The 12 most famous Japanese martial arts

Looking for what are the japanese martial arts More popular? You came to the right place! Martial arts are a type of self-defense that was created to protect yourself in times of conflict.

These are characteristics of some Asian countries like China or Thailandbut some of the best known come from Japan.

Of great influence throughout the world, Japan's martial arts are becoming popular among young people. More than a type of fighting, martial arts in Japan are a way of learning to control the body and mind.

They have a deep spiritual meaningheand the vast majority of them consist of taking advantage of the movement and the body's own weight to subdue the opponent.

In Japan are considered a sport, while in the West they are disciplines to work the mind. You decide what is the reason why you are attracted to martial arts and why you want to discover more about them.

We analyze the best japanese martial arts, and the main characteristics of each one. Of all the styles, with or without a weapon one, learn about the origin of martial arts and choose your favorite Japanese discipline.

The origin of martial arts in Japan

The first Japanese martial arts are related to the samurai warriors of medieval times. In their combat training they included different techniques to fight hand-to-hand, as well as weapons such as swords, bows or spears.

In order to fight in battle, the young warriors went through a tough training that worked body and mind. The philosophy that the samurai followed, and that is still used in a traditional way, received the name of bushidoor "way of the warrior".

With the decline of samurai warriorsmany of the self-defense techniques fell into oblivion, although others remained as physical training with their respective clothing.

With a base similar to the ancient arts, modern martial arts are bornrelated to the ninja warriors, more current, and with the use of new weapons.

When Japan opened its borders to the rest of the world, martial arts became popular sports in the west. Who has not participated or ever seen a karate class? Do you know some other Japanese warrior arts? Let's see the most famous in Japan.

old and new martial arts

If you want to know everything about Japanese martial arts, the first step is to be able to distinguish old from new.

each of the types of japanese martial arts receives a different name depending on whether they are considered:

• old school martial art
• modern martial art

Koryu

Also know as Kobudothe Koryu refers to the traditional martial arts that They were practiced before the Meiji Restoration (year 1866)or the disappearance of the samurai warriors.

It consists of martial arts that aim to learn self defense and attack to fight in the war. Unlike the new philosophy of modern martial arts, Koryu seeks effectiveness and speed to finish off the opponent.

Many of these martial arts cease to be practiced in the absence of war. However, others continue to be practiced as a type of sport in specialized schools.

Too, there are different grades in each disciplinesince the current purpose is not to hurt the opponent, but the mere practice of sports.

gendai budo

gendai budo literally means 'modern martial way', and is related to a more mental philosophy. It encompasses the Japanese martial arts that were founded after the Meiji restoration, starting in the mid-19th century, although the vast majority date from the modern era.

Aikido and judo are two clear examples of modern martial arts practiced in Japan. others have a root similar to ancient artsmodified for sports practice, such as kendo.

Gendai budo martial arts are a modernization of old practices that have existed for centuries. After undergoing different variations, they have adapted to the new times, with an excellent reception among young athletes.

Types of Japanese martial arts

In addition to the old and new martial arts, there are other types of classifications to differentiate them. One of the main lies in the use or absence of weaponswhich changes quite a bit the way of practicing them.

Weapon martial arts are very different from those that use hand-to-hand combat. Some of them can be mixedin which case there are varieties that use some kind of weapon on certain occasions.

hand to hand martial arts

The oldest and best known martial arts involve hand-to-hand combat, without using any type of weapon.

Self defense was the priority in the samurai warrior trainingwho in combat marched with swords or other weapons, being able to lose them and be left unprotected at any time.

If you want to learn martial arts, the first step is to start with those that allow you to control your body. They are the arms and legs themselves the main weapons with which to bring down the opponent, with kicks, punches or keys of all kinds.

Among the main Japanese martial arts that do not involve the use of weapons the following stand out, take note!

Judo

judo is a modern martial art derived from ancient Japanese jujutsu. It was created in 1882 by Jigoro Kanno, a master of Japanese martial arts who developed his own techniques for an innovative sport of the most complete.

Judo means 'gentle path' in Japanese, and as its name suggests, it is a sport that involves the use of the body to defeat an opponent with fast, dry and precise movements.

It is one of the most practiced martial arts in the world, and the first to be included as an Olympic sport.

As a sports discipline it focuses on throws and shipments to the opposite, fixing it to the ground without causing any injury. And for this you have to have a lot of skill!

Karate

For many, karate is the best martial art in the world. Undoubtedly, is the best known, with millions of schools in Asia and around the world teaching karate classes to both children and adults.

this discipline born in Okinawa area, the southernmost islands of Japan. Over the years it spread throughout the country from the Ryukyu kingdom, and from there it had a very good projection to the West and other Eastern countries.

