ZANCHIN BUDO

Zanchin budo is a martial art of the future. It belongs to the category of complex combat styles and encompasses strikes, punches, kicks, joint locks, throwing, throttling, locks, fighting with a short, middle-sized or long staff, a knife, the Japanese sword and the Okinawa chain sticks. It is practiced against one or more attackers, in a standing position or on the ground. It is a sophisticated training system, including not only the basic postures and movements, but also specific training of estimating distances and creativity to use and interconnect different technical principles.

In 1995, this system was first presented to the public by the soke. Since 1999, it has been officially taught under the patronage of the Budoshinkai Organization. In 2003, the first zanchin budo manual was published in the Czech and Slovak Republics, and in 2007, a training program on DVD was offered to the public. Since 2003, zanchin budo has also been presented in Germany, Japan and India. Zanchin budo can be translated as: zan = mountain (principle), chin = true (unchanging), bu = combat (martial), do = way (way of life). The name can therefore be understood as: way to study the principles, way of truth. There is also mental training and transmission of spiritual teaching, forming a part of practicing zanchin budo.

The basic technical principle of this martial art is the concept of pliancy and flexibility, integrated into zanchin budo from the traditional martial art ju jutsu. Let us look at its history in detail:
Scientists estimate that the origins of Japanese civilization on the Islands of Japan date back to the Paleolithic age (50 000 B.C.). At that time the foundations of first combat styles were laid. Some neighbouring countries had more developed societies with more sophisticated combat styles. In consequence, many Japanese warriors imitated their methods. First records about contact with the outside world can be found dating from the Yayoi Period (250 B.C. - 250 AD). First contact with China took place in 57 AD, and in 369 AD, Korea was invaded for the first time by the rulers of the Yamato Province (later called Japan). There was also an influence from the Ryukiu archipelago (later called Okinawa), with new combat methods, called tode, which were based on the experience of local inhabitants and the know-how imported from China and India. It is therefore presumable that combat styles in Japan were influenced by neighbouring nations. There is, however, evidence of primitive combat methods existing on the Japanese islands even before first contacts with the outside world. The Nihon-Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), written on the request of the emperor in 720 AD, mentions special tournaments held in the Izumo region since 23 AD. During these, the warriors officially tested their skills in front of their emperor, Suinin. The tournaments were called Chikara-Kurabe, and the fighting techniques used by warriors are known as sumai. The tournaments became very popular and sumai, later called sumo, developed further. Later, during the Nara Period (650 - 793 AD), the tradition of annual combats was established, with warriors from different regions participating in them. There were several religious elements incorporated into sumo, and the combat turned into a ritual. Sumo became very popular during the Heian Period (794 - 1191 AD). The emperor Nimmyo attempted to make this combat style popular as a symbol of military power, and included it in the military training. Sumo, together with its special form kumiuchi, probably influenced the formation and development of combat techniques, later called ju jutsu.
Because of almost constant domestic wars and conqueror policies of ruling casts, the martial arts developed intensively. In the old sagas, Konzaku Monotagari, written in the second half of the 11th century, the author mentions a combat style called yawara, which was based on the sumo techniques. It is probable that sumo became the most probable Japanese base for most of the other, later developed weaponless fighting styles. Different styles of ju jutsu in Japan show an influence of neighbouring countries; it is, however, very difficult to prove this relation, because many representatives of traditional styles accentuate their pure Japanese origin.
Development of different fighting styles until the beginning of the first millennium AD will probably forever remain mysterious, because there are few authentic materials. Since the beginning of the 10th century, clear foundations for later fighting styles (bugei) start to develop, eg. tai jutsu - weaponless fighting, ken jutsu - fighting with a sword, kju jutsu - archery, etc. All this is caused by a new conception of government. The power is centralized into a shogunate (central military base) and different administrative bodies in the form of provincial leaders and their vassals. A new military aristocracy (bushi) emerges, playing a key role in governing the country and supporting the development of martial arts. The Kamakura Period (1192 - 1336 AD), as well as the subsequent Muromachi Period (1337 - 1573 AD), are considered to be the golden age of martial arts. While the country suffered from quarrels for supremacy, martial arts thrived. During these two periods training was gradually systematized and first specific fighting styles emerged in the 15th century. Their history can be traced in documents from that period. The term ju jutsu, as a name of weaponless fighting style or fighting with short weapons, starts to be regularly mentioned in documents dating from the Tokugawa Period (1603 - 1867 AD). The previous names of combat styles are considered to be predecessors of ju jutsu, eg. torite, hakuda, yawara, kogusoku, shibaku, hobaku, kenpo, koshi no mawari, tai jutsu, aiki jutsu, etc. To the most famous classical schools (ko ryu) belong yoshin ryu, sekiguchi ryu, kito ryu and daito ryu. The concept of pliancy and flexibility makes physically weaker persons able to defend themselves. It uses the attacker´s strength as a source of energy for self-defence. Tens of effective styles were created on the basis of this concept, using it practically in different ways. To the most interesting styles belongs aiki ju jutsu daito ryu, which works with energy ki. The history of this style is very interesting and worth studying in detail.
