Wado-Ryu and Jujitsu

Although the founder of Wado-Ryu, Master Hironori Ohtsuka started his life of Martial Arts with the studying of Jujitsu, notable differences can be seen between the two styles.

After members of the Greystones Karate Club visited the Portrane Jujitsu Club, whom I must thank for their acceptance of us and the helpfulness in the sharing of their techniques, the differences became ultimately clear.

Both styles, as practically all Martial Arts do, follow the age-old tradition of Far Eastern syllabus but the practicing of this syllabus is where the main difference lies, in my opinion.

Jujitsu appears to be a more street orientated defence style with members pairing off in attacker-defender situations. While the practicing of Wado can incorporate these one-on-one situations the main method is individuals using kick or punch techniques against imaginary fighters.

During our class in Portrane we incorporated grabs, throws and holds including a lot of ground based work, while Wado involves fighting from standing positions only.

Yet the two styles are not totally alien to each other as similarities were also noticed. Some techniques are the same, with the Japanese translation remaining. Also, the self-defence idea, of ‘avoid then counter’ remains throughout both styles.

Please note that this is only my opinion after one visit to Portrane Jujitsu Club and does not reflect any official differences in the styles.

Article written by Eoin Cannon