ryu

plural ryus · alternative ryū

1. A Japanese school of a specific discipline, usually martial arts.

   Dave notes that the only people capable of such precise destruction were bone-breakers from an ancient Japanese ryu.

   1986, Kirtland C. Peterson, Mind of the Ninja: Exploring the Inner Power, Chicago, Ill.: Contemporary Books, Inc., →ISBN, page 12

   5 more examples

   When Nakanishi became the headmaster of his own ryu, in the later 1700s, he began looking for a way to make swordsmanship less hazardous, concentrating on the improvement of practice equipment.

   1982 April, Dave Lowry, “Jutsu and Do: The Art and the Way; Part II”, in Black Belt, page 37, column 2

   In these ways, the ryu system differed little from the European custom of apprenticeship. The Japanese ryu were distinctive, however, in that an imparting of the mechanics of the craft, the shoden and chuden (“first and second stages of teachings”), were considered to be only a partial aspect of a student’s education. What really mattered was the sensei’s careful transmission of the metaphysical principles of his ryu to his most promising disciples.

   1985, Dave Lowry, Autumn Lightning: The Education of an American Samurai, Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications, Inc., published 2013, →ISBN

   Numerous instructors have trained in a traditional Japanese ryu, but few have progressed to the oku level—they may not even be aware of the existence of such a thing.

   1987, Fredrick J. Lovret, The Way And The Power: Secrets Of Japanese Strategy, Paladin Press, →ISBN, pages 20–21

   In today’s Japan, to receive this title, you must have the rank of godan or above in that ryu. Many people claim this title, but very few have actually received it from a traditional Japanese ryu.

   1995, Darrell Max Craig, Japan’s Ultimate Martial Art: Jujitsu Before 1882; The Classical Japanese Art of Self-Defense, →ISBN, page 166

   In an ironic twist of fate, many of the Japanese ryu went underground themselves during the Menji Restoration period in the 1880’s and all of them again, including judo, karate and kendo as entire entities in 1945 at the close of World War II.

   2005, Erdix C. Dearing, Te Waza: A Novel of the Martial Arts, iUniverse, Inc., →ISBN

   Synonyms: ryuha

plural Ryus

1. A surname from Japanese.
2. A surname from Korean.