The following is a list of styles or

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

in Japanese martial arts. For historical ('' koryū'') schools, see

List of koryū schools of martial arts This is an incomplete list of '' koryū'' (lit. "traditional schools", or "old schools"). Koryū are schools of martial arts that originated in Japan, and were founded prior to 1876, when the act prohibiting the wearing of swords ('' Haitōrei'') c ...

. *

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

* Araki-ryū *

Ashihara kaikan Ashihara kaikan is a modern full contact street karate developed from Kyokushin karate by Hideyuki Ashihara with influences from various martial arts including Muay Thai, Pankration, and Jujutsu with an emphasis on '' Sabaki'', using footwork ...

* Bajutsu *

Battōjutsu ("the craft of drawing out the sword") is an old term for iaijutsu (居合術). Battōjutsu is often used interchangeably with the terms '' iaijutsu'' and ''battō'' (抜刀).Armstrong, Hunter B. (1995) "The Koryu Bujutsu Experience" in ''Koryu ...

* Bōjutsu *

Bujinkan The is an international martial arts organization based in Japan and headed by Masaaki Hatsumi. The combat system taught by this organization comprises nine separate ryūha, or schools, which are collectively referred to as ''Bujinkan Budō Ta ...

* Byakuren Kaikan *

Chitō-ryū is a style of karate founded by , (1898-1984). The name of the style translates as: ''chi'' (千) - 1,000; ''tō'' (唐) - China; ''ryū'' (流) - style, school, "1,000 year old Chinese style." The character ''tō'' (唐) refers to the Tang Dyna ...

Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu , originally called , is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sōkaku. Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts (including Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ry� ...

Enshin kaikan is a style of " full contact karate", or Knockdown karate, founded in 1988 with dojo and students in various countries around the world. Overview The core emphasis in Enshin is use of the Sabaki Method, a system of techniques employed with ...

* Gensei-ryū *

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters du ...

Hakkō-ryū Hakkō-ryū () or Hakkō-ryū Jūjutsu () is a school or 'style' of jujutsu descended from Daito-ryu founded in 1941 by Okuyama Ryuho (1901–1987) a student of Sokaku Takeda and a practitioner of shiatsu. This style of self-defense focuses o ...

Hojōjutsu or or just , is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope (called in Japanese), as a precursor to modern-day handcuffs. Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different sch ...

* Hōjutsu *

Iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Spor ...

* Isshin-ryu *

Jōdō , meaning "the way of the ''jō''", or is a Japanese martial art using a short staff called ''jō''. The art is similar to ''bōjutsu'', and is strongly focused upon defense against the Japanese sword. The ''jō'' is a short staff, usually a ...

* Japanese kickboxing *

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

* Jūkendō *

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

Juttejutsu is the Japanese martial art of using the Japanese weapon ''jitte'' (also known as ''jutte'' in English-language sources). Jittejutsu was evolved mainly for the law enforcement officers of the Edo period to enable non-lethal disarmament and app ...

* Karate * Kendo * Kenjutsu * Kenpo *

Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo Kosho may refer to: *Emperor Kōshō, the fifth imperial ruler of Japan to appear on the traditional list of emperors * Kōshō, a Japanese era spanning from 1455 to 1457 * Kosho Shorei Ryu Kempo, a martial art system of Kenpo *Koshō, a premodern ...

Kūdō is a Japanese hybrid martial art. It is a full-contact combat sport that aims to achieve both safety and practicality, a style of mixed martial arts practised with headgear and gloves. It features stand-up striking, with throwing and grapplin ...

Kusarigamajutsu is the art of using the Japanese weapon kusarigama. Kusarigamajutsu is featured in several separate martial arts such as Tendō-ryū, Suiō-ryū and Shintō Musō-ryū. The kusarigama is made up of three parts: the '' kama'' (a wooden handle wit ...

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

Kyūdō ''Kyūdō'' ( ja, 弓道) is the Japanese martial art of archery. Kyūdō is based on '' kyūjutsu'' ("art of archery"), which originated with the samurai class of feudal Japan. In 1919, the name of kyūjutsu was officially changed to kyūdō, a ...

Kyūjutsu ("art of archery") is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow (yumi) as practiced by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Although the samurai are perhaps best known for their swordsmanship with a katana (''kenjutsu''), kyūjutsu w ...

Naginatajutsu is the Japanese martial art of wielding the . The naginata is a weapon resembling the medieval European glaive and the Chinese guan dao. Most naginatajutsu practiced today is in a modernized form, a ''gendai budō'', in which competitions al ...

Maniwa Nen-ryū Maniwa Nen-ryū (馬庭念流) is a traditional school (''koryū'') of Japanese martial arts founded in 1591 by Higuchi Matashichirō Sadatsugu (c. 16th century). Matashichirō was a student of Nen-ryū (a style taught by Jion (monk), Jion Nennam ...

Ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some trad ...

Nippon Kempo Nippon Kempo (日本拳法) is a Japanese martial art, practised wearing protective gear (face, body, crotch, etc.) and gloves and allows full use of stand-up striking, throwing, and ground fighting. It was founded and created by Muneomi Sawaya ...

Okinawan kobudō , literally "old martial way of Okinawa", is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. Etymology and definition Okinawan Kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "''old martial way of Okinawa''". It is a generic term coined in t ...

* Seishinkai *

Shindō jinen-ryū is a form of karate that was founded in 1933 by . The Naming of Shindo Jinen Ryu Konishi believed that if one lives a moral life, then one is naturally following the divine way. Extending this idea, he posited that, if training in karate in ...

Shitō-ryū is a form of karate that was founded in 1934 by . Shitō-ryū is synthesis of the Okinawan Shuri-te and Naha-te schools of karate and today is considered one of the four main styles of the art. History Kenwa Mabuni (Mabuni Kenwa 摩文� ...

* Shoot Boxing * Shoot wrestling *

Shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestli ...

Shōrin-ryū Shōrin-ryū (少林流) is one of the major modern Okinawan martial arts and is one of the oldest styles of karate. It was named by Choshin Chibana in 1933, but the system itself is much older. The characters 少林, meaning "sparse" or "scant ...

Shorinji Kempo is a Japanese martial art claimed to be a modified version of Shaolin Kung Fu. The name ''Shōrinji Kempo'' is the Japanese reading of ''Shàolínsì Quánfǎ''. It was established in 1947 by , a Japanese martial artist and former military ...

* Shorinji-Ryu * Shōtōkan-ryū * Shūdōkan * Shūkōkai *

Shurikenjutsu is a general term describing the traditional Japanese martial arts of throwing ''shuriken'', which are small, hand-held weapons used primarily by the Samurai in feudal Japan, such as metal spikes ''bō shuriken'', circular plates of metal known a ...

Sōjutsu , meaning "art of the spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a . Origins Although the spear had a profound role in early Japanese mythology, where the islands of Japan themselves were said to be created by salt water dripping fro ...

* Sōsuishi-ryū * Suijutsu * Sumo * Taido *

Taijutsu is a Japanese martial art blanket term for any combat skill, technique or system of martial art using body movements that are described as an empty-hand combat skill or system. Taijutsu is a synonym for Jujutsu (method of unarmed or with minor ...

* Takeda Ryu Nakamura Ha * Takenouchi-ryū *

Tantojutsu Tantōjutsu (短刀術) is a Japanese term for a variety of traditional Japanese knife fighting systems that used the tantō (短刀), a knife or dagger. Historically, many women used a version of the tantō, called the kaiken, for self-defense, ...

Tegumi or is a traditional form of wrestling from Okinawa. According to Shōshin Nagamine, in his "Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters", there are no accurate historical documents surrounding the origins of grappling in Okinawa. It seems that ''tegumi'' ...

Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū Written as 天眞正傳香取神道流 before adoption (1946) of Tōyō kanji. is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts, and an exemplar of '' bujutsu''. The Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū was founded by Iizasa Ienao, born in ...

Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu Hyōhō (天眞正自源流兵法) is a koryu (ancient martial art) specializing in iaijutsu (quick-draw sword art) and kenjutsu (swordsmanship) founded by Tose Yosazaemon Osamune around the Eiroku Era (1558- 1570). The sys ...

Tessenjutsu Tessenjutsu ( ja, 鉄扇術, , translation= iron fan technique) is the martial art of the Japanese war fan (tessen). It is based on the use of the solid iron fan or the folding iron fan, which usually had eight or ten wood or iron ribs. The use o ...

* Togakure-ryu *

Tōon-ryū is a style of Okinawan Karate founded by Juhatsu Kyoda. entered the dojo of Higaonna Kanryō in 1902 and continued studying with him until Kanryō's death in 1915. One month after Kyoda started, Miyagi Chōjun (co-founder of Gōjū-ryū) en ...

Toyama-ryū established in 1925 by a committee of senior experts of several sword traditions for the curriculum of the Rikugun Toyama Gakkō. The special school for training army personnel founded in 1873, called Rikugun Toyama Gakkō or " Toyama Army Aca ...

* Uechi-ryū * Wado-ryū *

Yabusame is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets. This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kama ...

Yagyū Shingan-ryū , is a traditional school ('' koryū'') of Japanese martial arts. Different styles of Yagyū Shingan-ryū, such as Heihojutsu and Taijutsu, assert different founders, Takenaga Hayato and Araki Mataemon respectively, but they all go back to Ush� ...

* Yoseikan Budo * Yoseikan Karate * Yoshukai Karate

See also