In ancient Japan, the struggle was rather primitive. Here is how it “Nihongi (” Annals of Japan “):” … Nomi-no Sukune came from Izumo, and he and Taima but Kehaya immediately commanded to fight. These men stood opposite each other. Both raised their feet and kicked each another. And Nomi-no Sukune broken ribs Kehaya blow, and once again struck and broke his back. Therefore the land Taima Kehaya but was captured and devoted himself Nomi-no Sukune. “
Such competition in the “Nihongi” called Tikaram-kurabe – the comparison of forces. “I think that is the name of a fairly accurate reflection of their essence. It is strength, not technique and agility determine the winner in the battle.
In V-VI centuries on the basis Tikaram-kurabe has developed a popular and now the struggle of the giants – Sumo – or rather, his early version of the old girl. By the period of Nara, this struggle has been widely disseminated. It was at this time includes credible information to conduct competitions in sumo.
With regard to technology then “sumo”, it seems, was rather primitive and consisted mostly tremors, stumbling, flattening. Emphasis was placed on the force. Wrestlers strive by special diet to increase its own weight and, judging by the pictures, they succeeded, even in those distant, not quite secured times. In tournaments strikes ceased to apply because of their extreme danger to health, but in real combat fighters frequently used punches and jogging heel kick forward. Since the victory in a ritual combat awarded to the wrestler throw an opponent down, then fight in the pit was not conducted and, accordingly, has not been studied.
The first wave of Chinese
VIII-IX century became a very important milestone in the history of the fight without weapons in the country of the Rising Sun. At this time, intensified contacts with the mainland, and a powerful cultural stream, along with thousands of displaced people poured out of China and Korea to Japan. Immigrants brought with them their original methods of combat, which have focused on a variety of punches and kicks, armlock on the joints. In this regard, we must mention the semi-legendary school Sese-ryu (”School of awards”), reported that it appear and disappear in the sources of XII-XIV centuries. Creator Sese-Ryu is the output from a famous Chinese immigrant family, a great commander Sakanoue Tamuramaro, famous for his victories over the Ainu. The specificity of this school was the development of exceptional strength and hand sverhzakalka shock surfaces, which allegedly allowed to break through a steel plate armor.
The sources reported that when the invincible warlord end of XII century, Minamoto Yoshitsune sees the wizard Sese-ryu, it was shaken to the depths.
A notable mark in the history of Japanese fighting without weapons and left school tesuy-ryu, founded Otomo Komarov, who studied Chinese fist arts from a master Jianzhen, arrived in Japan during the reign of Emperor Kokena (749-758).
Later, in the middle of the XIV century samurai Urabe-no Sukune Kanesada perfected her technique by adding the methods of the Chinese mentor Sunzhenya UIS. Kanesada called art Tesuy-ryu “daken-jitsu” – the art of fist blows. Engineering an unarmed fight Tesuy Ryu became the basis for Kuki Shinden Ryu – one of the most influential schools of Japanese Bu-Jutsu.
Eroi-kumiuti
Around the X century, in parallel with the development of the samurai warrior class began to form a special combat system to fight in the Shell – eroi-kumiuti (kumiuti, eroi-gumi, catty-gumi). In many ways it was like a sumo wrestler – the same shocks and stalling. This is easily explained, because the soldiers in battle armor worn, the burden of which has successfully replaced with an artificial caught sumoists weight. Yes, and bulky, like a box of shells interfere take a comfortable grip. Nevertheless Technology eroi-kumiuti was much richer. There was no conditional restrictions in sumo – fight just standing, in any case does not fall to the ground, not to use strikes and weapons. The men were free to use any techniques and methods – but the result was important.
Receptions eroi-kumiuti used in all cases, when a soldier lost his weapons – dropped it, broke, etc.
In battles X-XIII centuries battle began with the shooting of arrows, followed by a counter attack and opponents immediately found themselves on the ground. The Sword in such a situation to use it was very difficult – it simply had no time to remove from its scabbard. Therefore, eroi-kumiuti enjoyed in those days much more honor than fencing with large swords, tacit. But a short sword or dagger-Cotati-tanto possessed great popularity, because they could use in combat style eroi-kumiuti.
The basis eroi-kumiuti were various wrestling techniques – grips, throws, wrinkles, stifling – to effectively fight a battle with an armed and dressed in the armor of the enemy. In the case of the soldiers can also use punches and kicks, but only as an auxiliary weapon – on the enemy armor was easier to beat off an arm or a leg than to inflict any harm.
The key to eroi-kumiuti was correct the usage of the hips and strength of limbs.
This was achieved using a special dual symmetric capture, which was called etsu-gumi – “quadruple clutch. In etsu-gumi both fighters tightly wrapped in each other, not grasping with his hands behind the plate armor. Such a seizure help the soldiers keep their balance and mobility and allow effective control of the enemy.
