Contrary to what some would have you believe, Jujutsu is not the invention of a single martial arts genius. Nor is any other method of combat, for that matter. Jujutsu is the product of a long evolution which occurred within a changing environment, and with important contributions from many extraordinary martial artists. Some of the key contributors are well known in martial arts history, and others we will sadly never hear about.

Jujutsu is not synonymous with submission wrestling, as is currently seen in various sporting matches. Jujutsu was never intended to be used as a sport, and never will be. Imagine an army of 5,000 men on a middle eastern battlefield, unarmed and dressed in gis, preparing to square off against an opposing army, with a referee in between screaming "Are you ready!" No, this is not a sight you may expect to see, and I can assure you the terms Jujutsu, Jiu-Jitsu, and Jujitsu have been far removed from their historical context.

Any historical study of grappling systems must begin with Egypt. On the walls of the Mahez tomb you can see many pairs of grappling figures. These figures date back to at least 3,000 B.C., which predates the Greek Olympics of 648 B.C. The Egyptian grappling techniques didn’t necessarily spring up as a fully developed style, it probably took many generations to develop a system that would be functional in combat. These ancient grapplers should be considered as our first teachers in the combat grappling arts. During this per...