According to the mythology, the two gods named Katori and Kashima mastered using ki, and taught this skill to a few chosen people. The legend mentions the emperor Seiwa Tenno (reigning 858 - 876) and his son Teijun as the first people to know this secret. However, according to documents from that period, it is Shinra Saburo MinamotoYoshimitsu (1056 -1127) who is considered to be the founder of this school. He was an heir of tegoi martial art of the Genji family and excelled in both literary and military arts. He mastered sumo, the game sho and made his name as a military commander. He is known as an excellent warrior and innovator, who spent much time studying classical military strategies and developed new ones based on his own experience from fights and studies of anatomy. He examined the bodies of dead warriors directly on the battlefield and searched for techniques of maximum efficiency. He lived in the Saburo Daita castle in Oe (modern Shiga prefecture). During the Gossanen no Eiki wars (1083 - 1087 AD), he was awarded the rank of Kai no Kami (Lord of Kai province). One of his sons, Yoshikiyo, is said to have lived in the village of Takeda, and thus adopted the family name of Takeda. This marked the beginning of the famous Takeda family, whose history is connected with the martial art aiki jutsu. The system of this combat knowledge was called Takeda no heiho. The original name of the aiki jutsu martial art was aiki in ho jo (in and jo are Japanese expressions for Chinese jin and jang), ai means harmony and ki is the name for energy. The transmission of this martial art was highly secret. Only carefully chosen adepts could be taught and these were tied to total secrecy. The fame of this family continued to grow up to the end of the daimyo Takeda Honorubu's "Shingen's" (1521-1573) rule, whose assassination lead to the contest for power in the family. Before his assassination, Takeda Honorubu asked his nephew Takeda Kunitsugu to move to the Aizu domain (part of the modern Fukushima prefecture), to protect the family from the raids of Tokugawa and Oda. Takeda Kunitsugu arrived in the Aizu domain in 1574. The Takeda Family was defeated in 1575 in the Battle of Nagashimo and Takeda Katsuyori, the son of Takeda Honorubu, committed seppuku after the defeat. An invasion into the Kai province lead to the destruction of the Takeda army, and family members living in the Aizu domain were the only ones able to preserve the family martial art. A new Takeda family emerged, which adopted the name of the domain they lived in, Aizu. Takeda Kunitsugu offered to Ashino Moriui, the lord of the Aizu domain, to train his best men in the martial art of the Takeda family. The transmission of this art therefore continued. Some of the adepts settled in monasteries and developed their skills there. The name daito ryu aiki jutsu (school of great East) originates from then. Dojo Nishikan became the main training center. In 1643, Hashina Masamori was appointed the lord of the Aizu domain. He became an adviser of the Tokugawa family and developed a special style of martial art, tactics, technique and organization focused on the defense of palaces (oshikuchi). The leaders of the family were asked to train the bodyguard of the shogun. Thanks to Hashina Masamori, ha ito ryu ken jutsu was included into the training. Both martial arts laid the foundations of warrior training and became a compact training system. The members of the old Takeda family, as well as their relatives from Aizu, were tied to total secrecy and the martial art was preserved as a family treasure. One member of the Takeda family, called Takeda Soemon (1758 - 1853), transmitted his art to his son, Takeda Sokichi, and also to Saigo Tanamo from the Aizu family. Takeda Sokichi became a famous sumotori, but was not declared the main successor of daito ryu. Saigo Tanamo (1829 - 1905) was a leader and therefore became the head of the entire family (o karo) and the main successor of the tradition. The Takeda family was fragmented many times through fights with other families as well as through alliances with members of other families. The Takeda were defeated again in 1868 in the Battle of Shirakavaguchi. The family was almost destroyed, and most warriors trained in daito ryu were killed or committed seppuku. Saigo Tanamo survived, however, and tried to find his successor. Saigo became a priest at the Nikko Toshugu shrine and changed his name to Hoshina Genshi. Saigo then selected a boy named Shida Shiro (1866 - 1922) as his first successor. Shida Shiro was trained in the art for few years, but in 1883 he met Jigoro Kano, the founder of kodokan, stopped his studies of daito ryu and devoted himself to studying judo. Finally, he deserted both systems, and some sources mention his becoming a great master of archery (kyudo). The second person chosen by Saigo Tanamo as a successor was Sokaku Takeda (1859 - 1943), the second son of Takeda Sokichi. Sokaku Takeda was born on the 10th April 1859 in the Takeda residence in Oike in the Aizu domain, and from his childhood was trained by his father in the techniques of aiki jutsu, ken jutstu, sumo and bo jutsu. He also studied ha ito ryu with the master Toby Shibua in dojo Yokikan. In 1873, he traveled with his father to dojo Sakakibari Kenkichiho, where he had the possibility to study jikishinkage ryu. There he had the unique possibility to study with many excellent masters, members of the special school of Kobusho. This school was run under the patronage of the Tokugawa shogunate and was attended only by members of the highest social classes. There he also mastered the techniques of shuriken, jo and the spear art hozoin ryu. All his life, Sokaku Takeda searched for opportunities to learn several martial arts. He traveled throughout Japan and tested his skills. In 1875, he met Saigo Tanamo, who was a priest at the time, and asked him for instructions of how to enter a monastery order. Sokaku was not yet ready for temple life, and became a disciple of oshikiuchi. Tanamo trained him in this art and inspired him to lead a deeper spiritual life. From his childhood, Sokaku Takeda experienced a lot of spiritual training and used to visit priests often during practicing martial arts. From time to time he practiced ascetism, on holy places such asthe Futara Mountain in Nikko or Haguro in Dewa. During the Takamori Saiga rebellion against the troops of the new Meiji government, Sokaku Takeda was determined to fight against the abolition of the samurai rank and to preserve its original rules but was unable to get to the battlefields in time. Maybe that is why he later became a pioneer and propagator of the Takeda samurai martial arts and taught them intensively. He had several thousandpupils in his life, and became famous as choku no so (he, who revived daito ryu). He was the first master of daito ryu who taught his disciples regardless of their social status, and he started to use the name aiki ju jutsu for his martial art.
A lot of things happened after the decline of the samurai rank in the19th century which moved aiki ju jutsu out of public concern. New training concepts emerged, judo, for example, founded by Jigoro Kano and aikido, founded by Morihei Ueshiba. These concepts use ju jutsu and aiki jutsu, but add new philosophical approaches and other training methods. Zanchin budo emerged much later, and enriched the original concept by knowledge of martial arts from other parts of the world. Its principles do not differ from other famous schools such as daito ryu aiki jutsu or kito ryu ju jutsu, but it uses new training methods, develops fighting on the ground, uses a different testing system and respects the knowledge of other martial arts, and does not concentrate on model situations but reflects a contemporary equipped attacker. Most important is a general knowledge of different principles, creativity and freedom of expression. The testing system follows the famous kyu/dan model which originated in Japan. There are 6 student grades, 3 advanced grades and 7 master grades. The usual training garment is called gi, and for outdoor exercise it is also possible to use usual clothes.