Karate is a combination of punches, punches and kicks that require a excellent balance or great speed to beat the opponent. Do not miss all the styles of karate and its most representative katas clicking on this link.

As a self-defense technique it can be very lethal. But in most karate dojoor gym where this discipline is taught, this modern Japanese art focuses more on the body and mind controlthrough a very complete philosophy.

aikidō

Much more spiritual than Japanese karate or judo aikido results. Although it is one of the most famous names in Japanese martial arts, very few people in the West know exactly what this fascinating discipline consists of.

And it is that unlike other martial arts in Japan, aikido is based on the use of opponent's movement and strength to knock it down.

Fighters focus on achieve balance in your own bodylooking for the weak point of the opponent to be able to block it and throw it directly to the ground.

This ensures a very clean fight, which does not involve any harm towards any of the rivals. Seeing a battle or display of aikido is simply awesome.

Although it was created in the 1920s by Morihei Ueshiba and it is one of the most modern arts, it has had excellent acceptance as a Japanese sport.

jujutsu

From the most modern we pass to one of the oldest Japanese martial arts dating back to the Edo period (between the 16th and 19th century).

Japanese jujutsu or Brazilian jiu jitsu come from Chinese discipline of the same namewith some variations made at the time by the samurai warriors who introduced it among their battle techniques.

Without the use of a sword or any other Japanese weapon, famous samurai learned to use your body in battle to knock down the opponent.

This unarmed defense technique came in handy when the warriors looked unarmedsince the opponent's own body became his best weapon of defense and very defensive attack.

It consists of a wide range of movements to handle the opponent against himself. Based hitting, blocking and other defensive techniquesthe fighters are involved in a kind of dance until one of them falls.

Sumo

National sport of Japanand one of the oldest types of martial arts in the country, sumo is believed to be over 1,500 years old.

This fighting technique has Shinto origin., even before Buddhism arrived in Japan. However, his onslaught was quite another from defending on the battlefield.

Sumo rivals on the sand perform a kind of ritual as thanks to the gods for the fruitful harvest.

Little by little it became a form of entertainment for the nobility, and today it is the subject of competitions at the state and world level.

sumo wrestlers dedicate their life to sport, and are trained from a young age. In order to be great wrestling fighters they must train hard and follow a very specific diet.

With those big and voluminous bodies that characterize them, they have to take the opponent out of the ring or make their back touch the ground based on shoves, slaps, and all kinds of blows with hands and feet.

Shorinji-Kempo

Much more modern than previous Japanese martial arts, Shorinji Kempo Born in Japan after World War IImixing the rules of different Chinese arts such as Kung Fu.

Its founder was Nakano Michiomia Buddhist monk who combines the work of body and mind within the same discipline.

Techniques include kicks, arm and trunk strikes, throws and blocks to the opponent, sometimes causing great damage. uses 3 self defense techniques:

• Gohoor 'hard method'.
• Seihoor corrective method.
• juhoor soft method.

Thanks to the mastery of this martial art, any fighter can defend oneself unarmed from a much larger or stronger attacker.

Training body and mind for competition, this sport focuses more on the educational and philosophical discipline than on the fight itself.

martial arts with weapons

For many, the best martial arts in Japan are those that are practiced with weapons. The origin of these also takes place in medieval battles, where the samurai defended themselves to life or deathevolving to sports practice today.

The weapons have been modified to suit the needs and safety of the participants. An example of this are the wooden swords that replace the sharp katanas in Kendo.

There are many Japanese martial arts that focus on learning the use of weaponsespecially these:

Naginata

Naginata is a martial art that uses a weapon with the same name. This is born from the need to reach the most difficult enemies from a distance, such as those who were on horseback.

The naginata is a long hilt swordpowerful that allows even hitting the legs easily.

These martial weapons began to be used by samurai warriors until they were replaced by firearms in the 16th century.

Instead of a form of fighting, it became a form of self-defense, and much later, a Japanese sport practiced mostly by women.

It is the females who better master these martial arts weapons traditionally, and who are part of the most important competitions.

To be able to use the naginata requires a lot of dexterity and balancemanaging to touch the opponent to disqualify him, or 'cut' him.

kyudo

Translated as 'way of the bow', this Japanese martial art is dedicated in the Japanese archery practice with more than 2000 years of history.

Long before the existence of the samurai, warriors used the bow as a defense, both on foot and on their horses, in a discipline known as Yabusame.

Thanks to the bow, the warriors had a Greater range to fight your enemies. This weapon used is very powerful above swords and spears, which have not even been able to displace firearms.

But the kyudo it's not just a combat technique. Many athletes practice this discipline as part of their spiritual training.

Requires one great concentration and dexteritywhich very few manage to reach the same level as kyudo experts outside and inside Japan.

Kendo

Kendo means 'way of the sword' in Japaneseand as you can get the idea, it is a martial art that uses the sword as the main method of defense for warriors and also current athletes.

