Why is Jujutsu gentle?

Question

If i am not mistaken doesn't Ju mean gentle. and Jujutsu is far from gentle from what i have seen! why is it called that!? if Jiu doesn't mean gentle, what does it mean?

Answer 1

Hi there

nice question

I can only say that an arts style and techniques are often reflected in the names of their kata.

To be honest its a case of westerners getting hold of a japanese art, not understanding it properly and turning it into the art of ragging people about. Its not just jujutsu but other japanese arts also suffer from the westerners lack of understanding.

if you cant do it correctly then apply bruit force to it! Isnt that what jujutsu is all about? I think not.

Best wishes

idai

Answer 2

Yes ju means "gentle" and jutsu means "art" in  the Japanese language ( Nihongo ).  Hence "The Gentle Art".  The reason for this is because one of the most important principles in "Jujitsu" is that "force never meets force" and that strength and speed are never needed, but only the "technique it's self".  Yielding to an opponent in order to accomplish control of the opponenet's movements.  Allowing the opponent to fight their self so to speak.  The 25 principles of Jujitsu allow for a broad range of ways to handle any attacker.  These principles allow an attacker to either be stopped from any movement at all or to be forced to move by way of the jujitsu practitioner's use of these 25 principles.  A jujitsu practitioner never has any need for "brute force" nor does he or she have any need for "strength" or "speed" in any fashion what so ever.  Hence "Gentle Art"..... Gentle on the jujitsu practitioner and very rough and brutal on any attacker.

"jiu"? ... surangu desuka? Wakarimasen ..... Nihongo ga chotto dake hanasemasu.  Nihongo ga hanasemasuka?

Edit: Everyone understands the true meaning of Nihongo terminologies in America, but still no replies to my questions or statements when I spell them out clearly using english letters ( moji )?  Sometimes people really can't see the forest through the trees.  Other than what they can google that is....

Another Edit: Well said idai !!!

Yet Another Edit:  'boubt time I got an answer from somebody .... I'll give you credit on this one judomofo you know your sh*t.  I still don't like the way you've approached me on other answers in yahoo.  None of that is called for.   http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;... <-- to  be precise.

Answer 3

JU doesn't mean litereally gentle... it actually means "softness" or "yielding" With that in mind it makes more sense.

Jujitsu, Judo and other soft style arts are called so because it is a redirecting Martial Art, or uses the the momentum against the opponent, moving with it, or yielding to it.

Karate and other primarily striking based Martial Arts are considered hard style martial arts, because of reacting to an opponents momentum, they block or stop it.

The difference between the two would be better described in this fashion. Let's take a typical attack, and the defense by each arts.

Hard style Karate, say Kyokushin and Jujitsu.

Defense for a straight punch.

In Karate the defense for a straight punch is typically a hard outward block, followed by a counter strike.

In Jujitsu and other "gentle" or soft style Martial Arts:

A straight punch would be defended by moving out of the way (Tai Sabaki) and redirecting the energy or momentum of the punch into a throw, or joint lock, or a series of moves.

Think of hard style arts as using hard movements in the attack and defense, and soft style arts as using flowing movements in the attack and defense.

Or in short a hard style meets an opposing force with force, and a soft style art meets an opposing force, goes with it and uses the force against them.

That is not to say there are not soft style and flowing elements to some versions of Karate, but just as a generalization of "hard styles" versus soft styles.

Hope that helps... the gentle part is very often misconstrued.

Edit: William P: Sorry I just got back to this question, Well what you are using is Romanji, and no Jiu is not slang, it is just the way it was adopted in Brazilian (keep in mind the Romanji system wasn't as developed as it is now, the Brazilians took a word they heard and spelled how they thought it should be spelled.

I only speak a little bit of Japanese as well, but asking people questions in Japanese in an non language section doesn't mean you have a better understanding of a Japanese word. It just means you know some elementary Japanese.

Honestly I feel it has no relevance to Martial Arts.

You can be a great fencer without knowing French, a great Opera singer without knowing Italian, a great Samboist without knowing Russian, or an expert in Krav without knowing Hebrew.

But knowing the history and meaning of Martial Arts and their words I think should be important in learning an art. You should know everything you can about it, simply so you can pass that information on.

I don't think that a conversational knowledge of Japanese is important in knowing or understanding Martial Arts terminology. But you should know the Japanese names of your techniques, you should know the principles such as Tai Sabaki, Kuzushi, Ju. With a few exceptions most Japanese terminology is very literal in terms of technique, there are few poetic licenses taken with it. But knowing what is relevant to the art in Japanese is good to know.

I couldn't carry on a entire conversation in Japanese, but I have spent a long time in Japanese arts and have been taught by predominantly Japanese teachers. Most of what I know, I learned from them, particularly about the meanings of words and theories in relation to the art I was learning.