What the difference between budo and kobudo?

Kobudo is a modern japanese word that means “ancient martial way”. The words kobudo and koryu are often used interchangeably. Kobudo refers to martial arts that trace their lineage back prior to the start of Emperor Meiji’s reign in 1868. Emperor Meiji abolished the bushi (or samurai) right to be the only armed forces. In its place, he installed a more modern conscripted western army style. Carrying swords became outlawed and dictated the end of the bushi or samurai.

Kobudo martial arts are typically based on JuJutsu — but all can trace their lineage back to pre-1868.

Budo is a japanese word that means modern martial art. Most martial arts today are budo: aikido, karate, jiu jitsu, judo. They are modern interpretations of older martial arts. For example, Aikido traces its lineage back to about 1939  through its founder, Morihei Eushiba (O’Sensei). Judo traces its lineage back to about the mid 1880’s. Karate was first publicly demonstrated in 1917 by Gichin Funashoki … beyond this, history of karate is shrounded in much mystery. Jiu jitsu refers more to several styles of martial arts interpreted by various founders — many of which have more in common with judo.

Aikido is a martial art that is based primarily on Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu. It is clear that founder Morihei Ueshiba had other influences. Most aikido historians claim that Morihei Ueshiba trained for a short time with Sokaku Takeda in Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu. The short time, however, was more than 16 years and is documented. Sokaku Takeda maintained logs of every student and every class attended (which survives to this day). The logs were entered in the student’s own writing. In the case of Morihei Ueshiba, his own writing shows that he studied Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu under Sokaku Takeda from March 5 1915 to April 7 1931. This is not a “short time”. Morihei Ueshiba was the first student of Sokaku Takeda awarded the kyoju dairi certificate, or teaching license, in 1922. It is clear that between 1922 and 1937, Ueshiba taught Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu. Between 1937 and 1939, Ueshiba changed in several ways: his religious views were influenced by Omoto-kyo and his relationship with Takeda appeared to be strained. The martial arts Ueshiba taught also underwent transformation, first in name to Aiki Bujutsu, then to Aikibudo, and finally to Aikido. One major turning point seems to be in 1936. In 1933, Ueshiba was introduced to Hisa Takuma of the Asahi News. Ueshiba began teaching Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu to Hisa and several of the staff of the Asahi News. In 1936, unannounced, Sokaku Takeda arrived at the Asahi News and called out, ‘Hello in there! Send out the Director of General Affairs. I am Morihei Ueshiba’s aikijujutsu teacher, my name being Sokaku Takeda. I hear that despite his inexperience Morihei has been teaching aikijujutsu here. Other places aside, I regard it as a matter of great importance for the honor of Daito-ryu aikijujutsu if poor techniques are taught at the Asahi News under the eyes of the whole world. So I’ve come from Hokkaido as quickly as I could.’ And holding his sword high overhead he said emphatically, ‘We begin the lesson at once!’”
Following this, Ueshiba never returned to the Asahi News, and there is no recorded evidence of Ueshiba and Takeda ever meeting again.

Karate literally means empty hand. There are four or five major branches of karate do, all tracing their roots to Okinawa. Karate is a striking art that uses punches, kicks, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hand (karate chop). Pressure point strikes are also taught in some styles. The art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom before its annexation into Japan. While it is clear that karate existed prior to 1922, it was that year that the Japanese Cultural Ministry invited Gichin Funakoshi to demonstrate the art in Tokyo. Following that, Keio University became the first dojo in Japan to offer karate training and by 1932 all Japanese Universities had a karate dojo. It seems that is it around 1932 that the art changed names from “chinese hand” to “empty hand” … both pronounced karate … to reflect the influence of the japanese for military combat. After the second world war, Okinawa was an important military site for the United States and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there. After the second world war, karate became a popular martial art in north america and was helped further by movies of the 1960’s and 70’s. The Karate Kid movie of 1984 popularized karate significantly.

Judo is a martial art founded by Jigoro Kano in the mid 1880’s, although it is difficult to precisely pinpoint the actual year. Jigoro Kana studied various martial arts in his early martial arts career. He initially taught versions of jujutsu, but removed many of the striking and kicking portions focusing mainly on a more gentle way to subdue an opponent. In many respects, his invitation to various leaders of other martial arts to contribute to what eventually became judo was brilliant.