Hakkoryu jujutsu

八光流柔術

I have been meaning to write about Hakkoryu Jujutsu since I started this blog, but I don`t know how I can do it justice in just a few paragraphs. Therefore, I might have to split this topic into multiple blogs.

If karate was my first love in the martial arts, jujutsu is my true love, long unrequited. Over the years I have dabbled in a few styles of jujutsu, and have graded in Pangamot Filipino jujutsu, judo and Brazilian jujutsu, but had never found the jujutsu I had longed for. There are a few good Japanese jujutsu clubs in my hometown of Adelaide, but none truly captured my heart. I returned from Japan several years ago and intended to join the Hozan Tsutsumi ryu dojo of arguably Adelaide`s most respected jujutsu instructor. Unfortunately, and eerily, on the night I visited he lost his fight against cancer. My brief stints training at interstate jujutsu only whet my appetite, but I was to remain hungry for some time.

So why didn’t I train in jujutsu last time I came to Japan? At that time I asked many people about jujutsu and I kept being referred to BJJ clubs. It seems that no one had heard of Japanese jujutsu in Japan! When I first arrived, I did not have the language skills to find a good club online. Also, at that point in my life, I wanted to train hard. I searched for MMA clubs and at that time after a short stint at the Kyokushin kai honbu (HQ), I elected to train in BJJ and shooto with BJJ president Yuki Nakai and Muay Thai at the local kickboxing gym.

This time, before returning to Japan a few months ago, now armed with the necessary Japanese language skills to research online, I found two appropriate options:

1.    Daitoryu Aikijujutsu, http://www.daito-ryu.org/; and

2.    Hakkoryu Jujutsu http://www.hakkoryu.com/ or http://www.hakkoryu.jp/.

To be honest, my first choice was the more famous Daitoryu. However, the honbu for Daitoryu is in Chiba, while the honbu for Hakkoryu is in Saitama, only a bike ride from my wife`s parent`s home. It is also only a few kilometres from Purebred, the original MMA gym in Japan http://www.purebred.co.jp/. I trusted that it must be fate and my decision was made and has not been regretted. I triangulated the area between Purebred, Hakkoryu HQ and my family residence and found an apartment smack bang in the middle. I moved in three days after arriving in Japan – the real estate agent said it is the quickest move they have ever seen. I saw the townhouse on Friday and moved in on Saturday.

To be continued…