Budo Zen Martial Arts

I would like to take a moment and define few terms used in martail arts, and point few of of the most popular systems taught in the world today.

Although people interchange the terms system and style; I will define these two terms as follow:

A Style is associated with the origin country of initiation of the art; for example, Kyokushin-Kai Karate is a Japanese style art. Tang Soo Do is a Korean style art, and Shorin Ryu is an Okinawan style art.

Kyokushin-Kai is a complete system of karate; Tang Soo Do is a complete Korean/ Chinese martial arts system, and Shorin is a complete system of karate.

Shorin Ryu is one of the four original Okinawan styles of karate. Shorin Ryu uses predominately high stances. Traditional weapons are also practiced in this martial art.

Shorin-Ryu kata was developed as a system of communication and defense. Since the Japanese occupiers of Okinawa forbid the Okinawans from meeting in groups, the Okinawans developed kata. An Okinawan could meet another on the road, teach him a kata and be gone. At that time, traditional weapons such as swords were outlawed, and farming tool derivatives, such as the Nunchaku, Sai and Kama were included in many martial arts systems of Okinawan origin, including Shorin-Ryu.

Shotokan is one of the four main schools of Karate in Japan. It is best characterised by its long and deep stances and its use of more linear movements. Shotokan has little of the circular movements found in Okinawan styles of karate, nor does it have the body conditioning and supplementary training exercises.

Shotokon Karate is considered by many a sports style of Karate, where tournaments and point-sparring are central to the art. Many exponents of Shotokan are displeased about the way Shotokan has been portrayed and would prefer that Shotokan becomes again the traditional, non-sports martial art as conceived by Funakoshi.

Judo is a martial art that makes use of throws, strangles and joint locks. There is no kicking or punching in Judo. Judo was originally developed from Jujutsu and was accepted as an Olympic sport in 1966.

The lethal techniques and strikes of Jujutsu have been removed from the syllabus, and Judo’s founder Kano designed a syllabus that was meant to aid in the physical fitness of the Japanese people as well as their character development. As such, Judo was always designed more to be a sport than a self-defence system.

The black belt system, that pertains until today in many martial arts (also see: Goju Ryu Karate Belt System) is said to have first developed in Judo. Whereas in the West, great value is placed on the coveted achievement of a black belt, Japanese instructors see the black belt as a stage of the student when the real study of the martial art begins. Judo Uniforms are typically made of heavy material to withstand the pulling and grabbing associated with this martial art.

Ju Jitsu (also often referred to as Jujutsu) is a fighting system that employs a wide range of techniques - including strikes, kicks, throws, joint locks and choking. In addition to this Jujitsu also teaches weapons technique. Techniques and influences from Jujitsu can be found in almost all of the martial arts.

Jujitsu developed in many independent schools in Japan over many centuries and as such does not have a clear lineage. As the syllabus of techniques in Jujutsu is very large, invidivual schools today may teach variations and/or a subset of the vast range of existing Jujutsu techniques.

As Jujutsu also provides many practical arm lock and submission techniques, jujutsu techniques have been popular with Police forces all over the world.

Aikido is considered to be a non-aggressive style, as the Aikido student does not instigate the attack. The basic principle of Aikido is “Do not fight force with force”. Aikido uses very few punches and kicks. Instead, the attackers force is redirected into throws, locks and restraining techniques. Size, weight, age and physical strength differences of the opponents play only a small role, as the skilled Aikido practitioner is able to redirect the attackers energy, keeping his attacker in a constant of unbalance.

To be effective, Aikido takes longer to learn than most other martial arts. Aikido can be practiced to a late age because this martial art does not rely on flexibility, muscle speed, or strength. Thus it has become especially popular with women and senior citizens.

Aikido training teaches the use of several martial arts weapons such as Tento, Jo and Bokken. There is also a sport style of Aikido named Tomiki Aikdo.

Ninjutsu is the practised art of the Ninja. Ninjutsu is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes stealth in movement and camouflage. Ninjas were a group of mercenaries in feudal Japan who were trained in stealth and the martial arts and employed as spies, saboteurs, or assassins.

The two oldest styles of Ninjutsu that are still practiced today are Iga Ryu and Koga Ryu. Ninja are skilled in a variety of martial arts including Judo, Jujutsu and swordsmanship. Ninja use a shorter sword than the Samurai and prefer to carry it strapped to their back. As well as these martial arts they are skilled in a variety of Ninja weapons - such as the shuriken (throwing star), throwing knives, stick fighting, and chain arts.

The Ninja originally were also experts at disguise and concealment, which enabled them to gather information or act as assassins for Japanese warlords. This was work that others, such as the Samurai - who were bound by their strict code of Bushido - were reluctant to perform.

Ninjutsu went through an incredible boom period in the mid eighties due to the emergence of famous Ninjutsu instructors, such as Stephen Hayes. Ninjutsu still remains popular the world over.

Muay Thai existed for centuries as a fighting martial art and is well known for its devastating knee, elbow and shin kicks. Muay Thai developed in Thailand and is popular today the world over as a ring sport for competition fighting. All strikes are allowed in the ring, unlike western boxing, which prohibits all but strikes with gloved fists.

Krav Maga is an Israeli army method of unarmed combat now gaining popularity all over the world. It is considered a “no-nonsense” method of self-defence for a variety of situations. Originally developed during the liberation fighting of Israel, Krav Maga is now practiced by the entire Israeli military - especially its elite forces.

Krav Maga combines elements of boxing, Judo, and Jujitsu as well as the use of weapons such as knives and sticks. This weapon technique is taught to deal with modern day street situations where guns and knives are often involved. There are no kata or other traditional martial arts training exercises.

The techniques of Krav Maga are highly practical and effective for the street. Individuals can attain a high level of profiency within a relatively short period of instruction.

Taekwondo (Tae-Kwon-Do, Fist-Foot-Way) is a martial art from Korea (sometimes also spelled Taegwondo). It is a blend of Shotokan Karate with other Chinese and Korean martial arts. Taekwondo places great emphasis on fast, spectacular kicking techniques with very few hand strikes. Competition rules in Taekwondo prohibit the use of throws, holding or grappling. Protective gear is usually worn to allow contact with the body.

 Taekwondo tends to place more emphasis on the sport aspect of martial arts. Taekwondo is more of a long range fighting style, due to its use of more kicking than striking. Board breaking is used in belt grading in Taekwondo, to show the power of the techniques being taught (Kyokushin Kai is another martial art that also adheres to this practice).

Taekwondo is popular the world over and is probably the most widely practiced of the martial arts. Taekwondo is now recognised as an Olympic sport, which is sure to popularise it even more.

Kyokushin is a Karate style that is famous for its knock-down system of fighting. The style is characterized by its tenous training, conditioning and full contact sparring. Kyokushin Karate was developed by Sosei Masutatsu Oyama who in 1964 gave the style the name “Kyojushin”, which translates to “The Ultimate Truth”. Oyama held a 4th Dan in Judo, and also studied Goju Ryu Karate, Shotokan Karate (reaching 4th Dan at the age of 20) and some Korean martial arts which he developed into his own style called Kyokushin-kai (Kyokushin Karate).

Oyama was an extremely strong man who popularised his art by inviting challengers to fight him and through stunts, such as killing bulls with his bare hands. Black belt gradings in Kyokushinkai are well known for their large number of kumite (sparring fights), sometimes as many as a 100.

Steve Arneil trained with Mas Oyama in Japan for five years and was the first non-Japanese person to complete the 100-man kumite.