The practice of ju-jitsu can be traced back in history more than 2,500 years. Ju-Jitsu developed from many individual teachings that either originated in Japan or found their way to Japan from other Asian countries. In 2674 B.C. the first mention of martial arts comes from Huang-Di (China) who founded Wu-Su (martial arts), a concept in which the body was used for self - defense purposes. Going far back into ancient Japanese legend one might be able to trace ju-jitsu back to the ancient Japanese gods Kajima and Kadori who allegedly used art to chastise the lawless inhabitants of and eastern province.

The first dated mention of ju-jitsu was during the period 772 - 481 B.C. when open-hand techniques were used during the Choon Chu era of China. In A.D. 525 Boddhidrarma, a Zen Buddhist monk, traveled from India to China, visiting the Shaolin monastery. He soon combined Chinese Kempo (Kenpo in Japanese) with Yoga breathing to form Shaolin Chuan Fa - Shorinji Kenpo in Japanese (Shorinji is the Japanese spelling of the Chinese Shaolin. The Shaolin monastery is considered to be the source of Sil Lum Kung Fu). As legend has it, Boddhidrarma eventually developed the system further into what became Go - Shin - Jutsu - Karate (self-defense art of open hand).

In 230 B.C. the wrestling sport of Chikura Kurabe developed in Japan and was integrated into Ju-Jitsu. Approximately 2,000 years ago there is also mention of the development of wrestling and related techniques that served as the base of Ju-Jitsu. There is evidence that empty - hand techniques were in use during the Heian period (A.D. 794 - 1185) in Japan, but in conjunction with weapons training for samurai. In AD 880 Prince Teijun (also known as Sadagami) formed the Daito - Ryu Aiki Ju-Jitsu School. Daito - Ryu Aiki Ju-Jitsu was based upon the secret teachings of Shugendo (SHU - search, KEN - power, DO - way), the eventual source of Kendo, which used circular hand motions to assist in defending oneself with weapons. It was from this school that Morihei Uyeshiba took portions of the art to start his own system of Aikido in 1925.

Most of the actual credit for founding the formal art of Ju-Jitsu goes to Hisamori Teneuchi who formed the school of Ju-Jitsu in Japan in 1532. In 1559 Chin Gen Pinh, a monk, migrated from China to Japan, bringing Kempo with him, parts of which were integrated into the current teachings of Ju-Jitsu. During the Tokugawa era (circa. 1650) Ju-Jitsu continued to flourish as a part of samurai training.

The next historical phase of Ju-Jitsu, which had gone into decline with the closing of the Tokugawa era, was in 1882, when Jigoro Kano developed the sport of Judo in order to increase the popularity of the martial arts and to provide a safe sport using selected techniques taken from the art of Ju-Jitsu.