29 December 2025
Explore the striking, throws, and practical self-defense methods shared across early jujutsu and judo texts - and what they reveal about a forgotten curriculum.
One of the more interesting patterns that emerges when studying jujutsu and judo texts from the 1900s–1960s—especially in American and European sources—is how similar many of the self-defense applications are across books that have no obvious or direct connection to one another.
You repeatedly see:
- A robust and consistent system of Atemi (striking)
- Direct responses to common attacks
- Simple throws, controls, and restraints
- Very little attribution to any specific ryu
What is striking is that these similarities appear across authors who trained in different geographic locations, under different instructors, and who were often writing for entirely different audiences.
The photos attached here—drawn from different publications and decades—show techniques that are not only alike in form, but in intent. This suggests something more organic than simple imitation or borrowing.
It raises the possibility that, alongside the formal kata-based curricula and randori, there may have existed a more informal or “shadow” curriculum—a body of pragmatic self-defense knowledge taught quietly, situationally, and often without formal labeling.
There is historical precedent for this idea. Early photographs show figures like Yamashita teaching hand strikes and kicks in Washington D.C.,Taro Miyake demonstrating specific blocking actions (more akin to karate), and Kawaishi showing a very sophisticated system of both striking and self-defense—material that does not neatly align with later official Kodokan literature, yet clearly reflects practical combat priorities. These were not “sport” lessons, nor were they presented as ryu specific teachings, but as functional responses to real world violence.
Taken together, the evidence points toward what might best be described as:
A trans-cultural, principle-driven self-defense corpus that emerged from late jujutsu, was partially absorbed into early judo, potentially selectively suppressed in official literature, and then independently preserved and refined by pragmatic teachers (especially in the West) responding to real-world violence. A lot of this type of jujutsu & "combat" judo was taught to and preserved by American military servicemen.
This idea—and the historical trail behind it—is explored more deeply in my book, The Founding of Jujutsu & Judo in America. Not as a claim of secret lineages or hidden masters, but as an attempt to understand how these arts actually functioned as they moved across cultures and adapted to real conditions.
I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts:
Have you noticed similar “through-lines” in older texts or photographs that don’t quite fit the official Kodokan sources or the modern narratives? Feel free to share your own photos these consistent techniques in the comments.
—George Rego (author)
PS: The photos below are taken from only 3-4 major sources. However, in investigating the textbooks of this time, one could easily document many dozens of texts demonstrating this corpus of techniques. These are a VERY small sample.
#jujitsu #judo #martialarts #martialartshistory #jujutsu #jiujitsu
