Important Dates in Our History

  • 1532 Takenouchie Hisamori's Jiu Jitsu style comprised of sword, jo, tanto and unarmed techniques.
  • 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu bought peace to Japan by forming the Tokugawa military government. With the end of war, combat became less important in Japanese culture, and it was markedly altered, with styles now tending towards un-armed combat. These systems were created based upon the grappling techniques of the previous armed systems. This became Jiu Jitsu.
  • 1868 The end of the Edo period was the beginning of the Meiji restoration. This was another civil war. It was aimed at returning the power from the Shogun to the Emperor. Many Samurai supported the Shogun during this time, and when the civil war ended and the Emperor returned to power, the Samurai in general were disgraced (many then became Ronin). The Emperor then passed a law banning the practice of martial arts that the Samurai had pioneered. As such Jiu Jitsu almost became lost to the past, but some of the masters refused to stop, and practiced in secret or travelled to other lands. This is the first occasion that Jiu Jitsu came to Britain.
  • Mid twentieth century The ban on the practice of Jiu Jitsu was lifted

A brief history of our art

Jiu Jitsu is an ancient martial art going back at least 1200 years. Its beginnings can be traced back to the 8th through 16th century in Japan. It was during this period of civil war that many styles of combat were formed for use in battle. Both armed and un-armed combat styles were developed for use against heavily armoured opponents who were also likely to be armed.

Read more to learn where Sakura Kan Jiu Jitsu fits into this.

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