Ju-Jitsu is an ancient Japanese martial art the practice of which dates back to the pre-Tokugawa Shogunate times. Although Ju Jitsu is an art in its self, it is also considered to be a parent art and arts such as Judo (Gentle Way) and Aikido (Way of Mind, Body and Spirit) can be traced back to it.

It is believed that Ju Jitsu is over 2,500 years old and was practiced was practiced by the ancient Samurai in the open hand form alongside their weapons training. The art of Ju Jitsu is thought to have been developed from many individual forms of unarmed combat native to Japan as well as some that might have been brought into Japan from other Asian countries such as China.

The first mention of a form of unarmed combat can be traced back to China in 772-481 BC when open hand techniques being used in the course of combat. In 525 AD a Indian Zen Buddhist monk named Bhoddidharma brought yogic breathing forms in to China and while visiting a Shaolin monastery combined them with Chinese Kempo or Kenpo in Japanese which as legend would have it he later developed in to a style of open hand self defence called Go-Shin-Jutsu-Karate or self defence art of the open hand.

Around 794 – 1185 AD (The Heian period) there is also evidence of open hand styles being taught along side the traditional weapons training for Samurai. In 880 AD when Prince Teijun founded the Daito-Ryu Aiki Ju-Jitsu school which used the secret teachings of Shugendo and eventually became the source for Kendo, which uses small circular hand movements to assist in defence of oneself whilst using weapons.

The formalisation of Ju-Jitsu training is generally credited to Hisamori Teninuchi, who in 1532 formed a school of Ju-Jitsu, but the next step forward came when a monk called Chin Gen Pinh moved from China to Japan bringing Kempo with him which became integrated into the teaching of Ju-Jitsu, during the Tokugawa era circa 1650 Ju-Jitsu continued to flourish as part of the formalised Samurai training.