Hojôjutsu?

[Shinobi]

Does anyone have any info on Hojôjutsu organizations in Japan? Were there located, etc? Someone recommended Taihojutsu as it includes Hojôjutsu I believe!

Thanks!

[Kendoguy9]

you might want to try a Shindo Muso-ryu group. they often teach hojojutsu at higher levels.

gambatte!!!

[Aaron Fields]

Same question as above, except in the states? Even better-yet, the west (left) coast?

[Neil Yamamoto]

Hey Aaron, How it going?

The only real hojo out here on the west coast that I am aware of is with Don Angier. Maybe some one else that I don't know about.

[Lil Dave]

Hojojutsu is the art of tieing up people, if I'm not mistaken. Is it just a series of practicing knots? Perhaps techniques for immobilizing someone while you tie them up. If someone would be so kind as to explain this to me.

David A. Buck

[Ulf Lehmann]

Hi David,
to my mind, the Ittatsu ryu is one of the best contemporary resources of Hojo jutsu. The ryu is a advanced level of Shindo muso ryu and existent since 17. century.
There are 25 different tying methods or kata (of 3 level) in Ittatsu ryu. The theorie is to tying a attacker after a counter and immobilisation by other weapons or unarmed technics. So - incapacitating was not a part of Hojo jutsu. The kind of tying was depending of the social status of the attacker and not free chose of the warrior. A real difficult art...

Regards,
Ulf Lehmann

[Neil Hawkins]

David to add to what Ulf said. Hojojutsu was an integral part of many Jujustu and Bujutsu systems and the variety of techniques is great. Some styles used special ropes, others the sageo from their sword or the obi from the victims waist.

They range from quick effective capturing methods to ornate ways of securing prisoners. Don Angiers tape on the subject has a lot of good info. There are special knots, but the major consideration is how the body works, so that the victim is secured and cannot escape. Many techniques result in the victim strangling himself or tightening the bindings when he struggles.

Some of the elaborate methods for securing a prisoner are difficult to tie and require some co-operation from the victim. The most effective are performed after a takedown and do not matter if the victim helps or struggles. There are some modern applications, in that the pins can be used when handcuffing, but few schools still teach the tieing methods, and even those restrict it to senior students.

Hope this helps some.

Regards
Neil

[Ulf Lehmann]

Well,Neil - that´s it. But ... I´m not sure because I´m afraid that´s a sageo is a little bit too short for all tying methods. A sageo is ca. 1.5 to 2 meters and the most ryu use a cord of 5 to 6 meters ( that´s the same measure like a traditional obi in the edo-period - what do you said). A rope of this length is more useful and better to handle.
On the other way - in battlefield can be a sageo the next and best idea...

Regards
Ulf Lehmann

[Neil Hawkins]

I agree that the standard sageo is too short to do any of the common hojojutsu tying methods. But it can still be used. The 'handcuff' knot can be tied with a sageo and there are a number of ways that you can then secure him reasonably well. One method is to secure the hands behind the back and tie them off to the obi, this requires very little rope and is fine for short term, supervised confinement.

The whole point is secure him, then if necessary re-secure him later, in most instances the need to secure would be short term until he was handed over to someone else. If it was your job to transport prisoners, you'd obviously carry the rope. :)

Regards

Neil

[Ulf Lehmann]

Yea - that´s real practical thinking. Sometimes, it´s difficult to transfer the know-how from the dojo to the battlefield...
Thank you for the the message.

regards,
Ulf

[Ulf Lehmann]

BTW, there are some other ryu who train Hojo jutsu? I remember at Takenouchi ryu, but I´m not sure...

It´s very difficult to get infos about this art (also in Japan). For illustration a nice but true story: A friend looking for a book about "Hojo jutsu" in a bookshop in Tokyo. He ask for it - but the lady on the store don´t know a art of this name. So he make a description - - - The lady is shocking! This guy looking for a book about sado-maso-sex...

Regards
Ulf Lehmann

Ulf,

That story is accurate. A friend and I were in a bookstore near the Ueno train station once, just browsing when I picked up a book with a samurai doing a hojo tie on the cover. I thought "cool" a book on hojo. When I opened it up all the pictures on one page were woodblocks of samurai doing hojo while the opposite page were of nude women tied up with the same tie. I almost dropped the book I was so shocked. My friend, already aware of this started laughing. He said "Interesting isn't it. Intricate hojo will probably survive not in the martial arts world but instead in the S&M world."

I thought, Boy, your're not in Kansas anymore Toto!

[ghp]

When I opened it up all the pictures on one page were woodblocks of samurai doing hojo while the opposite page were of nude women tied up with the same tie.

So, Toby ......

How much did you pay for the book??

Regards :D
Guy

Guy.

ROFLMAO! I'm just a shy little old boy from Texas.

:)

Tobs

[Tony Peters]

Originally posted by Toby Threadgill
Guy.

ROFLMAO! I'm just a shy little old boy from Texas.

:)

Tobs

Hell if that's the only way to learn how to do Hojo why not be entertained as well?...I'd of bought it.

[Yojimbo558]

Eric Weil,

Don Angier has two videos out on Hojojutsu, and they are fantastic!

To answer some of the others questions, in regards to requiring co-operation. The law enforcement officers would take all sorts of advantages of the samurais dress code. In addition to the Jutte, they had a weapon ( can't remember the name ) that is kind of like a yari with a series of heads instead one spear point. These would be either thrust into the sleeves of his kimono and then rapidly spun ( turning their own clothes into a form of a restraint or thrust into the pant legs of their hakama where they could be violently pulled into the splits.

Whatever manner was used in making the arrest, a blade would be held to the prisoners throat while by one of the policemen while the others bound him ( granted they didn't always have back up but this was during an ideal arrest ).

As to the Sageo's length. Typically when used for tying, those individuals had the foresight to use long sageo's as opposed to the typical length.

At any rate Don Angiers tapes are very much worth getting if your interested in furthering your knowledge in this area.

Eric Bookin

[Lil Dave]

Eric,
The spear you are thinking of is the sodegarami (translated 'sleeve tangler' by Oscar Ratti in his book "Secrets of the Samurai").
About the Don Angiers tapes, where may I get them, and what are they called? I am very interested. In fact it was just a little while ago that some friends of mine and I tried to tie each other up and couldn't make it work.

David A. Buck

[Richard Elias]

Dave,

"About the Don Angiers tapes, where may I get them, and what are they called? I am very interested. In fact it was just a little while ago that some friends of mine and I tried to tie each other up and couldn't make it work."

HHmmm, Really...was it fun anyway?

You can get all of the Yanagi Ryu video tapes through Bugei Trading Co. (www.bugei.com) The hojo ones are called "Hojojutsu" Vol. 1&2. I'm not sure but I think it sell for around $45.00.

[Yojimbo558]

Hi Dave,

Richard beat me as to revealing how to order the Don Angier tapes...their great, as an added suggestion what I did, for when I don't have someone to practise on was to go to an art supply shop. You can get one of those posable human figures that people use to practise scteching for manintaining proper proportions ( about 1' tall ). I picked up a ball of twine and practise on this. Just an idea.

Eric Bookin

[Richard Elias]

Eric,

"You can get one of those posable human figures that people use to practise scteching for manintaining proper proportions ( about 1' tall ). I picked up a ball of twine and practise on this. Just an idea."

That's exactly what we use.

But it's always better if you don't have to do it alone.;)