Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-04-24
JU J1TsU.

ison Square Garden, New York City,
is an exhibition of ju jitsu, of which
the most remarkable feat is by a lit
tie girl IA years old, and not over
five feet tall, who without any APP
parent effort throws big athletic men
by a simple twist of her hand.
While wrestling she wears a
heavily embroidered kimono, which
does not seem to trouble her at all
while wrestling with the men.
To an observer it appears as if the
men throw themselves down instead
of being thrown by the girl, and this
is the very principle of jul jitsu,
which is to conquer by yielding
rather than by aggressiveness.
The little girl is an expert in the
art of ju jitsu, and no matter how
big and strong her opponents she can
handle them easily.
Wrestling is one ofIthe oldest ath-
letic exercises of Japan. For more
than tenjcenturies it has been very
popular with every class Of people.
There were court wrestlers in
former days, and wrestlers were
greatly respected. Every boy enjoys
the exercise, and at present in
schools wrestling is very much en-
%couraged. There are also profession
al women wrestlers who attract wide
attention in exhibition matches. At
many festivals of temples, a
wrestling match is part of the cere-
mony.
There are many differences be-
tween Japanese and American
wrestling. In Japanese wrestling ii
is not necessary to place two should
ers on the mat. Amy fall is enough;
when one touches the floor with his
elbow, hands or knee, he loses the
match and is carried out Of the
"dohyo," a circle about II feet in
diameter, consequently Japanese
wrestling gives no advantage to the
heavier contestant, and there is no
classification by weight. A wrestler
of 100 pounds may be able to win
from a big, tall opponent weighing
over 200 pounds.
Ju jitsu is much younger than
wrestling, having originated in the
sixteenth century. Originally it was
only a variation Of wrestling adopted
for self defense. But early in the
seventeenth century Chinese fist
fighting and kicking was introduced
into Japan, and when they were
adopted by the ''yawara" (the old
name for ju jitsu experts, the pres
ent jul jitsu was originated.
"Ju jitsu" is, as the name implies,
the art ito conquer by yielding" In
old days it was the art the Samurais
used, without any, or little weapon
To yield is the first principle Of ju
iitsu, but after yielding, or taking
advantage Of yielding it becomes ag-
gressive fighting science.
The principle that 1t is easier to
lead anything in the direction it has
started to go than lead it in the OPP
posite direction. and the rules Of
physics, r the fundamental prin-
ciples of jujitsu.
When a man pulls you it is easier
TO be pulled than to struggle not TO
be pulled. When he is pulling you
toward himself his whole weight lies
far back Of his center Of gravity, and
it is easy to make him fall on his
back by a slight push on his body or
a kick at his feet. In this a
jujitsu mar yields to every pull,
wrench, push, twist or bend: but he
does more than yield. He ends with
a skill that causes the assistant tc
cut out his own shoulder, 10 fracture
his own arms, or, in a desperate case.
even to break his own neck or back.
In causing falls. the relation of the
opponents weight center and his
style of pose are considered more
than anything else. In defeating
others by jujitsu one needs not his
own strength. 1t is always the
strength Of the opponent that is used
to defeat him.
The first thing one should learn in
jupitsu is how 10 use the others
strength instead of his own, and any
body who has wonderful physical
strength would find it harder for
him to learn jujitsu than a man who
has little strength, as a man with
powerful strength uses his own
strength more than he should do.
Jujitsu is not an art made for
show and display. 1t is a practical
science and its value can be ascer-
tanned only when ii is used in cases
of real self defense or any such
emergency. 1t is almost impossible