Centuries of professional warrior experience have been handed down to the modern era.
Clear and concise answers to your most pressing questions about our martial arts.
How is the Kochō Dōjō different from Karate-dō or Taekwondo?
Those arts are limited to basic striking with the idea of beating an opponent until he is knocked out or can’t get up, hopefully before he hurts you. We think that is doing things the hard way. Bujutsu skills employ a wide range of skills in combinations with striking, including throws, sweeps, grappling, and restraints to prevent an opponent from continuing to attack at all. Bujutsu is a more difficult method to master, but the skills are more effective and efficient in handling combat even in fundamental levels.
How do Bujutsu techniques compare to other non-Japanese martial arts?
Most martial arts focus on a specific aspect, such as sports, and often even a subset such as boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, throwing, etc. The arts that are not sport-oriented often have an over reliance upon striking or performing artistic forms ‘in the air’ and do not adequately cover the wider range of skills needed in real combat. Bujutsu skills use a greater range of techniques in all possible categories to create the ability to handle a wider range of attacks.
What’s wrong with sport training?
Nothing if your main goal is to compete for trophies. Sports strive for fair competitions and so have weight categories and rules. Real combat does not have either of those. The training for sport martial arts will create bad habits for combat situations. Some people, esp. those who train in a gum all the time, will be able to use sport martial arts in real fights, because some training is better than none, but combat-oriented martial arts are better for real life and death situations. Relying upon being more fit than your opponent becomes less and less reliable the older a person gets. Before starting sport training, be clear on your objectives.
What martial arts are taught at the Kochō Dōjō?
We offer comprehensive training in Jūjutsu, Bōjutsu, and Kenjutsu, among others, but do not offer practice in sports. There is free training, where we practice what we have learned in a spontaneous manner, but no sport competitions. Some of our arts are samurai arts and some were created by the ninja, so we think that we have the best martial arts of the finest warriors of old Japan.
What about Chinese martial arts? Aren’t they supposed to be the original skills that all other Asian arts are based upon?
There are a wide range of Chinese martial arts, but many of them are too concerned with aesthetic considerations, such as imitating the movements of animals, instead of combat practicality. There are some good practical Chinese martial arts, but they are hard to find. The history of China is mostly peaceful with occasional dynastic changes or foreign incursions, which meant that the development of martial arts was mostly done by civilians for peacetime use. The history of Japan was marked by more frequent wars and a strong warrior culture which endured into the late 1800’s, and those warriors developed skills that were highly effective for the dangerous situations found on the battlefields. What that means for us today is that we have the experiential knowledge of Japan’s best warriors to guide us in developing very effective skills to handle the attacks of criminals trying to harm us. We care about the resulting skills than the aesthetics.
What is the difference between Budō and Bujutsu?
The Budō are modern martial arts that are simplified and watered down versions of older warrior martial arts. Some of them are designed for basic self-defense or sport competition for common people and others are designed for people to enjoy a serene pastime. The Bujutsu are the skills of warriors that are focused on surviving actual combat. Bujutsu typically have a wider range of skills and cover a wide range of weapons which most sports ignore.
Does the Kochō Dōjō teach the Ultimate martial art?
There is no ultimate martial art because people have different motivations for training. Someone who is a pacifist and is looking for serene experience like Aikidō or TaiChi would not enjoy the rough-and-tumble training in the Bujutsu. The same is true for those looking for sport competitions. We think that we are practicing the ultimate martial art for ourselves, and we hope that those who are looking for something different from what we teach will find the art that is right for them.
Is the training safe?
Some martial arts practice forms in the air against imaginary foes, which is extremely safe but offers little chance to develop hands-on experience. Sport martial arts are very hands-on but because of the desire for safe competition dangerous techniques and vulnerable targets must be excluded, and this builds bad habits. Bujutsu training is done with training partners practicing techniques in turn to get hands-on experience. As such this training is a bit rough-and-tumble and one can expect to get minor bumps and bruises, but all training is done slow enough to prevent serious injuries. More so students learn how to receive a training partners techniques in a way that prevents injuries, which in and of itself is a skill that can be used to prevent injuries from criminal attackers. There have been very few injuries in the dōjō, and when students are injured it is usually because they have gotten an injury outside the dōjō, often while playing sports.