This video is mainly for practicioners of Takeda Ryu Nakamura ha.
As this martial art is very old and not very popular some others might find similarities. This might be, but is not on purpose. Comparisons to other arts are a not admissible as simply not reasonable.
When Soke Nakamura, the old one, died a few years ago, he left a mark in this world being the last master, who was trained on a mountain in a small dojo with no visitors from outside.
He even had to vow never to tell the school to foreigners. This came mainly from the fact that Japan was under occupation from the U.S. And they prohibited martial arts training as seeing it as a big threat for their soldiers.
The historical context was mainly forgotten, when in the 1980s the first westeners started to visit the dojos in Tokyo. But not for the Soke.
Takeda Ryu Jukempo was found by Soke Nakamura. That’s it.
He put all his knowledge, he gained from his Soke, from his teachings and his own research in this discipline. Why he did invent it? Of course he learned kicks and punches from his Soke, but is was not categorized back in that days. It was a subdiscipline from koryu Takeda Ryu Aikijutsu.
The main focus of his Jukempo was, and for me still is, the fighting in yoroi. In armour.
So only specific moves are possible. High kicks never had been an issue for the samurai, as the armour prevented them.
Today in lack of knowledge some teach more of karate then Takeda Ryu Jukempo, which has not much in common. Sadly enough, but at least a little bit homemade, is todays missunderstandings of Jukempo as the old one never revealed everything to outsiders. Remember? Vow to his master.
But times change and in my understanding missunderstandings and lack of knowledge are not automatically a sign of arrogance and stubborness. After so many years of training and teaching I find, that most of the students outside are of good heart and good will to learn the old style, the original style, Sokes style. I am lucky to have his master student, Toyoshima sensei, as my master. Toyoshima sensei learned it the old way. This is the first video of a regular Jukempo Shodan class from Japan. Mark the only a few like to train that. The majority did Jojutsu. The person training with me, is at the time 4th DAN Shorinji Kempo.
Today he is a remarkable and very kind sensei.
The movements of Toyoshima sensei are important to understand. We are in yoroi and we do not have too much space to move. The hits and the kicks are limited. The way to grab is limited. All that has to be taken into account.
