KoKoDo Jujutsu vs Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu

[tennochi]

The place I currently train Iaido also offers KoKoDo Ryu Jujutsu. From what I have gleaned, it's derived from Hakko Ryu, and that is derived from Daito Ryu. My question is if anyone here is familiar with both of those styles, and is KoKoDo Ryu "still" Daito Ryu for all intents and purposes, or has it diverged and may have some similar but also completely different techniques? Can anyone share any insights into the similarities or differences between the two?

Matt G

[Lenmccoy]

There are probably better people to answer this but here goes. Daito ryu largely (possibly entirely) comes from from Sokaku Takeda. He had a large number of people study with him for variable lengths of time. Many of them started martial arts. Choi (Hapkido), Doshin So (Shorinji Kempo), Ueshiba (Aikido) and Okuyama (Hakko ryu). Clearly each of these men studied other arts and some of these don't look much like Daito ryu. Okuyama was a shiatsu master as well as a martial artist. Just in passing Hakko means eight light - a reference to infrared light beyond the seven colors of the rainbow. Implying technique that are so advanced that the don't use force. Over the years a number of fairly senior Hakko ryu practices have stopped using the name and it seems like KoKoDo is one of those groups. This is all based on what I have read over the years. I have some very basic training in Hapkido and Aikido but beyond that I don't know much. I would recommend that if the teacher seems good take the class and report back to us. Maybe someone who knows more will join discussion. Respectfully, Len McCoy Also no disrespect intended by leaving titles out of names. Since I don't know everyone's correct title just wanted to be fair.

[Lenmccoy]

From all indications hakko ryu uses pressure points (tsubo) and meridian (keiraku) knowledge to enhance Daito ryu skills. Len McCoy

[tennochi]

Thank you for the reply. I just don't know enough about either of those styles to make an assessment of their similarities or differences by training in Kokodo ryu myself. Although I trained "aikijujutsu" elsewhere, its not directly related to either of those arts and is not at all similar.

I am intrigued by Daito Ryu, and wonder if it would complement my Iaido training?

But my original question still stands as to whether anyone knows if Daito Ryu and Kokodo Ryu are essentially the same thing, or have they diverged to a significant degree?

[giles]

Short, unhelpful, answer: it depends.

For background, I've trained in Hakko Ryu and related styles since 1984. I've only had exposure to Daito Ryu through a seminar with Roy Goldberg and a couple of seminars with one of his study groups. Following the exodus from Hakko Ryu, my then-teacher set up Dentokan and continued to train with Irie sense who was the person behind KoKoDo. I now train in Daiwa Ryu, another Hakko Ryu offshoot.

On a gross level the techniques are the same. This hand goes here,that hand goes there. I understand that Daito Ryu has many more techniques - allegedly because Takeda charged per technique! Just within Hakko Ryu the variation in approaches is large - both between teachers and with a single teacher over time. As groups break away and tehre becomes less cross fertilsation this divergence can only increase. Some teachers want to get a sweat up and concentrate on one set of things, others are fascinated by how minor tweaks alter stability. And that's all before the marketing emphasis that a lot of the aikijutsu label brings in.

The advice remains the same: Go try your local group. Do you like it? Try something else, compare and contrast.

Have fun!

[Coolguy101]

Thank you very much for the reply. I really appreciate it - lots of views, but very few answers.

I may try it later; there aren't any Daito Ryu schools around that I can find, so it would just be Kokodo Ryu as its conveniently located in the same location.

I was curious as to how it may interact with my Iaido training. My Iaido instructor hasn't trained any Jujutsu before, so no insight there.

I've decided to just go back to Kung Fu San Soo and work on my black belt degrees instead.