After the civil war period in medieval Japan, when the clashes of samurai and conquests of castles subsided, an era of consolidation of power followed. The samurai, the warrior class that won the battles, now ruled the empire. The martial skills that had brought them to power now needed to be supplemented by skills that would enable them to manage and shape their culture.

 

The process of cultural change through which an ancient warrior class became a modern ruling class continued for centuries: through the sudden modernization in the mid 19th century when the vestiges of samurai culture were outlawed, and in the post imperial, post WWII era, when the practice of military culture, including many practical martial arts, was discouraged.

 

Martial artists throughout this long period continued to train and at the same time to adapt their martial practice to accommodate the changing conditions around them. Some martial arts redefined themselves to remain relevant in a time without battle, and later, in a time when guns and planes replaced swords and arrows.  Because there was something noble and beautiful and strong in martial skill that they were not willing to give up.

 

This cultural adaption is the source of the martial arts with the suffixes –Do and –Jutsu.  And for martial artists today, the designation is very meaningful, as it goes to the heart of what they do and why they do it.

 

The Japanese word Do is from the Chinese word Tao, often translated as Way.  Like the English word, it means a way as in a path, a path through life or a path to enlightenment.  Or it can mean the way, as in the way things exist.

 

Jutsu means skill or technique.

 

For centuries, Japanese culture made art and spiritual practice from familiar activities. Making tea, putting cut flowers in a vase. These and other ordinary activities became means of inner transformation, and aesthetic expressions of inner conditions.

 

The idea that through refinement of skill in an art or a craft a person would undergo an inner refinement as well, was an accepted part of cultural lore and life. Tea ceremony, ikebana, and haiku are examples of this.

 

As the battlefield application of martial skills waned, practitioners turned their attention to the refinement of their arts and the refinement of their character. Instead of martial skills being a means to conquest in battle, their demands were applied to the conquest of personal limits.

 

It was in this process that -jutsu became -do. Jujutsu, the samurai grappling techniques used in close combat, became the sport of Judo in the late 19th century.

 

Kenjutsu, old style sword fighting skills, became the modern martial art of kendo. Kyujutsu, battlefield archery, became the stylized, Zen inflected Kyudo.  Aikijutsu morphed into Aikido, as the purpose of these arts shifted.

 

Okinawan karate, the empty hand defense systems used by sailors and the military on the island for centuries, became Karatedo when these styles were imported to the colleges on mainland Japan in the 1920’s. 

 

The renaming of arts from –Jutsu to –Do is not a one way street. There is now a movement to change the –Do back to –Jutsu. 

 

The Tokyo police have always called their method of subject-control and arrest ‘Taiho Jutsu.’ They do not learn it for inner transformation. They learn it as a practical means of arresting a resisting subject.

 

And yet it was a Tokyo Police officer, well-trained Taiho Jutsu, who was a great champion in Kendo. This is not a coincidence.

 

In the modern world – in the US, Europe and in Asia – there is some feeling that the –Do schools have lost their edge. Separated by generations from the practical application of their arts, the emphasis on inner transformation has deleted the urgency and danger that produced the deep transformation in the old school warriors in the first place.

 

For these modern practitioners, -Jutsu has more legitimacy and seriousness than the watered down and softened –Do arts. For the –Do practitioners, there is a depth of seriousness and purpose in their arts that is overlooked in the –Jutsu oriented systems.

 

If you work hard to master your skills, your character will develop too. If it doesn’t, you will get resistance from the people around you; your own body and mind will throw obstacles in your way. You can’t skip technique and somehow expect to develop inwardly. You won’t.

 

The distinction between –Do and –Jutsu is one of perspective. If you train urgently, master your skills to fulfill your purpose you will experience deep transformation. Protecting the innocent from harm and mastering your body and mind are not two different things.  You can label your practice a Do or a Jutsu, or you could say you are practicing sincerely.