Why Did The Samurai Fight Like This?

Today I'm trying a 400 year old style of Japanese Jujutsu called Yagyu Shingan Ryu. This style is so effective that both the founder of Judo and Aikido studied it. And I want to know why. So what makes this style so special? Let me show you something. Okay. Ready? Yeah. So you grab here. All right. And for your own protection, put this one up. Okay. All right. Whoa! I have no idea what just happened. That is Per Eriksson. He achieved the style's highest level in Japan. But he's also a black belt in Brazilian Jujutsu, which gives him a unique perspective that he shares with the students here at Karlskoga Community College in Sweden. And today I'm joining his class. But first... Okay, so what just happened? Let's take it from the beginning. Okay. Let's start by sitting. We're going to learn about the body. So if you grab my clothes. Right. So if you notice, I pin your shoulder now and I pin your arm. Yes. And I also have your elbow. You see, I move your muscles. Exactly. So what do I connect to then? The bone. Because muscles carries strength. Bones doesn't carry any strength in themselves. So there's no resistance. No resistance. I pivot my body and go up. Everything in a kata is not there by chance. So what we're doing right now is considered a kata. It's a kata. But when we train kata at this level, it's more about body culture. It's only to teach the body certain movements. So you have to manipulate the parts of your body and synchronize them to enforce your own will. Grab again. Did you feel basically the same thing? Yeah, I felt more like an up-down motion and I think there was a strike somewhere. It went very fast. Yes. When the body moves well, we can do what you call the ura. That's the other side. So sometimes what the kata shows is this side. I show you this, but I know this. If you grab again, this doesn't necessarily have to be a hand. Could be a knife maybe. Now look at this. You see how I am in line with my bones now. Feet, knee, hand. And look at my rear leg. It will open my body. I think most people only focus on what to do with the opponent and not what to do with themselves. But it seems like you're starting with yourself. Thank you for saying that. And that's also a form of ki-ai. Ki-ai means energy connected. You have to connect the energy in your body and make it circle. So some parts of your body can be very, very strong. And some part has to be soft to be able to move. If you stand up. I stand up? Yeah, and if you push my shoulders. You see this now I'm going back. But if I connect my body, I connect my core. Now I can kind of continue to lift my energy. You know, I will move up. Yes. The posture and how you move, that's the most important thing. It establishes a relationship between the parts of my body and they have to be synchronized. That's internal training and manipulating everything to get power. This is kind of ki-ai. And further on, we develop this to the principle of yanagi no aiki. I see. So yanagi is the willow tree. When the wind is blowing or snow is falling on top of the tree, it bends its body and it rises up again. There you have swapped. Ki-ai becomes ai-ki. So connected energy. Did you notice the tree outside? It's a broken tree. We had like crazy winds. When I got to school, you know, it was parts of trees everywhere. And these trees have resisted, you know, sent the energy. But only to a certain degree before they break. So yanagi is basically the same as yu in jujutsu. Yeah, exactly. So yu is often translated as soft. But you don't knock someone down being soft. No, usually not. No. So if you think of the willow tree again, have you ever walked in, you know, in the forest and you're behind someone and they, you get them. Right, yeah, a branch. A branch, you know, smacking you. So when it gives, it can also create energy. So the softness is potential. Of course. That's in ju. Yes. That's ju, how it always circles, you know. So something that is hard for a while, relaxes and becomes soft and then hard again. This is the cultivation of body again. Yes. Tension, relaxation. But if the body has a bad posture, it will always be kind of tense and you can't breathe properly. If you're gentle, push me. Okay. This will give. You see how these shoulders move forward. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yes. So I use your gift. Yes. I give it back. Yeah, exactly. So I'm punching myself. You're punching yourself. In essence. