Daito ryu, or Daito ryu aiki jujutsu is a combat fighting art founded by Yoshimitsu Minamoto in the 11th Century in Fukishma Prefecture, Japan. This martial art, once taught to samurai, incorporates elements of jujutsu and techniques that emphasize unbalancing an opponent in order to control him or throw him. Modern aikido owes much of its style to Daito ryu.
Origin and Legend
There is no documentation that clarifies exactly how this fighting system originated, but the Daito ryu school traces its lineage back around 900 years to a samurai of the Minamoto clan, Yoshimitsu Minamoto who lived between 1045 and 1127. There is a legend that suggests Yoshimitsu studied the bodies of samurai who died fighting. If so, this research may have helped him identify weak parts of the body that were susceptible to joint locks, pressure and strikes -- important elements of the martial art he is credited with founding. Yoshimitsu is also said to have incorporated elements of tegoi, a forerunner of sumo, into Daito ryu.
Seventeenth Century
Knowledge of Daito ryu was restricted to Yoshimitsu's family. His great-grandson Nobuyoshi adopted the surname Takeda. Daito ryu then became associated exclusively with the Takeda Samurai family name. An adopted member of the family, Komatsumaru, who lived from 1611 to 1673, spent much time studying the family's martial arts. He also apparently added to them.
Nineteenth Century and Sokaku Takeda
In the late 1800s, Takeda Sokaku, who lived from 1860 to 1943, began to teach Daito ryu outside the Takeda family. In addition to the martial arts his family practiced, he had also studied spear fighting techniques and at least two styles of swordmanship. Takeda Sokaku reorganized the family's martial arts techniques and spread its teaching throughout Japan. Among his students was Morihei Ueshiba, who went on to create modern day aikido.
Twentieth Century
After Takeda Sokaku died in 1943, one of his sons, Takeda Tokimune, assumed the title of headmaster of Daito ryu. He added sword techniques to the practice of Daito ryu to create what he called Daito ryu akibudo. He also introduced the Daito ryu's ranking system. Following Takeda Tokimune's death in 1993, some senior students established separate Daito ryu organizations. Kondo Katsuyuki claims to be the only one to have received the blessing of Takeda Tokimune to take over leadership of the Daito ryu aikijujutsu tradition today.
References
- Martial Arts Database: Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu History
- Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu: History Prior to the 19th century Origins of Daito-ryu
- "Martial Arts, Traditions, History, People"; John Corcoran and Emil Farkas; 1983.
- "The Way of the Warrior, Martial Arts and Fighting Systems from Around the World"; Chris Crudelli; 2008.
- Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu: History
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