Jujitsu

(“gentle art”), method of fighting that makes use of few or no weapons and employs holds, throws, and paralyzing blows to subdue an opponent. It evolved among the warrior class (bushi, or samurai) in Japan from about the 17th century. Designed to complement a warrior's swordsmanship in combat, it was a necessarily ruthless style, with the usual object of warfare: crippling or killing an antagonist.

Jujitsu was a general name for many systems of fighting involving techniques of hitting, kicking, kneeing, throwing, choking, immobilizing holds, and use of certain weapons. Central to these systems was the concept jū, from a Chinese character commonly interpreted as “gentle”—gentle, however, in the sense of yielding to an opponent's direction of attack while attempting to control it. Also involved was the use of hard or tough parts of the body (e.g., knuckles, fists, elbows, and knees) against an enemy's vulnerable points. Jujitsu declined after the fall of the Japanese feudal government in the mid-19th century, but many of its concepts and methods were incorporated into such modern fighting arts as judo, karate, and aikido. See also martial art.