Is there a Bushido martial art?

[Vivian]

I'm a little confused as I started going to this class in Bushido but searching a little about Bushido I can't seem to find that it is about a specific martial art. I even reached another confused bloger here.

It seems that what is actually being taught be this name is either karate or aikido.

Can anyone educate me please on the whole subject.

 

[Monadnock]

The "Bushido" were a set of rules or standards to live by, for the Bushi, or warrior class of Japan.

It would have next to nothing to do with Karate or Aikido training.

A popular text outlining the Bushido was Hagakure, I believe, but was not written by a member of the warior class, to my recollection.

These rules go back to the high standards or behavior and living held by the first shogunate of Japan around the early 1100's. Shortly thereafter, Japan's warrior class lost those standards in lieu of gambling, treachery and general disobedience. Much later, this romanticized view of the Bushido returned but the warrior class was no longer needed.

Check out Draeger's book on Clasical Bujutsu for some more info.

 

[Sukerkin]

Vivian, welcome aboard the good ship Martial Talk and welcome to what could turn out to be a long journey of learning and discovery for you. Sadly, to "educate you on the whole subject" would be a vast undertaking.

The scope of Japanese martial arts is quite broad and recedes deep back into the history of that country. For example, I study a Sword art called Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu iaido, which is just one of a number of 'survivors' of the thousands of schools of the Japanese sword that once existed.

One thing that is easy to clarify tho' is that Bushido is not a martial art. It is a philosophy and a way of thinking and behaving. It is very much akin to the Code of Chivalry of Western knights and, sadly, was about as well implemented i.e. much was said and written about the nature of a noble warrior but very little of it was seen on the battlefield.

If you could give us a little more detail on your school, perhaps we can help pin down what style is actually being taught.

EDIT: Monadock beat me to it :rei:.

 

[Chris Parker]

Hi Vivian,

You're absolutely correct, Bushido is not a Martial Art itself, per se, however, I have personally known of a number of systems and schools of various arts that have taken the name Bushido simply as the name of their system (eg. Bushido Karate).

The term Bushido literally means "The Way/Path of the Warrior" (Bu = Martial, Shi = Person, Do = Way/Path), and is thought to have been coined in the Edo Period. In early Japanese history, the way of the warrior was known as Kyuba No Michi, the Way of Mounted Archery.

There have been a number of different interpretations of exactly what constitutes Bushido, however most agree that it is comprised of seven virtues:
Gi - Rectitude
Yu - Courage
Jin - Benevolence
Rei - Respect
Makoto/Shin - Honesty
Meiyo - Honour
Chugi - Loyalty
and, occasionally:
Ko - Filial Piety
Chi - Wisdom
Tei - Venerence for the Aged.

No matter what particular Art you study, so long as you include these aspects, you are following Bushido. But if what you are after is the Martial Art of the Japanese Samurai, then your choice becomes a little more limited. Systems such as Aikido, Judo, Kendo, Iaido, Jodo etc are modern arts, and therefore not what the ancient Samurai trained in. Karate was also not used by Samurai, in fact it was developed primarily to defend against them! This doesn't mean that these arts don't or can't include teh above virtues (and more!), it just means that the particular art was not physically in existence to be learnt by the Samurai themselves.

With that in mind, look for anyone around who teaches a koryu system, but don't expect an easy time...

Your last alternative is actually a Ninjutsu organisation. The arts taught under the banner of (authentic) Ninjutsu in the various groups (Bujinkan, Genbukan/Kokusai JuJutsu Renmei, Jinenkan, and a number of the various split-off organisations) include a number of koryu Samurai traditions, including Kukishin Ryu, Takagi Ryu (various branches of each...), and others. If Samurai is what you are after, I would probably recommend the KJJR, taught alongside the Genbukan, simply because it focuses directly upon the koryu traditions, however until 3rd Dan, you will learn an amalgm of the various Ryu-ha before you can learn an individual system by itself.

I hope this had made some sense to you, and has helped in some way.