This somewhat more modern discipline is in turn the evolution of the art of kenjutsu, which dates back to the 16th century. While kenjutsu involved the training of warriors using katanas and other long swords, the modern way introduced bamboo swords much safer.

However, these current swords have about the same weight as katanas, ensuring complete balance in the hand. Similar to western fencing, athletes use Japanese wooden armor called bogu.

Why is it necessary to protect yourself with a special suit for this Japanese sword art? Well, as you could imagine, the blows with these sticks that the opponents they are quite strongand all protection is little.

iaido

But also requires the use of a Japanese swordiaido is one of Japan's most unusual fighting sports.

It was practiced by samurai in the Edo periodkeeping the traditional techniques to this day, even through the use of royal swords.

Obviously, trainees and beginners use wooden swordscalls bokken. It is not until they reach a higher level when they can have their official katana.

The technique consists of practicing the draw the sword as fast as possibleto attack or counterattack the opponent reacting to any dangerous situation.

Instead of a fight as such, the experts make demonstrations of sheathing and unsheathing a special saber called Iaito.

The confrontation begins with the sword in the scabbard, or skirtfor pull it out just at the right time controlling the movements of the opponent to be the most skillful.

ninjutsu

What does the name of ninjutsu sound like to you? Indeed, to 'Ninja'! This Japanese martial art was developed by ninjas in ancient Japanbecoming a very complete activity that includes both fighting and espionage techniques.

The initial ninjas were trained in various ancient disciplines such as aikido, kendo or karate. Mix of all of them, today there are different schools founded by Soke Maasaki Hatsumi, who continues to train authentic ninjas like the ones in the movies.

The ancient ninjutsu requires a lot of training in different fields, which entails total dedication on the part of those interested.

It involves combat with weapons such as the katana or throwing stars, and hand-to-hand combat, as well as camouflage skills, espionage, and the use of poisonsamong many.

Bojutsu

Bojutsu is a martial art that involves the use of a long wooden stick to defend and attack the opponent.

This discipline is associated with kobudo, typical of the island of Okinawa, where a branch of unarmed martial art such as karate-do also comes from. It is not known exactly what century the art of bojutsu dates from, but it is known that it is a very old one.

The weapon used may have different lengths and weights depending on the categorybetween small canes that fit in the palm of the hand, up to 180 cm poles.

These weapons were used by medieval warriors who did not have swords. With them they defended themselves, tipping severe blows to the body, head and extremitiesas well as pushes with the narrower tip that deals worse damage to the opponent.

More information on martial arts in Japan

If you are interested in the subject, do not miss these other publications of our blog Alternative Japanwhere you will learn more about the culture of martial arts.

Other Japanese martial arts

In addition to these martial arts that we have seen, there is a long list that we could continue listing, made up of more than 180 Chinese, Korean or Japanese martial arts.

Other traditional, rare, mixed, lethal arts... that have been practiced or are still being learned in Japan are the following:

yabus me	Tessenjutsu	Hakkoryu
Kempo	Sojutsu	Araki-yu
Enshin Kaikan	Kyujutsu	I fuck
naginata jutsu	Chito-ryu	Kusarigamajutsu
Yoseikan-ryu	Bajutsu	wado ryu
jukendo	Hojutsu	Genseiryu
Okinawan Kobudo	Shorinji-Kempo	seishinkai
iaido	juttejutsu	tantojutsu
Kempo	Ishin-ryu	bujinkan
Byakuren Kaikan	Yagyu Shingan-ryu	hakko ryu
Taijitsu	goju ryu	Kyokushin
Toyama-ryū	Tessenjutsu	Suijutsu
Tegumi	Maniwa-Nen-ryu	shudokan
kudo	jiu jutsu	Togakure-ryū
Yoseikan Budo	Uechi-ryu	Takenouchi-ryu
shurikenjutsu	Taido	shindo jinen-ryu
Japanese Kempo	Shotoka-ryu	shukokai
Shorinji-ryu	ninjutsu	Shito-ryu

👉 If you're on mobile or tablet, swipe to see the full table.👈

Whether you're a Japan culture and history loveras if you want to learn to practice Japanese martial arts, it will be great for you to know more about them.

Martial arts are a very complete sport that very few manage to master, but with a little practice and perseveranceyou can also enjoy.

And for you, what are the best japanese martial arts?, do you have a favorite?, do you know any more? We're waiting for your comments and opinions!

---

👇 Will you help us keep alive Alternative Japan? Thanks a lot! 👇

---

🎌 Do you want the best organized trip to japan in spanish? The best value for money and with spanish guides who live in Japan 🙂

✅ Next departures: 2022

🏯 Fixed, custom itineraries, excursions and much more. Request information clicking here 👌

---