I was just wondering why you guys here are seperate from the Sword Arts section. I mean no disrespect with this question, I just wondered if there was any distinct reason. Is it perhaps the incorporation of grappling?

Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu does not refer to the Daito=Katana but it refers to the Daito=Great Eastern. So it is not a sword style.

Although some principles do come from the Onnoha Itto-ryu sword system and maybe some from the Hozoin-ryu spear system.

Daito-ryu is an Otome-waza, meaning that it was a Jujutsu/yawara art that was taught and used within the walls of the castle. The techniques employ several different types of AIKI to take control of your opponent.

I hope that this has been helpful. A quick search on google would have given you similar answers. However if you are still curious about Daito-ryu please go to
www.daito-ryu.org

Respectfully,
Jose Garrido

Thanks. I dont know anything about it really, I was just going by the name. I thought perhaps it was the Samurai Art. My mistake, thanks for the info.

Chen Zen said: "I thought perhaps it was the Samurai Art. My mistake, thanks for the info."

Chen Zen, maybe I'm misreading what you wrote, but, it IS a Samurai Art. Daito Ryu, if you beleive the history, was one of the arts of the Aizu clan. Ono-ha Itto Ryu Kenjutsu was one of styles of Kenjutsu taught within the Aizu domain. As Jose said, 'Daito' does not refer to the sword, but means 'Big East' (?). However, the techniques share many comanalities with the sword, including the power generation used to make the locks effective. Aiki itself is found in most Koryu Kenjutsu.

Hope that helps.

That helps, though it sounds like you just said its a sword art without the sword? Sort of.

Chen Zen said: "That helps, though it sounds like you just said its a sword art without the sword? Sort of."

LOL--that's one way to look at it. I should have said "SOME of the power generation is like the sword". For some branches of Daito Ryu, the sword work (Ono Ha Itto Ryu) is integral to the study of the (Aiki)jujutsu. Tokimune Takeda Soke, even said that all the principles of Daito Ryu are to be found in the sword work (from an interview on Aikido Journal).

According to the history, Sogaku Takeda was the 'reinventer' of the style. There is a lot of debate about how much he changed, and where the material comes from. However, it's said that it was his master Saigo Tonamo (s.p.) that told him to change the techniques for the times. I.E. the sword was fading as a weapon useful in day to day life. So Sogaku applied those principles found in the sword work of Ono Ha Itto Ryu (which he had mastered when he was younger), and added to this the 'Oshikiuchi' (inner barrier teachings) of Saigo. So, you're kind of right to say that it's a sword art without the sword.

I personally love the sword because it gives me something to train when I'm alone. Intially, it was a passing interest, as I really wanted Aikijujutsu. But since I've been making it a part of my daily routine, I find that it makes my unarmed techniques much stronger.