The Gentle Art
The term jūjutsu was not used until the 17th century, after which time it became a term used for a wide variety of grappling-related disciplines and techniques. Prior to that time, these skills had names such as "short sword grappling", "grappling", "body art", "softness", "art of harmony", "catching hand", and even the "way of softness".
"Ju" is translated to mean "gentle, supple, flexible, pliable, or yielding." "Jutsu" or "Jitsu" is translated to mean "art" or "technique" and represents manipulating the opponent's force against himself rather than confronting it with your force. Striking against an armoured opponent is ineffective; practitioners (kai) learned that the most efficient ways for stopping/killing/neutralizing an enemy took the form of pins, joint locks, and throws. These techniques were developed around the knowledge of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it. There are many variations of the art, which leads to a diversity of approaches. Jujutsu schools (ryu) may utilize all forms of grappling techniques to some degree (e.g throwing, trapping, joint locks, holds, gouging, biting, disengagements, striking, and kicking). Some jujutsu schools teach the use of weapons.
In 880 AD the first Ju-Jitsu Ryu was formed by Prince Teijun. One of the first Ryu (house or schools) that used Ju-Jitsu as a primary art was founded in 1532 by Takenouche Hisamori. Legend has it that while on a pilgrimage, Takenouche collapsed from exhaustion after training and meditating for several days. In his delirium he received a vision from a phantom warrior. The warrior taught him five techniques of immobilization, and the advantages of using short weapons over long ones.