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So that, that will help me to shoot, you know. Yes. Or if I want to keep something. If you punch my body. Yeah. And you return the gift. My sensei told me that. Take the gift. Yeah. And give a bigger one back. Aha, yes. But you have, again, it's so important. You have to start with yourself. You have to start understanding ki-ai. Then you can move to ai-ki. So it's a lot about self-development and self-awareness. Oh, yes. If I learn about bones and I learn about tendons and I learn about muscles. I can use this knowledge to grapple. Yeah. But I can also use it to, to heal people. So the same knowledge can be applied to hurt, but also to heal. Yes. Maybe it sounds a little bit weird, but depending on what level we are practicing. Yeah. If you are practicing, for example, how to dislocate things. If you are doing this kata, you also learn how to put bones back. Yeah. It's the same kind of thing. Right. And my teacher was very, very serious on this. He said, you know, if you have a shi, a paper. Yeah. And you have life and you have death. And the line is very, very thin. So the next technique I want to talk about is something called Shinori. Shino means bamboo. Ori means to snap. When I was taught by my teacher, Shimazu Kenji sensei. He knew a few words in English. Right. One of them was imagine. Imagine. Okay. So by understanding a picture, how something behave. Yeah. Like the pine tree, for example, or the willow tree. You can understand many things. So these pictures that they used a lot in old martial art. Yeah. Was not to mystify anything. It was to make you understand. The opposite. Yeah. Interesting. So it was not to hide information. It was to show information. So therefore, instead Shinori makes you understand. Okay, bamboo. What's the quality of bamboo? Okay. If I sit here and try it, I go straight to your elbow. You resist. Yeah. So the bamboo, when you handle bamboo, you kind of slide the bamboo. Feel your bones now. All your bones. Now I don't do the whole kata. I just want to show you understand the concepts of it. Try it a little bit. Okay. You open your body. And you slide. I see. That's it. Okay. Good. Very effective. It's very, very effective. Because I lose my power. Yes. Because you understand my bones. If I grab your bones, I'm connected to your whole body. So you can feel where someone is weak. But that comes from grabbing a body many, many, many times. You see how difficult it is to resist. Yes. And I can also fold your bones. Right. You see now I'm connected to my chest. Yeah. And you have to go. And now I have your wrist too. Yep. I can go up. Look at this. It's a choke. Yeah. Do you see the Yanagi in it? Do you see the Aiki in it? For example, if you grab. Yeah. I can go this way. And you resist. Yeah. And I go this way. And I assume you... Well done. Yeah. This movement of grabbing you. Could that also be like a punch? Of course. In Yagyo Shingan Ryu, we train against seven attacks. Okay. So if you look at BJJ. Yeah. It's kind of the same. You know, you have mount, you have cross side and you have back and... But if you take this seven and you look at it carefully and you start to understand. It's kind of always about the reached hand. Many things become one again. Yes. Then again, we are back to posture and how important it is to maintain a good posture to be able to flow with things. You have to accept things as they are and work with that. So it requires an element of humility almost. To be able to accept what's actually there and not what you want to be there. Very good. So how would these techniques work standing up? Let's try. Okay. Is this how you stand up? Yeah. Okay. So I put my hand here. You see, I wrote... That's kind of the same thing. Posture. You see how I rotate the body and then I can lift the foot, put it in and stand up. If you grab... So many times when I train with my teachers, we did things in many steps to understand. It was one, for example. One. Do you see how I turn your bones now? Yeah. You feel what happened in here. It's one, two. Now I can also fold your hands like this or I can take it away. You see, this side is stretched and then... Oh, so you're tackling me. Yes. So that's why when you defend, you coil your body like this and keep your eyes straight. If I tackle you, you'll be quite strong. Okay. So if I tackle you, I tackle you one time and then I will tackle you a little bit differently. Okay. Okay, all right. All right, I'm ready. Now imagine you have weapons there. Yeah. You can still stab. Yeah, because now I got more space to use the weapon. That's no good. No. Okay. So if you do the same again. Okay. I will tackle you a little bit differently. I pin you. Exactly, yeah. When I collide with you, you will naturally stand on your foot like this. Yes. And then you will fall. Yes. So this is a pinning technique, but that's really difficult to see. So this is the hitting body again. The hitting body. Hitting body. That's not necessarily hand and foot techniques. It's just as soon as you bump into me, you will get hit. So this is how I coil my body to be careful. Just go into this position again. You see. It's a lot of footwork. Everything starts with the foot. The body has to follow. Yeah. But I can also kind of resist with my body. You see how I resist, resist, resist. That creates tension, the coiling. Coiling. So if you grab. Yeah. There. You see how I catch. Open. Or I can take it the other way. Wow. So many options. Yeah. And I can hit at the same time. If you grab. And then I can control. You see how I lock your leg up. Wow. It's almost like you can basically do anything if you use your body right. Yes. Yeah. So I don't. Because you're strong. I'm quite sure you're stronger than me. But if we should go hard. Like