Toyama ryu Batto jutsu

Cutting it close(r) ...

Last week I shared concerning the influence which Sargeant Major Jaquin Borja (US Army Ret.) had upon my apporach to weapons training through his passing on to me his family system. This week I want to share something concerning another bladed system which I had the honor of studying. This being the art of Batto Jutsu.

Literally translated as “The Method of Drawing and Cutting,” Batto Jutsu is the ancient method of drawing one's sword and cutting down his enemy in one continuous motion. In a real, life and death dual, the understanding of this technique often meant the difference between victory and loss, and between death and survival. Following the disbanding of the Samurai class, this ancient technique came to be regarded as antiquated and was nearly lost for lack of practice which, as was the case with the previously mentioned watering down of Karate, Jujitsu, and Kali, I believe this was a mistake.

A pragmatic method of killing, Batto Jutsu was unsuited for transition to the realm of ceremonial sports which "honor" and "remember" the past, without preserving its specific knowledge. As a result, this precious knowledge would have been lost forever. Thankfully, a descendant of the last Samurai warriors codified a new system of Batto Jutsu from the various ancient schools of thought and taught this system to cadets at Toyama, the military academy which has been called "the West Point of Japan."

Upon leaving military service, many of the officers who had graduated from Toyama began teaching this system publicly. By the mid-20th Century, there had been a rebirth of interest in authentic Samurai methods and Batto Jutsu came to be considered a "crown jewel" among them.

I began training in Toyama ryu Batto Jutsu under the tutelage of Robert Leisure Sensei. Leisure Sensei later moved to North Carolina, which slowed my study of the system. Though Leisure Sensei and other seasoned practitioners of the system continued to mentor me in the art and I have incorporated the various aspects thereof into every weapons technique I teach.