.

Pretty sure I already said that ??