judo. It will be difficult. But if I use my body structure. Okay. You feel this. Yeah. So I put you. You see how I lock my arms. Yeah. But I'm still able to. Yeah. I'm still able to move. Yeah. And so how is this connected to judo? That's a very, very good question. If you look at the judo grip. Yeah. Now I'm not good at judo. Okay. But you kind of throw and you turn your back and you throw. Right. You will get through. Yes. And I will let you fall. Maybe you do break fall. Yeah. And we are both happy. Yeah. You can train quite hard like that. You can do it really fast. Yes. If I would do this really fast. Yeah. It would be not good. No. So you really injure yourself. Did you see what naturally happened with your other hand? Yeah. It moved the other direction. Moved the other direction. Yeah. But if I move in this direction. Yeah. Now I could use my other hand. Yes. Because judo is a sport. It can still be a beautiful sport and many people can do it, you know, and have fun. And they can really pressure test things. And that's the beauty of it. And the power of Kano's method. So shindari would be either, for example, you play with your bones. But it can also be, I've been here. I have to be very careful now. So you're locking both my leg and my arm. I use your bones. Yeah. Your whole body. Did you feel that? But I have to do this softly. Yeah. It's difficult to pressure test. It would be different even if I can do it. I stopped myself there. That would be a break. Yeah. Since you're also a black belt in Brazilian jujitsu. What would you say is the main difference between the traditional Japanese styles and the Brazilian one? And is there something they could learn from each other? Oh, of course. Because this is an old debate. Just as you say today, you have to spar. You have to pressure test. I agree. Yeah. You know? Yeah. But how do we do that without getting so injured? Yeah. Of course, in Brazilian jujitsu and judo at competition level and things like that, people do get injured. Yes. Even though they have removed most injuries. Even though. Yeah. So the movements, for example, where I show, you know, how you push me. Yeah. And I use my, this kind of thing, you know, to stop. Yes. Same thing that I don't get on my heels because then I know I lost. So I try this push and pull things. Yes. I can resist. And then he pulls. Yes. I drop the body. Yeah. And they come forward and the legs are light. And so you can play with this kind of thing. So you're incorporating this old knowledge into your Brazilian jujitsu. Yeah. And so I see it as a process, you know, experiment. And it's fun. If you start to understand this principle that I've been talking about, you know, body behavior, mind and things like that, you think about it carefully, your practices in kata, then you will have a totally other beast. And you know, you have that knowledge. Yes. You don't have to slam someone. No. It's about your intention. Yeah. Your heart. Yes. Could we also look at swordsmanship? Because the samurai used the sword, right? And I want to see how it's connected to these movements, if that's possible. Yeah. I can show you one thing. Do you know how to cut with the sword? If you go up to a high position like this, do you see what you're standing in now? Again, you see what it is? Oh, it's the same position. Yes. Okay. So already this position is the same as with the empty hands. Exactly. And this is your line of sight. You're kind of aiming here. Okay. But if you take a high position, I will take a low position. So if you cut. I cut. This is my frames. This is the stop. Yes. But if you're really, really powerful, I'm sinking under. That's the shinori. Yes. It's the same. So it really doesn't matter if you have a sword or not. The body moves the same. Same. Yeah. Otherwise, I would be confused. Yeah. You know, if I use another system for swords and I use another system for jiu-jitsu. Another for the bo-staff. Another for the bo-hand. You feel it's all the same. Yes. So now it's time for you to try a real class. Okay. So we will put a hakama on you. All right. Exciting. I've never worn a hakama before. As the students arrive, they help me put on my hakama, which feels like a combination of a skirt and pants. All I can think of is that I should have used the bathroom beforehand because now it's time to grapple like a samurai. All right, let's do this. Turns out when the weather is nice, training is done outdoors. And luckily, the sun is shining. Straighten your arm as much as you can. Up, up, up, up. We start off with a set of preparatory exercises. And you push them out. You open your hip. These exercises are meant to teach your body the correct way of moving. Opening the body and push down. And they're way harder than they look. Perfect for a warm-up. How does that feel? That was quite intense. Yeah. Yeah, for the forearms especially for me. Next, we do the same exercises in locomotion, moving back and forth across the dojo with additional details. Really open your body. Yeah. And you look straight. Push this one. Can you feel something here now? Yeah, I can feel an expansion. Yes, you want that