-Military Schools, Farmers, and the Clergy -

Last time we touched upon the school or Ryu as the cornerstone of
martial arts. With the time of continuous warfare military men found
the need to test the theory and practice of martial skills. Schools
in feudal times could be run by founders, students of founders,
students who studied various styles and started their own schools or
were of a hereditary, public or private nature. The Ages of Turmoil
from the 9th to 17th centuries provided much testing, devising, and
refinement of the military arts. The earliest records of actual
schools dates from the 11th cen. Schools often overlapped and merged
and often similarly named techniques can be found in opposing schools
today. The type of school as we know it generally originated in the
16th and 17th centuries from techniques developed much earlier. The
transition seems to be from group combat to individual expression. By
the 18th cen. unarmed systems were fairly well established.

Interestingly there were many other non-military sources of the
fighting arts. The farmer, from where early government forces were
drawn from, had there own tight clans and village groups who produced
rice and protected their own land. Later these clan fighters would
grow to full standing armies. Farmers had often lead revolts and
riots against harsh imperial treatment. Also the farmers themselves
were often kept up-to-date in military affairs by keeping the odd
RONIN (more on them later) in their household.

Many Buddhist and Shinto sects became large land owners and so needed
to protect themselves as well. They utilized special guard units of
priests and laymen to protect sacred shrines and relics. There is a
rich tradition of mountain shamans (Yamabushi) who also had as part
of their training the military arts. It took the government Bushi
more than 400 years of continuous warfare to silence the mountain
priests. Even after their eventual fall as a military force, priests
were still admired as theorists especially in regards to the inner
aspects of a warriors training. They themselves flocked to temples
and to monks who could strengthen their character and personality for
facing death.

Next week... The Ronin