Gyokko Ryu

Gyokko-ry¨± (Óñ»¢Á÷ Gyokkory¨±) is a school of kosshijutsu(¹ÇÖ¸Ðg) (attacks to muscle and nerve points), shitojutsu (using the thumb and fingers for striking), kenjutsu, and b¨­jutsu. Gyokko-ry¨± is sometimes referred to as Gyokko Ry¨± Ninpo from a ninjutsu component it used to contain. According to the 1968 edition of the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten, Hatsumi is the current Soke (head master) of the Ryu which was passed to him by his teacher Takamatsu Toshitsugu. According to the Bujinkan, Cho Gyokko brought the school to Japan from China during the Tang Dynasty and it was handed down from generation to generation. Sakagami Taro Kunishige organized Gyokko Ry¨± shitojutsu. In the Tenmon period (1532 - 1550), he taught it to Sakyo Isshinsai who created Gyokko Ry¨± kosshijutsu. Its sister school is the Koto Ry¨±, also created by him. Both Gyokko Ry¨± and the aforementioned Koto Ry¨± were taught by him to Momochi Sandayu, who carried on the traditions within Iga Ry¨± until the late Tokugawa period (mid 19th Century). Techniques from Gyokko Ry¨± and Koto Ry¨± became the foundation for techniques of Togakure Ry¨±. The school is roughly divided into three sections: unarmed against unarmed, unarmed against kodachi, and unarmed against sword.