THE FOUR PILLARS OF MUSHIN RYU JUJITSU
Written By
Professor David A. Bellman
Copyright 2001-2008
All rights reserved.
The Four Pillars Of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu
The Four Pillars of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu comprise the physical foundation that governs the system. Without a firm foundation, everything falls and crumbles. That is the architecture of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu. Like anything in life, your arts and techniques are only as strong as your weakest link. Where there is no weak link, there lies only strength and stability.
• Principles and Concepts of the System
• Learning the System
• Exploring the System
• Teaching the System
Principles And Concepts Of The System
The first question any serious and dedicated martial artist must ask himself is why do my techniques work? Techniques work because the principles and concepts that makes each and every one of them work is based on scientific principles and concepts of anatomical physics. That’s the only possible way your techniques will work. Any technique that is not based on such principles and concepts won’t work. The reason that they won’t work is because some working component of the physics or anatomical structure of what you are trying to do is out of balance. Here are the twenty-six principles and concepts of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu:
1. 45/90 Degree Angle Principle
2. Anatomical Misalignment
3. Anchor Principle
4. Back Up Mass
5. Balance Principle
6. Barring
7. Basic Rule Of Resistance
8. Buoyancy
9. Circular/Linear Principle
10. Closing the Gap
11. Compression
12. Constriction
13. Dropping The Center of Gravity
14. Elliptical Circle
15. Extension/Hyperextension
16. Isolation Principle
17. Grounding
18. Offsetting The Vertical Plane
19. Pivoting
20. Pry Release
21. Redirection/Deflection
22. Small Circle Principle
23. Stretch-The-Rope Principle
24. Torque
25. Transitional Realignment Point
26. Wedge
Learning The System
The second Pillar of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu is learning and understanding the five levels of learning. These are more than just levels because each level of learning really becomes a level of understanding as to your abilities and your skill level at a particular point in time. That particular point in time also corresponds to your level of rank as well. The five levels of learning are:
• Precision
• Control
• Timing
• Speed
• Power
Precision refers to being detail oriented in the learning process of the techniques, concepts and principles. A novice student develops their skill of precision by doing each technique slowly and taking the time to discover what makes it tick. Just doing techniques without exercising the mind to acquire the self disciplined skills necessary to accelerate ones learning, understanding and application will slow up a person’s advancement. At best it will slow up the learning process. At worst, it will cause a person to look for the wrong elements within a technique and at some point to have to take the time to undo the damage that has been done and then relearn it again the proper way. The most important rule that a novice student must learn is patience. Learning is one thing, understand is an entirely different matter. True understanding takes time. There is no substitute for time. Patience is what teaches us this point. Precision is the key element and the most important concept a novice student can master.
Control is precision applied in a safe and effective manner. A beginning student who has progressed past the novice level of training works to develop their control. If a technique is done quickly, but has little or no control, then people get injured, bad habits get reinforced, and precision gets lost. Without precision lighting the way, control gets lost in the dark.
Timing comes into play at the intermediate level of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu. Timing is a combination of precision and control with a little something extra thrown in. At the intermediate levels of training a person’s precision becomes keener, their control continues to improve greatly as the rhythms of the system begin to solidify. The system takes on a fresh new perspective as you look back at what you have learned previously with a new set of eyes.
Speed and power are advanced elements incorporated in the system for students who have achieved a higher level of understanding. An advanced level student has developed a wise and informed sense of precision in the way they look at their techniques, the situations they are applied in, and the application of the governing principles and concepts of the system. Their control and timing have developed to a point where speed and power enhance what they have already effectively developed, rather than get in their way. They change in mental strength, in attitude, and in confidence. They have become the total package, the total martial artist. They have gained the wisdom to finally realize that they have not achieved the highest level attainable, they have simply acquired a dazzling array of tools to apply to their future training and understanding.
Exploring The System
Exploring the System is the third Pillar of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu and is where you put into application what you have learned from a different perspective. The reality of any situation is that things don’t always work out in the street the way you practice them in class. To some extent, your class is like a scientific laboratory where you explore other ways the principles and concepts that you have learned are applicable. For example, even though a technique may be the done the way you normally practice it in class, your opponent might choose to use a different hand and/or foot configuration, a wider or closer stance, or any number of modifications to the usual way things are done. This will change the anatomical body physics of the technique. To make the hold work, you will discover that you must apply (or re-apply) the applicable principles and concepts of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu as they apply to the new, changed or perpetually changing situation.
Teaching The System
Teaching the System is the fourth Pillar of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu and employs a very simple concept: When you can effectively teach to others what you have learned, then you truly know your arts. As we have just learned, this is a three-part process. First you learn it, then you explore it, and then you teach it. Teaching Mushin Ryu Jujitsu involves learning this important fact: There are three ways that people learn.
• We see it
• We hear it
• We feel it
This is one of the key components of teaching something to anyone. This is a modal approach to learning. Though we can change our modal perspective on occasion, it’s a fact that all human beings learn by seeing, hearing or feeling things. Once you realize this concept of learning, you will discover that all three modal methods must be used in your teaching so that everyone learns. You may see your perspective of the world through vision and learn by being shown your techniques, whereas, another person is auditory and learns more effectively by having something explained. A third individual may learn best by feeling the application of a technique on them. We each develop our modal perspective as a young child and carry it through our lives.
The Four Pillars Of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu
You have now been formally introduced to the Four Pillars of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu. Do these four pillars only apply to jujitsu? No, they apply to all martial arts, regardless of system of style. Techniques practiced without sound scientific principles of anatomical physics are only hollow techniques. On the surface, they seem interesting to practice and demonstrate. But at the core of reality, there is nothing substantial beneath the surface of the technique. One who practices their arts in this fashion creates an illusion of reality. Regardless of what one does in a class situation, the streets are real and the people that inhabit the streets are part of that ultimate reality. Never forget the Four Pillars of Mushin Ryu Jujitsu.
