To
define the meaning of "Yawara" in simple terms, we have
to go back to the days of the fighting warrior......
The warrior was skilled in all of the weapon arts ie. The sword, archery etc. During battle the warrior would often become unsaddled, weapon-less and in a situation where he would have to engage himself in hand to hand combat.
The term used for weapon-less combat was "Kumi-Uchi", which translated means "To Grapple"... This is an expression relative to Sumo wrestling, as the Sumo grapples in competition.
With the need to perfect the grappling techniques in battle, several schools were formed for "Kumi-Uchi" training and because of the many different styles of the schools they more or less joined forces and became known as the "YAWARA".
Later in the 18th Century, weapons were re-introduced into the system and it is from that time on that the art was called "ju-jitsu".
In summary, Yawara can be described as:
Pre-18th century, weapon-less training, and a true unarmed combat.