Thanks for the interesting additions to the conversation folks, I've just had the opportunity to catch up.
I see what you are getting at in your scenarios Kit. However, I think that the difference would be due more to the training methods employed in the koryu, rather than simply training in a koryu art itself. I think that training modality could be employed just as effectively outside the confines of the koryu.
Personal opinion alert ... I think that the Skosses' contention that "if you want koryu, go to Japan" is still valid for the most part. Not because of any need to immerse oneself in the society that created the koryu, but because that is where the vast majority of senior koryu practicioners are. There are still only a relatively small number of koryu practicioners outside of Japan that have put in the time under seniors of the art that is necessary to understand and promote the underlying ideas and methods of the ryu. The rest of us struggle to work and understand under less than ideal conditions. I know that I don't have enough years left to me to fully understand what I'm studying now, but that still doesn't stop me from enjoying it. Since I am not an LE professional, it is not a life or death situation for me. Thus I am free to study my chosen koryu just because it interests me.
Johan,
I think the problem with most of the 'jujutsu' systems is exactly what I referred to in my personal opinion paragraph. They were taught to people for a time only. The vast majority of those early jujutsu practitioners did not study long enough under the right conditions to truly understand the underpinnings of the schools that were taught. They then took their (relatively) shallow understanding and went out on their own. It's why most of the modern jujutsu systems are simply a collection of 'techniques', because the originators did not study long enough to understand the underlying concepts that the 'techniques' were created to teach.
just my opinions based on my relatively minor experience. Feel free to squash them if I'm off the mark.
Paul Smith
"Always keep the sharp side and the pointy end between you and your opponent"