At any convenient time of one or both fighters were ready to immediately draw a short sword or a special dagger to pierce his armor known as eroi Doce. Eroi Doce were tucked into his belt on the right thigh, snatched his usual left-handed. It required great skill to control the opponent with one hand and to maintain balance, while the second rake up his dagger and tried to hit the vulnerable, not hidden by the armor of the opponent’s body. Make it a dumping ground it was extremely difficult, as required to get into the small gap between the plates, but even under strictly defined angle.
In eroi-kumiuti often used a variety of shots with the fall in which the soldier tried to use their own body weight and weight of armor to overthrow the enemy on the ground. After the shots he wanted to fall on the entire mass of the top and used the hold, to weaken the enemy and then kill dagger.
Masters eroi, kumiuti tried to make best use of design features of Japanese armor. Thus, an attack from behind a jerk for the helmet visor up when the rear plate led into the base of the neck can be easily broken neck vertebrae. Metallic Ring for mounting a quiver on the back plate of the shell was used as a convenient handle when shooting through the thigh.
As can be seen from the description of techniques eroi-kumiuti this kind of struggle has been calculated mainly on the clash of one on one. In those days, in X-XIII centuries, the battle is usually turned into a huge tournaments with the traditional loud proclamation pedigrees, with theatrical call to battle. The samurai considered it below their dignity to fight with the enemy, did not give his name, and do not have a noble descent, refused to stoop to in order to kill the enemy en masse, it is impossible to determine who showed great bravery in battle.
These factors specificity eroi-kumiuti as art to win in melee fight in armor. His followers did not think about the need to protect themselves from attacks from behind. Coupled to the enemy, they could not respond to zheystviya other opponents … And often find themselves the victims of these omissions.
For a very long time – roughly from the XI to the XVI century – eroi-kumiuti was the main form of struggle without arms, but canonized it was pretty late – in the XIV-XV centuries. Although eroi-kumiuti included in the program of many schools Bu-Jutsu, for championship in his canonization of a dispute between two schools: tekuden Muso Ryu, according to tradition founded in the XIII century, the legendary Buddhist monk Ikeybo Tehen and Tsutsumi Hodzana River-ryu, founded in the XIV century disciple of semi-legendary founder of Japanese Zen Bu-Jutsu monk Dzion Tsutsumi – Yamasiro- but kami Hodzana River.
Kogusoku
Since the middle of the XVI century Japanese art of close combat without weapons is undergoing revolutionary changes. It was caused by many factors. Changed the general character of warfare. Battle of the period – no longer a grand tournament, but a clash of armies, where the role of the individual soldier takes a back seat to collective action. Here, no one is responding to the challenge to a duel, steel horse weight simply crushes warrior alone, and the wall kopetsschikov in an instant turns it into a sieve. Attacks from behind, with ten men for one have become commonplace. Compared with the previous period dramatically increased the number of armies, which are now supplied not only of the noble bushy, but from the commoners. Increase in the number of soldiers in conjunction with a new maneuver tactics lead to a change in the protective arms, which should become easier and cheaper. And in the XVI century there is a lightweight scaly armor gusoku work of the famous masters Matsunaga Hisasige.
Widespread gets his kogusoku short form, consisting only of the chest plate, hip, and greaves Bracers, serving to equip the hordes of ordinary infantrymen solzhat Ashigaru (”a glib timber”).
The result of all these changes formed a new system of close combat in a lightweight armor kogusoku known as kogusoku and cosine but mawari (”around the waist.”) Compared with eroi-kumiuti kogusoku arsenal was much larger. Here and familiar to us in judo and aikido rolls through the thigh, back, shoulder, coups original opponent upside down with a subsequent lowering of the skull on the pavement, a variety of sweeps, submission techniques for elbow and knee, and cervical vertebrae. In kogusoku already quite widely used attacks designed to defeat armor not covered with body parts – kidneys (circular punch, bypassing the trunk), groin (shock, such as “uppercut” on a “skirt” armor), knee (foot hit the edge), etc. n. The invention is attributed kogusoku Takenouchi Hisamori, who was strong in spirit, but small of stature and feeble body, and therefore wanted to learn how to win stronger and taller opponents by skill and technique.
Kogusoku in that period is not ousted eroi-kumiuti because samurai higher ranks still wore heavy suits of armor, capable of protecting even the musket bullets. As a result, many schools have bu-jutsu imposed in its program, both of these types of close combat. An example of such a system is well-known school of Yagyu-ryu Singhal, where the beads should be differentiated by the level of Ashigaru – kogusoku, and the level of bushy – eroi-kumiuti, and in addition there is also a ju-jitsu – that is the art of fighting without weapons (or with small manipulative categories weapons), and without armor, but this is the next stage in the evolution of Japanese fighting