THE UNEXPECTED COMBAT APPLICATIONS OF OSAE WAZA
by
Dr. William Durbin


The battlefield was slick with blood, as the two combatants circled each other. They were Ashigaru, foot soldiers, who had lost their primary weapon, of Yari or Naginata, and had to face each other with their hands empty, their swords at their sides, but unable to find a moment to draw them. Suddenly, one warrior thought he perceived a Suki, unguarded moment, of his opponent, giving him the time to draw his weapon and strike the antagonist down.

 However as he grab and started to draw his sword, the other warrior jumped in taking control of the weapon arm, taking him to the ground. The defending warrior did not have time to draw his own sword, but due to his Torite skills, it was not needed. Instead, he controlled the arm of his assailant, while moving in performing move after move. First he smashed his opponent's face with a heel of hand, then slammed his hips into the others ribs, as he dropped to the ground. Finally he broke the antagonist's arm, so that the sword feel helpless from the now numb fingers. To end the battle, the Ashigaru placed his shoulder into the enemy's throat, and finished him off. Later, after the battle was over, the Ashigaru reported to his Sensei, martial arts teacher, the success of the ground fighting skills which he had been taught.


Currently there has been a great deal of renewed interest in the grappling, and most especially ground fighting skills, of the martial arts. These include the Kansetsu Waza, joint techniques, and Shime Waza, choking techniques, preserved in Jujutsu and Judo, and for a few Okinawan stylists, those type of techniques contained in Karate and Kempo systems.


Surprisingly, and yet not totally unexpected, has been the lack of interest shown in the other division of ground fighting grappling skills known as Osae Waza, or holding techniques. When most people think of Osae Waza, they think of the pinning techniques of Judo, especially those that are used in the sport. However, the safe techniques used in Judo are not the Osae Waza of ancient times. It might be best to look at and understand the meaning of Osae in order to have a full comprehension of the combat applications of the now safe sport techniques.


Osae means; defense, control, seize, subdue, restrain, arrest, squash, compress, and catch. Thus the meaning is obviously more than simply pinning a person as thought of in Judo. Judo came from Jujutsu, which came from such arts as Kempo, Torite, Yawara, and others, which came from the Kumi Uchi, the original grappling art of the warriors.


Most probably Osae Waza would have developed form the Torite art, which has an emphasis on taking control of an antagonist. The end result of most pure Torite techniques is the non-lethal subduing of an opponent. However, there was a branch of Torite that was designed to be devastating. In some systems there are nine divisions of Torite principles, with the final division being concerned with the applications of punishing strikes. Each of the other eight principles can be used to control, or break bones on, an opponent.


Osae is the same root as Oshi as in Oshikiuchi, the original name of the Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu system. Torite is written with the same Kanji as the Okinawan terms Toide and Tuite, which gives an indication that the three arts of Torite, Aikijujutsu, and Bushi Te (the original Okinawan martial art), all derive from the same source. Research seems to indicate a common Minamoto ancestry in ancient times, which has then spread to many families.


The safe pinning techniques of Judo were derived from the damaging ground fighting skills of other Jujutsu Ryu. There is a story that Jigoro Kano had developed Kodokan Judo primarily from Kito Ryu and Tenshin Shinyo Ryu, and accordingly, most of the techniques were stand up fighting skills. Against most opponents this was sufficient, especially with the influence on Judo of the Oshikiuchi (Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu) of Shiro Saigo, one of the top Kodokan masters. But once in the early days of the Kodokan, there was a challenge from a Jujutsu school which specialized in ground fighting techniques. The actual style has been lost in history, though some say it was a branch of the Yoshin Ryu.


Nevertheless, as the Kodokan men would approach the players of the other system, these Jujutsuka would lay down, nullifying the throwing skills of Judo. Then the Jujutsuka would attack the legs of the Judoka, taking them to the ground where they would be pinned and rendered helpless. While Kano did not see the value is laying down and fighting, which is why he had not researched ground fighting skills in the first place, he wanted his Kodokan Judoka to be able to defeat anyone under any conditions. Thus he approached masters of several Jujutsu systems in order to create the actual ground fighting skills of Kodokan Judo, which included Kansetsu, Shime, and Osae. Some of the systems he approached were Yoshin Ryu, Sekiguchi Ryu, Shiten Ryu, Kyushin Ryu, Miura Ryu, Fusen Ryu, Takenouchi Ryu, and Sosuishi Ryu.


It must be understood, that these Jujutsu systems did not have safe pinning skills, but rather combat holding skills, which could control an opponent who was armed with a sword. These techniques were designed, so that if there was a need to damage or kill the opponent, the skill could be changed in a split second to accomplish that goal. During each stage of a 'pinning technique' there was an opportunity to apply a strike using, literally every part of the body to do damage.


A properly applied Osae Waza had built in joint locks, chokes, and strikes. Once the person was placed into a position where a hold was in effect, they could be held indeterminately, they could be injured, or killed. The outcome would simply be left to the circumstances. Sometimes in a combat situation an assailant might need to be captured and held for questioning. Especially in regard to the capture of a spy, such as a Ninja. One reason the holds were designed to control the right arm of an attacker, was so they could not wield a sword or knife against their opponent, but also so that they could not kill themselves in order to avoid torture or interrogation.


On the battlefield, a warrior might have to go to the ground with an assailant, but to stay there for any period of time, was to allow another enemy to strike while you were helplessly tied up in the hold. Thus there were some incredibly quick damaging skills contained in the holds. These were strikes to vital points and breaks to bones and joints. A quick damaging move, once again to the sword arm, made an opponent helpless, with a potentially fatal injury.


Finally, if there was no time limit to the engagement, if the fight was one on one, a lethal move could be applied without regard to the time needed to achieve death. some of these moves would be chokes, or certain pressure points, which held long enough would result in death.


Jigoro Kano allowed for safe practice, with a great deal of resistance, by modifying the moves so that they could be practiced in Randori, free practice. But he never intended for the moves to lose their original combat meaning. Every skill needs to be understood for it's maximum effect, so that if there is a time when the actual combat application is needed, the student is prepared to effectively deal with the situation.


Osae Waza are extremely devastating, when learned properly. They can be very effective in many different situations ranging from less than lethal fights to life and death situations. They can be very effective in rape situations, especially when women are taught how to attack the vital points from those unusual and less advantageous positions they finds themselves in when on the ground.


Three aspects need to be considered when applying Osae Waza in combat style. First of all, what vital points can be hit from the position you are in and what weapons are best for striking them. Second, what joints are most vulnerable in each of the holding positions. And finally, in what way can a constricting move be used to compress parts of the body to cause sufficient damage to the attacker, these include the obvious chokes, but can also involve constricting the diaphragm, the abdomen, or any part of the body to cause pain and unconsciousness.


There is much more to all aspects of the martial arts than are generally known to those who have been trained in sport systems, simply because to train in a sport is to learn only what will score points or achieve victory according to the rules of the game. It is hoped that by pointing out the value of the combat applications of Osae Waza, that this will generate interest in the truly ancient martial arts and their original value in combat and hence modern self defense. A plus for all serious martial artists, preserving tradition and practicality.