taijutsu or not taijutsu, that is the ?

[stone_dragone]

In doing a search on the internet for Budo Taijutsu, I find pages and pages of shools teaching "Taijutsu" - many of them Bujinkan and what I'm looking for, but many of them not.

My instructor in TN has rank in Taijutsu (not BBT, although he's begun a study of that finally), but he says for him it's just a generic word for police defensive tactics. What do y'all think?

My question(s) is/are this/these: Is "taijutsu" a newly-generic term that's relpacing "karate" for unarmed combat methods? Are there traditional schools that teach "Taijutsu (not BBT)" as opposed to karate and jujutsu? Do I teach "taijutsu" and not even realize it?

Just a lot of thinking lately...

 

[Bigshadow]

In doing a search on the internet for Budo Taijutsu, I find pages and pages of shools teaching "Taijutsu" - many of them Bujinkan and what I'm looking for, but many of them not.

My instructor in TN has rank in Taijutsu (not BBT, although he's begun a study of that finally), but he says for him it's just a generic word for police defensive tactics. What do y'all think?

My question(s) is/are this/these: Is "taijutsu" a newly-generic term that's relpacing "karate" for unarmed combat methods? Are there traditional schools that teach "Taijutsu (not BBT)" as opposed to karate and jujutsu? Do I teach "taijutsu" and not even realize it?

Just a lot of thinking lately...

How about this...

(体術, Taijutsu? literally "Body Art") is a term for Japanese martial arts techniques that rely solely on body dynamics as opposed to weapons and other devices. 'A truly dynamic, effective and real-life system of self defense and unarmed combat'.

" The Japanese term "Taijutsu" is synonymous with the Art of the Ninja. Taijutsu translates as "The Way or Art of the Body." It usually is associated with the Ancient Japanese Empty Hand Techniques practiced by the Ninja and a few other Ancient Martial Ryuha or lineages. The words are easy enough to understand. However, the Art of the Body is not. Notice the name is not "The Art of the Body Parts." It is simply "The Art of the Body." One Completely Unified Body. This concept goes all the way back to the Chinese origins of the Japanese Martial Arts where the Chinese say : "If One Joint Moves, All Nine Joints Move." This is really profound and difficult to understand on the Physical Level. For example, if you tilt your head slightly, just one joint, your neck, will have moved. So, in order to keep your Structural Integrity intact, every other joint in your body will have to shift slightly. If this does not happen, you will lose the Harmony and Balance between your "In" and "Yo" or Yin and Yang. After that, the flow of your Ki or Internal Energy will not be correct and the skill level of your Taijutsu will become much lower. You will have to depend more on local muscle strength and less on whole body power to accomplish your goals. Ki unites your whole body. It is the only one thing that connects the distant parts together. How else can the power from your foot drive your hand? There is no one muscle or even one nerve that travels that whole distance. Yet, with the proper alignment, you can easily feel the power flow from your feet to your finger tips! "
​

Found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijutsu

It seems a good enough definition, I suppose, it sounds mostly right.

 

[Carol]

In the US, the word "Karate" is used generically.

"Kara" = empty

"Te" = hand


If I were to go to the Karate board on MT and say that I train in "Karate" because I'm still at the empty-hand level of training with my Silat, what would the reaction be?


Would I be automatically viewed as a Karate practitioner?


Or would I be seen as a Silat practitioner that took one too many neck throws?



"Tai" = Squad

"Jutsu" = Techniques (of)

Taijutsu can literally mean the techniques of a squad.

It's also a name that was not at all known to Americans until Dr. Hatsumi's rigorous success in the Bujinkan.

Marketing can be a powerful thing.

 

[shinbushi]

Here are some Japanese Ryu (Other than the Bujinkan arts) that are called taijutsu such as Yagyu Shingan-ryu taijutsu but they are very rare outside of Japan

 

[Don Roley]

My instructor in TN has rank in Taijutsu (not BBT, although he's begun a study of that finally), but he says for him it's just a generic word for police defensive tactics. What do y'all think?

He is wrong. The word he is thinking of is not taijutsu, but rather Taihojutsu.

And I would be interested in hearing how he got rank in it, especially since he does not know the name correctly it seems. The art was developed for the Japanese police and they are not very eager to show anyone who is not working as a police officer in Japan the stuff they use.

I am not saying that your teacher is lying. But I know of at least one guy who took in a whole lot of unsuspecting folks by claiming to be a ninjutsu instructor for the Bujinkan at the height of the ninja craze when he was not. One of the arts I have heard associated with his claims was taihojutsu. Maybe there is a connection. Or maybe there are people teaching the art in America I was not aware of.

I think I may go down to the local police station and ask about taihojutsu again.

 

[stone_dragone]

Thank you all for keeping me straight!

 

[pgsmith]

Hey Carol,
Actually, the kanji used in "taijutsu" from the Bujinkan is "body", not "squad". Also, it was known to some Americans prior to the Bujinkan, just not very many. Many of the koryu arts incorporate taijutsu, or body movements, into their teachings. There just aren't that many koryu schools outside of Japan.

While the term "taijutsu" is becoming somewhat generic to refer to Japanese inspired self-defense arts, it really shouldn't be. In my opinion, the problem has been created due to the approach that Dr. Haatsumi took in disseminating his Bujinkan. Most of the Japanese arts tend to be fairly difficult at first, and they weed out those that aren't likely to stay fairly quickly. The Bujinkan tends to be fairly easy to learn at first, and it can be several years before it gets really difficult and begins to weed out those that aren't going to stay. The result of this is that you end up with a lot of people that have had two or three years worth of training in the Bujinkan. When these people wish to become a martial arts instructor themselves, they cannot profess to teach Bujinkan budo taijutsu because they dropped out before advancing that far, therefore they simply say that they teach "taijutsu" and go on. I've run across that term from that sort of person a number of times. Suffice it to say that the term "taijutsu" should never be used to stand on its own. That is simply incorrect usage. If you find someone using the term "taijutsu" as a stand-alone term, you should immediately be suspicious of their credentials.

Just my opinions, but that's how I see it.

 

[rutherford]

Have you seen the ads by Christian Harfouche for his "shorite ryu tai jutsu"??

That guy gives me the creeps really badly.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Have you seen the ads by Christian Harfouche for his "shorite ryu tai jutsu"??

That guy gives me the creeps really badly.

I think with Harfouche, his use of the word "tai" comes from him getting his 10 dan in TAI Karate from David German.

AoG