As a very general observation, is there any point in seeking lineage or sources for techniques in the modern age? Martial artists these days can pick up ideas and inspiration from so many media, in ways that wouldn't have been possible just a mere 50 years ago. Seminars, DVDs, books and magazines with photographs can illustrate concepts and tips that an experienced martial artist can go on to experiment with, developing ideas and working out practical applications in their own dojo. No, of course I don't mean Home Study courses that take you from beginner to Master in 10 episodes... but there is no denying that there are opportunities to observe an enormous variety of styles, Arts, tactics, without having to leave your own home dojo.
In the not-too-distant past, any martial artist wishing to experience alternative instructors would have been getting on his bike (horse?) and actually travelling somewhere. The Instructor would have his own dojo and the students there would be his only students... he wouldn't be trying to run an organisation or selling books or DVDs. The records of the student, therefore, that showed how long he trained with someone, would have far more meaning in terms of what he might later come to teach. Obviously, the whole matter of qualifications/certicates/scrolls, etc. has grown to be of tremendous importance when establishing credibility for someone claiming "transmission of the art", but I'm thinking it may have had a little more meaning in the time when a person's influences were limited to those he could experience directly.
What's the history of "jujitsu" in the UK? I really wouldn't know. But if you think of the traditional Japanese dojo; one sensei, a handful of students and one chosen successor, passing down the secret techniques through the generations... that doesn't seem to be how it went once it arrived in the UK. The whole scene was rather different, as this clip shows. I went on a half-hearted Google search to try and get some background on the clip and it leads me think that researching is a skill I do not posess. Post 27 on this thread gave my less than complete results.
David Noble
Shorinji Kempo (1983 - 1988)
I'll think of a proper sig when I get a minute...
For now, I'm just waiting for the smack of the Bo against a hard wooden floor....