There are also several weapons used to practice zanchin budo. The basic weapons are: hanbo (short staff), jo (middle-sized staff) , bo (long staff), ken (sword), tanto (knife), nunchaku (chain sticks). Every one of these weapons has its specific characteristics. Generally, it is possible to say that the students learn how to use all these weapons in order to understand their advantages and disadvantages. During the teaching process, the basic training is divided into several grades up to the 4th dan, being the last grade with usual exams. Higher grades represent a title of honour and appreciation of personal contribution to the development of martial arts, similarly to other arts. When you observe the fighting techniques of zanchin budo closely, they might resemble efficient techniques of martial arts from different parts of the world. Admittedly, zanchin budo is not a clear-cut style. Here you can find elements from muai thai, vale tudo, sambo, wing chun or hapkido. It is important to cross the borders of styles, forget the doctrines, be free and understand what is a technique, a principle, a method. In spite of this freedom, zanchin budo is systematic and logical. It is developed for intelligent people who like to think and act with discretion and enthusiasm. Nowadays, the training systems of martial arts from all over the world are interconnected. There are many new popular programs reflecting this situation. In the last 30 years, we have experienced an important permeation of cultures, based on rapid development of transport and communication, and zanchin budo therefore has the chance to become a martial art of the future. The existing development is very difficult to stop. Every person is an individuality, trying to find what suits them. Zanchin budo is an integral program crossing the borders. Similarities can be found in music, where diffusion of different styles creates interesting changes. People learn from one another, communicate, search for common topics and make friends. Interesting, isn't it?

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