Gendai Acronyms

by Ivica Zdravkovic, Shinbukan Dojo

Over the past few years, I was more than once in a position of defending my thesis about natural development of Gendai Jujutsu styles by careful combining Judo, Aikido and Karate. This was actually exactly the way my style of Jujutsu has been created, with some additions such as Rinji no Waza ("Special techniques", such as kyusho jutsu, biting (hitokui waza), hair pulling (kaminoke tori) and other things frequently classified as "dirty techniques"). This combination of Judo (standard Kodokan techniques), Aikido (ikkyo to gokyo, kote gaeshi, irimi nage, shiho nage, kokyu nage, tenchi nage, udekime nage, kaiten nage, juji nage etc.) and Karate (stances, blocks, strikes, kicks, and even some kata of Shotokan) is became known among my friends as "JAK Jujutsu" - by the acronym made of Judo, Aikido and Karate. I first smiled at this, because word "JAK" in my mother tongue, Serbian, actually means "strong" - and I felt almost ashamed because the "lack of koryu" heritage in my style. But, as the time goes on, I am more and more convinced that "JAK Jujutsu" is in fact a very honest description of the art, and very honest approach to interdisciplinary studies. If combined well, Judo, Aikido and Karate techniques in deed can produce extremely effective Self-Defense system and fighting system(s), which will be fine "identical twins" to ancient Jujutsu styles. In fact, all of the included budo arts are filled with koryu techniques (some more or less modified), and the basis of "JAK Jujutsu" is in koryu schools. Thus, "JAK Jujutsu " is sort of "time capsule", almost a perfect tool of preserving the most effective and most representative Japanese empty-handed techniques and principles.

Following the same logic, I am starting to recognize another interesting acronym - which illustrates the origin and structure of gendai kenjutsu which I practice. It is "KIAI Kenjutsu" (Sounds familiar, eh?) Why is it "KIAI Kenjutsu"? Because it strongly relies on Kendo techniques (such as classical strikes, uchi kaeshi, sabaki and sparring), Iai techniques (kata taken from various Iaido and Iaijutsu schools/styles, such as Toyama Ryu, Seitei Iai etc. - plus cutting techniques, such as kesa giri, kiri oroshi, etc. and, of course, tameshigiri!), and Aiki (do, jutsu, jujutsu - whatever) techniques such as tachi dori and sabaki... (Fourth letter in the acronym - letter "I" - also comes from word "Aiki", for obvious reasons - after all "KIA" is a model of car, so it would be inappropriate.)

This acronym "covers" some 90% of the content of our Shinbukan Kenjutsu here in Serbia. It is fair to admit it and I am not ashamed to do that. Especially when knowing that kendo mostly comes from one koryu kenjutsu style (Itto Ryu), numerous koryu iai styles and kata are condensed in our five official and three additional kata, and lots of koryu kenjutsu is hidden beside Aiki techniques included in our tachi dori portion of Shinbukan curriculum. Someone may say that I forgot certain "ninjaken" techniques - those which were also the basis of or initial teaching program. Well, as time passed by, I am almost completely convinced that all those "ninjutsu specialties" are simply borrowed from other mainstream Bujutsu styles. Therefore, I deliberately left out the letter "N" - and besides, I do like the sound of that: "KIAI Kenjutsu".

Now, I assure you I certainly don't have any intentions of changing the names of what I teach and practice - I still like very much the name of Gendai Goshin Ryu Jujutsu and Shinbukan Kenjutsu. All I wanted is to openly admit: I love the concept of "JAK Jujutsu" and "KIAI Kenjutsu" and I believe it is almost the only decent way of creating gendai styles in these times. The one and single alternative method would be practicing some koryu jujutsu or koryu kenjutsu for many years and then (if necessary) changing it more or less by mixing the ancient techniques and principles with aforementioned classical budo arts (Judo, Karate, Aikido, Kendo, Iaido).

In conclusion: Once again the history shows its true nature - one of constant repetitions. From Koryu Bujutsu we got modern Budo, and from this "modern Budo" (which is, BTW, some 100 years old!) we are regenerating bujutsu in form of our Gendai arts. "JAK Jujutsu" and "KIAI Kenjutsu" are the very best examples of it.