This writer will not be the last to explore the Hakko Ryu Jujutsu while training and living in Japan. With the founder’s philosophy of “No challenge, no resistance, no injury,” Shodai Ryuho Okuyama established a modern budo in 1941. What does this approach to jujutsu feel like when applying techniques? Technically, where does this art come from, and how does Japanese Shiatsu mix in with Hakko Ryu Jujutsu?
The origins of Hakko Ryu Jujutsu, which is a name that means the Style of the Eighth Light, refers to the ultraviolet band of light that is invisible to humans but responsible for causing sunburn while at the beach (Wikipedia, 2023). The founder Shodai Okuyama was a practitioner of Japanese Shiatsu (A form of finger pressure therapy) and top student of Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu under Kyoju Dairi Matsuda Hosaku and the famous Takeda Sokaku. In and around 1938, Shodai Okuyama wrote a book called Daito-ryu Goshinjutsu and began teaching what he referred to as Daito Hiden Shido. In just a few years more with Takeda in the later stages of life, Shodai Okuyama with his knowledge of different budos, Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu and Shiatsu formed Hakko Ryu Jujutsu during World War II.
Along with the jujutsu techniques found in Hakko Ryu that are taught through wazas sets or the learning of techniques in a set, there is also a study on comprehending the energy points or meridians line in the body from Eastern medicine by the use of Hakko Ryu Koho Shiatsu or Koho Shiatsu for short. Once a student moves beyond the technical understanding of a waza, Hakko Ryu values what is found in the waza, which includes other applications, variations, and the knowledge of specific points of the body to inflict pain with one finger.
Having learned basic wazas in the past from the Martial Art of Yoshitsune Jujutsu and Yoshitsune Combat Jujutsu, the writer has practiced several techniques from Hakko Ryu Jujutsu’s Shodan and Nidan sets whenever this knowledge was explored with Nidai Soke Micheal DePasquale Jr (New Jersey), Soke Warren and Renshi Eric Taylor – of Nisei Bujutsu (Florida). He always found the Hakko Ryu locking techniques to be much more painful compared to Daito Aikijujutsu, Aikido, and other systems of Jujutsu because the rotational cutting directly gives a spiral pain during application on the arm or wristlock. Further, regarding having knowledge of pain points on the body from shiatsu, many wazas are open to the possibility of applying additional pain in the expression of self-defense or in a pinning technique, for example.
Just before the recent passing of Nidai Soke Michael DePasquale Jr, the writer was motivated to fulfill a promise to learn the traditional Yoshitsune Jujutsu system. Having, almost by luck, chance meeting with Soke Joseph Miller, 10th Dan, the writer started learning Taizan Ryu Goshin Jutsu. Therefore, he is finally learning the nuances of Hakko Ryu Jujutsu, Yoshitsune Jujutsu, Taizan Ryu Taiho, and Shiatsu at the Taizan Dojo in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan.
Soke Joseph Miller after his Shihan test in 1973, second row from the bottom and second to the left.
During a recent lesson, the writer was stocked and saw a big take-a-way in how Soke Miller, a direct student of Shodai Okuyama from 1972 – 1987, applied the Hakko Ryu technique under the philosophy of “No challenge, no resistance, no injury.” In the example of a self-defense (Goshin Jutsu) application of a wrist, arm, or shoulder grab, Soke Miller instructed the writer to be super relaxed and perform the wazas with no power. In the context of Go No Sen, which is the Japanese timing of attack where a person in grappling has already been grabbed and must perform a counter self-defense technique; for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, when performing a self-protection technique, the practitioner 95% of the time drops into a balance (base) and lower the his center of gravity. In applications of Judo for Goshinjutsu, there is the element of gaining one’s base and somewhat performing a retracting type of movement. In comparing the shoulder grab problem for self-defense, the Hakko Ryu Jujutsu technique meets the attacker in a super calm nature and, if needed, performs a painful technique.
Finally, before or after a jujutsu lesson, it is nice to be able to relax the body, stretch, and receive a shiatsu treatment. With koho shiatsu, Shodai Okuyama said that one finger could be used to heal or harm. And with only a few lessons in shiatsu, the writer conducted some of the treatments on his wife just the other day; where she expressed after falling asleep that the next day her body felt like she had just worked out and had the correct type of soreness as compared to the tight muscles before the shiatsu.
To The Reader
The author will be most happy to receive your comments, including criticisms and suggestions. Noteworthy comments may be included in future editions or books on this series.
Citations:
www.peacefulmountainsystemtaizanryu.site
www.youtube.com
www.vimeo.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.yotsumedojo.com
For more information about Tony Pacenski’s books and instructional in Martial Arts, visit:
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www.gunjiuniversity.com – Military Arresting Technique – Books, Instructionals, and Certifications.
– Prof. “little” Tony Pacenski
Yokota Air Base – Tokyo Japan
www.tonypacenski.com
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