Waboku Jujitsu is a modern martial art. Waboku translates from Japanese as "peace", "harmony", "reconciliation" or "personhood". An overview of its goals has already been presented above. Physically, it is a fairly equal blend of percussive techniques (kicking, blocking, striking, punching), throwing techniques and joint locking techniques.
The main goal is to prevent victimization by teaching people how to defend themselves in an efficient manner.
What are other systems?
The so-called "ancient" systems of karate, aikido and judo are actually
fairly modern. While these systems usually contain techniques that might
be very old, the oldest of these systems is only about 100 years. These
modern forms usually have little in common with the ancient forms. A brief
outline of these systems is included to provide you with a comparison to
what you learn in Waboku Jujitsu.
The martial arts we associate with Asia today are thought to have originated in either India or Greece over 1000 years ago. The most commonly believed scheme is that systematized fighting arts were brought to China from India by Buddhist monks. These systems spread from China to Korea, Okinawa, Japan and other countries. Many of the techniques used in various martial systems today come out of this history. However, most of these styles of fighting no longer exist.
It should be remembered that at the time the martial arts were developing, the culture of the Orient was much the same as the European feudal era. Fighting arts were taught only to the upper class. The value of human life (and of the peasant's life in particular) was insignificant. There was no remorse to killing as there was no value on life. As a result, a "hard hand, hard heart" philosophy developed and most systems keep this philosophy today when people should be more enlightened. When men fought in the olden times, there was no fight to submission, the loser died.
Today there are many karate styles in existence. Modern karate was introduced to Japan by Gichin Funakoshi in the 1920's. His system of karate (later known as Shotokan) is based on karate styles he studied in his native Okinawa. Karate translates either as "Chinese hand" or "empty hand". Broadly, it is a system that teaches striking, punching, blocking and kicking. Using this broad category, the Korean style of Tae Kwon Do and the Chinese styles of wushu ("kung fu") can be included. While one system may focus more on punching (such as Shotokan) and another on kicking (such as tae kwon do), one can crudely divide karate styles into "hard" and "soft", referring to the types of attacks and defenses they use. Hard styles of karate are characterized by linear attacks and defenses while soft styles are characterized by more circular attacks and defenses. No single style of karate is totally "hard" or "soft", but usually contains elements of both types of techniques.
Aikido, is also a martial arts system of this century. It was founded in Japan in 1942 by Morihei Ueshiba and is based on earlier Jujitsu and other martial arts styles. Aikido is a very circular style that uses body momentum and joint locks to throw a person and control them. One learns to blend with the attacker's movements and use the force of the attacker rather than oppose the attacker's force. Aikido has a deep spiritual side to it as well where this concept of blending is brought to all aspects of one's life.
Judo was founded in 1882 by Jigoro Kano of Japan. It too is based on older styles of Jujitsu. In judo, like aikido, one uses the strength of the opponent to throw and control. Here body throws and sweeps are most often used. Most training areas (dojo) for judo focus on the contest aspect of judo which emphasizes body throws, pins, chokes and elbow locks as well as physical fitness. Although judo in its current practice usually lacks as deep a spiritual component as aikido, Kano meant for his system to be applied to all aspects of life. One of the sayings of judo, "maximum efficiency with minimum effort for the mutual welfare of all", is meant to be applied in and out of the dojo.
Any one of these systems can be studied for self-defense. However, the focus of the martial arts described above are usually on development of self, rather than on self-defense.
Waboku Jujitsu was started around the year 1970. Don Lewis, a 22 year old martial artist, modified a traditional Jujitsu system to meet the criteria of modern physical education techniques and knowledge, modern opponents and weapons, current legal regulations, and the typical American culture and student. Having studied many systems of martial arts since he was eight, Don held degrees in a number of them. he had learned the realities of the fighting side from 5+ years on the street as an undercover agent.
In choosing what defenses to teach he looked at the most common attacks and situations. In choosing the defenses they had to meet several criteria. First, they had to work. Second, they had to be easy to learn, and third, they had to be easy to retain with a minimum of practice. Finally, they had to fit together well into a system of defense that was fluid so that students were not locked into forms that might or might not fit into a given situation. In Waboku Jujitsu there is a continuous search for balance of form, efficiency of techniques and faithfulness to philosophy.
Bushido is the proper way of life for the bushi. In order to learn the Way, forget about self and awaken to the truth. Drop off illusion, clarify heaven and earth, look at things the way they really are and realize no-self.
When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops. Harmony is the basis of heaven and earth and the Great Way for human beings. All things everywhere are interdependent. Nothing exists of itself. Therefore, we must have compassion for all living things.
The main element of Bushido is gratitude; gratitude toward parents and ancestors, gratitude toward sentient beings, and gratitude toward the leader....
To read more about Bushido, consult Zen & Bushido references
or read the paper by Dr. Binder.