 

[Chris Parker]

Hagakure (Hidden Amongst the Leaves) was dictated by Yamamoto Tsunemoto, a samurai of the Nabeshima Clan, to a young samurai over a number of years before Tsunetomo died, leaving behind his beliefs and feelings on what a samurai is/should be. It is from this text that we get the phrase "The way of Bushido is the way of death". What should be remembered about this particular book is that the author never actually participated in any fighting himself, and had some very definate personal ideas about what being a samurai meant. His ideas in a number of respects are actually at odds with the majority of his contemporaries, and that is stated a number of times in the book. So, while it is a very interesting work, I would never regard it as a basis for any definition of Bushido for anyone excpet Tsunetomo himself.

 

[Sukerkin]

Just a small clarification to what Mr Parker posted above - iaido is what is termed a koryu art i.e. one whose lineage stretches back down through the centuries from the Samurai who developed it.

I think what Chris is referring to when he speaks of 'iaido' is the amalgamated and homogenised sword forms that were created in recent times (from the various iaido styles) and are commonly used for the sword curriculum in aikido and kendo.

It is not to be confused with the koryu schools (see how complicated this stuff is Vivian ) such as MJER, Muso Shinden, Katori and so on.

 

[Chris Parker]

You are absolutely right, I was refering to Seitei Iaido, rather than any koryu which includes Iai within it's teachings. From what I remember, though, Iai is said to have been founded by Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, whose teachings live on in the Shinmuso Hayashizaki Ryu and the Hayashizaki Muso Ryu, both of which refer to their art as Iaijutsu, or simply Iai, rather than Iaido. This does indeed mean Iai can be given koryu status (as the Hayashizaki Ryu-ha date back around 450 years!), but unless you find a particular system that teaches in such a fashion, you will more commonly come across the modern (Seitei) form of Iaido, and therefore I chose to use that as my distinction...

No offence meant, I was just hoping to keep a Beginners Corner thread some semblance of simplicity... should have remembered we are dealing with the Japanese Arts here, and they are never simple!

 

[charyuop]

You can buy a book, the price is very low now since it's been out for quite sometime, where you will be able to find the bushido guideline. The book is called "Code of Samurai".
Just keep in mind that the book was written following the "rules" of Samurai when these soldiers were no longer needed in the battle field. I think there might be a slight difference between the code when Samurai where still needed to fight and when they were no longer needed to fight.
But in all those codes you will be able to find the Bushido, the line of conduct of the real fighter according to the Japanese culture.
And I can add that 90% of those are still codes that we could use today and that would make a world a much better place...except I work for Wal-Mart and I would never kill myself for Wal-Mart and actually I would never put it in front of my family either as old Samurai did.

 

[Sukerkin]

No offence meant, I was just hoping to keep a Beginners Corner thread some semblance of simplicity... should have remembered we are dealing with the Japanese Arts here, and they are never simple!

No offence taken, Chris ;rei:. You're quite right about keeping things simple, where the Japanese arts and their histories are concerned, here in a forum dedicated to those just starting out .

EDIT: Forgive my rudeness in addressing you by your first name and not giving my own :O

- Mark

 

[jks9199]

A lot of great points about Bushido and Japanese martial arts are above.

Let me try to make it real simple. Bushido is to Japanese martial arts as chivalry is to European martial arts. Both were sets of principles and guidelines for the warrior class; neither were martial arts in and of themselves.

So, if you're going to a martial arts class that claims to be teaching "Bushido" -- your teacher needs to clarify himself to you. What I suspect is that he's latched onto the idea as a marketing concept or name for his class or school. (I'd also bet dollars to donuts that he's not Japanese by heritage... which doesn't mean he's not teaching good Japanese martial arts.) He may be teaching aikido, karate, and some sword art, for example. He should be able to tell you the names of those arts, even if he lumps them together under his own thing.

 

[Monadnock]

EDIT: Monadock beat me to it :rei:.

Sorry Sukerkin, it's a result of my MT Invisibility feature.