Bushi Kempo Ju-Jitsu

The Bushi Kempo Ju-Jitsu Association

Although we are a ju-jitsu (柔術) style, we respect all martial arts and have members who have come to us from backgrounds in aikido, karate, kung fu, judo and kick boxing.

The Bushi Kempo Ju-Jitsu Association welcomes everyone interested in self-defence, from absolute beginner to high level black belt expert. All ages of men, women and children — with all levels of fitness — have found friendly support in our clubs.

We teach the unarmed combat techniques of striking with punches and kicks, throwing, arm and joint locks, ground fighting, chokes and strangles.

We teach defence against attack by knife or club and we use traditional weapons in some of our techniques and katas. Weapons include nunchaku (rice flails), bo (long staff), bokken (wooden sword), and katana (Japanese sword).

Introduction to Bushi Kempo Ju-Jitsu

Modern kempo ju-jitsu provides an excellent opportunity for both children and adults to practice self-defence skills and physical exercise for health, fitness and fun.

The disciplined and carefully structured approach to kempo ju-jitsu rewards self-advancement through technical ability and application. In particular, kempo ju-jitsu helps children to develop co-ordination and self control whilst inspiring confidence and respect not only for themselves, but for their peers and instructors.

In the UK, kempo ju-jitsu has evolved to encompass a wide variety of traditional and modern martial art skills and techniques. Rooted in the battlefield warrior traditions of ancient Japan. Ju jitsu is widely known as the martial art of the samurai, the formidable and greatly admired warrior class of feudal Japan. Their training, with and without weapons, enabled samurai to respond spontaneously and with great flexibility to any attack at any time.

Originally, ju-jitsu was practiced only by samurai, however, the demise of the warrior class through the changing structure of Japanese society served only to propagate their skills. Descendants of samurai learnt and taught their ju-jitsu skills as a much valued family heritage handed down from father to son. The skills of the samurai were no longer used for war and conquest but became a physical culture and spiritual discipline for their descendants.

In contrast, kempo ju-jitsu was developed as the fighting art of the common people. Forbidden to carry arms by law, they learned Chinese based martial arts, popularly known as kempo, which were suited to combat without battlefield armour and weapons. Most of the kempo syllabus is unarmed utilising the striking techniques to vulnerable parts of the body.

However, if necessary, kempo experts used simple farm or fishing implements as weapons. Indeed, although trained to defend themselves and their families wherever possible they avoided conflict and fighting. Their ability to diffuse trouble without resorting to violence was regarded as the highest level of skill of all.

During the past century, ju-jitsu and kempo experts have gradually spread their martial arts across the world and whilst elements of the traditional systems have been preserved, much has changed over time. In the UK, the two styles of kempo and ju-jitsu have been merged and their combined skills adapted for techniques suited to today’s society and expectations both as a martial art and leisure pursuit.

Two of the leading figures in British kempo ju-jitsu are David & Chris Hand, co-founders of the Bushi Kempo Ju Jitsu Association and the style of chiryoku; “Strength Through Knowledge.”