Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu

The Jeweled (or Pearl) Tiger School of "Bone Finger Art"

Gyokko Ryu Koshijutsu techniques were brought to Japan from China during the Tang Dynasty by a Chinese monk called Cho Gyokko or Yo Gyokko. The ryu was passed down from generation to generation and was repeated until it was given to Sakagami Taro Kunishige. He organized the ryu and served as head from 1532 to 1555. The ryu was then passed to Momochi Sandayu. The Momochi family then passed the ryu to the Toda family and to Toshitsugu Takamatsu. Once, when Takamatsu was training with Shinryuken Toda, he was told that the most important thing for him to learn, was the eight fundamental techniques. These are the foundation stone for Hatsumi Sensei's Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and are the foundation stone of all martial arts. These techniques are called Kihon Happo. Takamatsu then taught these techniques to Masaaki Hatsumi, they are also the foundation of Gyokko Ryu.

Kihon Happo is made up of the basic pieces of the Gyokko ryu kata. Gyokko ryu is roughly divided into three sections: unarmed vs unarmed, unarmed vs knife, unarmed vs sword.

Muto Waza are unarmed against either sword or spear and are the most advanced and difficult techniques of the Ryu. The basic movements are that of a spinning top. If a lock is placed on a joint, the joint is held still by the body, while the feet move one's body around the joint. Because footwork takes time, nerve strikes are applied before and during the motion. The movement in Gyokko ryu is also around an opponent's fixed point of balance.

Other specialties of this school are Koshi jutsu (attack on muscle and nerve points), Shito jutsu (use of thumb and other fingers), Ken jutsu (sword), Ko Dachi (short sword), Yari jutsu (spear), and Bo jutsu (various sticks).