Five Circles is home to the study of the Gomaru Ryu Modal Arts. The Modal Arts are a family of five martial arts that encompass the full range of martial arts skills.  Each of the Modal Arts focuses on a different set of martial arts skills.  Striking, grappling, throws, body manipulation, swordsmanship, breath and body control, and weapon use are just some of the wide variety of skills that students can study. 

 

Modal Arts


Kenpo

Gomaru Ryu Kenpo is the study of empty handed striking techniques. It is characterized by high speed hand strikes and low destructive kicks.  Kenpo students make use of vital point targeting, bone breaks, joint locks and dislocations, and fast combinations to create an effective system of self-defense.

Kobujutsu

Gomaru Ryu Kobujutsu is the study of a wide variety of weapons.  The program includes primarily traditional Japanese weapons used by the merchant and farmer classes of Japan to defend themselves.  Since they were not legally allowed to own swords or other arms this tradition comes from the use of sticks, walking staffs, and farm implements.
Some of the weapons included in the art are:

  • Wooden Weapons:
    • Fighting Sticks (Keibo or Tanbo)
    • Short Stick (Yawara-bo or Kubotan)
    • Half-staff (Hanbo)
    • Cane (Tanjo)
    • Short Staff (Jo)
    • Long Staff (Bo)
    • Side-bar Baton (Tonfa)
  • Metal Trapping Batons:
    • Single-pronged baton (Jutte)
    • Double-pronged baton (Sai)
  • Accessory Weapons:
    • War Fan (Tessen)
    • Traditional Hair Pin (Kanzashi)
    • Hand Spike (Tecchu)
  • Flexible Weapons:
    • Weighted Chain (Manriki-gusari)
    • Combat Cord (Torihimo)
    • Net
    • Grappling Chuck
  • Edged Weapons:
    • Knife (Tanto)
    • Sickle (Kama)
    • Short Sword (Kodachi)
  • Combination Weapons:
    • Sickle and Weighted Chain (Kusarigama)
    • Short Staff and Weighted Chain (Chigiriki)

Kenjutsu

Gomaru Ryu Kenjutsu is study of the Katana and other weapons of the Samurai. Kenjutsu practice involves individual techniques, partner work, and sparring practice. Students practice individually with wooden swords (bokken) to build arm strength and weapon control. While working with partners on combative drills and sparring students use safety weapons and protective gear to simulate sword combat. Kenjutsu students quickly learn to master combat distance, footwork, and timing in this traditional study of one of the greatest weapons in history.

Aikijujutsu

Gomaru Ryu Aikijujutsu is the study of grappling and body manipulation techniques. Students learn take an opponent’s strength and turn it against them. Through the use of joint locks, joint dislocation, body manipulation, throws, and ground fighting techniques practitioners take control of attacker in a flash and quickly disable or force the attacker into submission.  Aikijujutsu uses both large flowing movements and smaller sharp transitions to create an effective system of self-defense.

Gojukido

Gomaru Ryu Gojukido is an internal and personal conditioning martial art. It teaches students to use breath control, balance control, and precise movement to improve health, focus, balance, stregnth, range of motion and mental well-being. It is a meditative practice that uses controlled and fluid motions to create strength, blance, and control. Many of the movements in Gojukido have similarities to other internal martial arts such as Tai Chi and physical practices such as Yoga. Students also have the opportunity to study the body and the foundations of eastern and western medical practice and their application to the martial arts.

Young Samurai

Young Samurai study a martial art known as Kimaru Ryu Karate (Basic Circles Style Martial Arts). The Young Samurai program and the Kimaru Ryu curriculum is designed to take students as young as 6 (basic reading skills are preferred) and provide them with a broad background of martial arts skills so that upon completion of the program the may proceed (at a younger age) to studying the adult martial arts.

Kimaru Ryu Karate teaches basic striking, grappling, and weapon use as well as helping to imporove young students with confidence, coordination, mobility, strength, endurance, discipline, and focus. Students progress through a standard belt curriculum from White Belt to Junior Black Belt. Upon completion of the curriculum, they are welcomed into the adult martial arts program as intermediate students and are allowed to wear a black stripe over their Modal Arts rank belts.

Tasumaru Ryu Bujutsu

Each of the five Modal Arts represents an individual component of martial arts skills.  Each art is one individual piece of a whole.  The Modal Arts derive from the holistic martial art known as Tasumaru Ryu Bujutsu. Bujutsu brings all of the components of the Modal Arts back together and teaches the students the universal nature of different martial arts skills. Students interested in studying Bujutsu must first study one of the Modal arts for at least one year, and then they request an application to join the Bujutsu Core Study Group.

 
 
 
 

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