expansion. Now you move up and down. So open. Okay, look at this. And come, if you feel. Sun down. Yeah. You understand? Floating, yeah. That's the inside that is moving. And it pushes you up. This is the beginning of internal strength. So I pivot. Around the outside of the ball of your foot. Yes, so you're learning many things at the same time. This is body culture. This is kiai. Understand? You manipulate your own energy. So that you can resist someone else later on. Okay. Hopefully. So one more time. Turns out this exercise is very important to prepare for the actual fighting moves. Your body is very good. I mean, you trained your whole life. But from the perspective now, if you just stand naturally. Naturally. And put tension on this side of the foot. Just by moving your feet a little bit. Because if I let my body collapse. My line of balance will be here. Okay. And I can't use gravity and ground. So if your balance is here. Ah, yeah. You understand? Yes. Okay. But you have to be able to float. So you don't have any friction. Okay, very good. That's enough. You got it. I can see you got it. Do you notice how you have to balance all the time? Yes, yes. That's very good. Yeah, okay. You know, you shouldn't be like a rock like that. You should be able to have balance and float at the same time. Yeah, I feel it's a lot of mobility involved. It is a lot of mobility. Yeah. You know, same thing as we talked about inside. Push. I push? Push. Yeah. Push. You can push. You just push. Difficult. You have seen sumo. Have you watched sumo? Have you ever seen a sumo wrestler sitting like this? Never. Yeah. Ready to go. Ready to go, yeah. And they are lightning fast, you know, when they come up. And massive bodies. But still, you know, they just shoot. It's the same principle. You know, you lift your body and go in. You open your hips because then you can push from your center, your hara. This bone will prevent you. Yes. If you push again. Yeah. You feel? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's kiai. Okay. Many people think kiai is a battle scream. Yes, it can be. That's just one expression of kiai. That's how kiai is, how you harmonize your body. How you manipulate your body to be functional. To enforce your will. And it also affects your mind. Because if I have this posture and we are about to compete, you know, I'm not really a threat. No, you look defeated. Yeah, I look defeated. But just to raise my... You don't have to do this, but look up. Yes. And it becomes different. You know where you want to go. Yes. And that will give you strength. Very good. Now we'll start with kata. To my big surprise, Yagyu Shingan-ryu also has solo forms, just like karate. And although I've never done these movements before, I pick them up quickly due to my experience. That's a lot of things, I'm sorry. But perhaps the most fascinating part is how to practice the moves against an opponent. I think I saw a backflip in there. Yep. I thought you would do a backflip. Okay, I've never done a backflip, but I could try. So it was a reversal of a throw, or he escaped the throw with a backflip. You have a very good eye. This is a pile driver. And this is the old way of throwing. So he has to become soft. He has to accept the throw. Or if he stiffens up, he will become like that too. Yeah. So go with the flow. Yes, he has to. And one, two, three. I throw. And even in the throw, I don't pin myself to the ground. I have to be able to float myself to keep my balance. Yeah. I try? You try. Okay. Yes. And now comes this one. Down. Yes. Oh, good, good. Very good. Now you will throw. And I count. One, two, three. Okay. Very good. You did that yourself. I didn't really... Oh, okay. Very good. Yeah, well. And everything is always in profile. You're never square to the opponent. It's actually Hanmi training. And if you work with weapons, Hanmi is a very good thing to make your body half. You become very powerful. I bet you've seen Karate Kid. You know when he's in Okinawa? Yeah. And the... The drum? The drum. Yeah. That's a big thing in Yagyu Shingari. That's excel strength. In Karate, you punch like this. Yeah. In Shingari, we often close with the Hanmi and the punch comes from... See if you grab me, Gustav. Oh, there it is. There it is. And I, of course, I can combine it with other things as well. That's the key. So that's Shingari's speciality. We close with the enemy and we attack. From different directions at the same time. But if you're going to do that, I said you have to look with your physical eyes. Yeah. You have to look with your whole body. Yes. So you see where I'm looking? Yeah. See if I twist my body now. Understand? Yes. Very cool. Foot, hip, hand. Due to my experience with the Okinawan Kobudo weapons, Sensei Per wants to show me how to use the staff in Yagyu Shingari. Although the movements are very different from what I'm used to, the techniques are identical to the empty hand moves. Because everything is part of the same system. Okay. This marks the end of my training. But if you want to study Jujutsu full-time with Sensei Per, the applications are now open. Thanks for watching.