I joined Hakkoryu as soon as I bought a bicycle to make the trip. The honbu dojo was everything I imagined. It is hidden in suburbia, on the ground floor of the three storey home of the Soke sensei (Grandmaster). An inscription in stone informs you that you have found the dojo. The entrance is surrounded in a bonsai tree and stone garden, a passion of the Soke. Inside is a shiatsu clinic, staircase leading to the upstairs home, storage areas and of course, the dojo itself. The dojo is not large, a comfortable cosy size of approximately 50 tatami mats, ideal for 6 pairs of training partners. Swords, a shrine, drum, small statues, and numerous scrolls and artifacts from overseas adorn the walls and shomen. The Hakkoryu curriculum is displayed unpretentiously on the walls, but the names of the techniques do not disclose any of Hakkoryu`s closely guarded `secrets`. This dojo feels like the real deal.

Hakkoryu is not a secret society, but they will not accept just anyone as a student. Researchers from other jujutsu styles are frowned upon. Many shihan have been expelled for either mixing the style with outside techniques or for not conducting themselves within the expected behaviour codes. Shihan have a written set of regulations that they must abide by. Hakkoryu is not a democracy. The Soke has the power to expel anyone that displays less than the finest character.

Hakkoryu does not sell instructional books or DVDs, except for the texts available to students only. These texts are only useful as a reminder of the syllabus. They are not designed to teach the techniques. Hakkoryu strongly believes that the techniques can only be understood when felt, not when demonstrated or explained. I have to agree.

Hakkoryu believes that the style is a complete set of philosophy and technique that complement each other. The motto of Hakkoryu is:

挑まず、逆らわず、傷つけず。

This is not easy to translate, but to make a rough attempt:

Don’t challenge, don’t oppose, don’t injure.

It makes sense. If you don’t challenge or oppose someone who challenges you, many conflicts can be avoided. If you can defend yourself without hurting your attacker, you should avoid legal issues as well as revenge attacks by the attacker or friends or family. Defending yourself using violence is a beginners approach. There are never any winners when violence has to be employed. Defending yourself without resorting to using violence is a noble and ideal approach – if you have the skills to pull it off. Few systems teach the tools to be able to do this, and those that do teach non-violent defensive techniques often lack the realism in training to be able to perform the techniques under pressure. This is one of the many appeals of Hakkoryu.

For the above reasons, Hakkoryu does not support combat sports or competition of any kind. Hakkoryu does not teach attacking techniques, it claims to be a pure form of self-defence. You will never study a kick, punch, choke or any other move that may cause permanent harm to an attacker. While perhaps not my personal opinion, Hakkoryu believes that combat sports, and teaching students techniques that attempt to hurt another, breeds the potential for violence.

So what can you do in Hakkoryu? This is a little hard to explain, and keep in mind that I am no expert. Of course jujutsu uses locks, but Hakkoryu does not focus on submissions. Hakkoryu incorporates pressure point striking techniques, but these are never intent on injuring or disabling the attacker. The techniques revolve around breaking the balance of an attacker, then often either controlling with lock flows and arresting him, or throwing him. Hakkoryu shares this commonality with many other jujutsu styles. So what make it so special?

To be continued…