So what exactly is JuJitsu and how did this style develop?

Basically, JuJitsu was the hand-to-hand combat system that the samurai of feudal Japan were taught. Many modern day martial arts have JuJitsu at their root (for instance: Judo, Aikido, Kempo, and some Karate styles). Like many of the Japanese martial arts JuJitsu made its way from India to China (where it is known as Chin Na), to Okinawa to Japan. Many different styles of JuJitsu proliferated and spread to various sections of the world, one of those being Hawaii. This is where the beginning of Dan Zan Ryu unfolds . . .

Henry S. Okazaki

The founder of Dan Zan Ryu, Henry S. Okazaki, was born in Japan on January 28, 1890. In 1906 he moved to Hawaii and, in 1909 at the age of 16, was diagnosed with (what we believe) was a pre-tubercular condition. The doctors told Okazaki that his condition was incurable. In desperation Okazaki went to Master Yoshimatsu Tanaka who taught Yoshin-Ryu JuJitsu, and trained diligently. Through his hard training Okazaki recovered completely and developed a “strong iron-like body”. Believing he owed his life to JuJitsu he dedicated his life to teaching and propagating this system.
During the years 1927-28, Okazaki developed a complete, integrated martial arts system: DanZan Ryu JuJitsu. A synthesis of several older styles of JuJitsu (specifically Yoshin-Ryu, Iwaga-Ryu and Kosogabe-Ryu), Okazaki included in the system elements of his studies of Okinawan Karate, Chinese Kung-Fu, Hawaiian Lua, Filipino knife fighting, boxing and wrestling, as well as traditional Seifukujitsu (Japanese restorative massage) and healing techniques. During a 3 month tour of Japan in 1924 Okazaki also visited and trained at over 50 dojos and catalogued over 675 specific techniques. In 1929 Okazaki moved to Oahu and opened his Nikko Sanatorium and subsequently his DZR JuJitsu dojo.

Kodenkan and Kokua

The Kodenkan was the name of Master Okazaki’s school in Hawaii. The name Kodenkan may be translated as “The School of the Ancient Tradition” or as “The School in Which Senior Students Transmit the Tradition.” Both translations are accurate.

The method of instruction requires senior students to teach less advanced students in the spirit that Master Okazaki declared was inherent in the Hawaiian word kokua: to mutually help one another. This spirit of kokua is the foundational philosophy of the AJJF.

DanZan Ryu Curriculum

DZR JuJitsu training begins with basic stretching and strengthening exercises. Next, students learn rolls and falls that allow them to be thrown safely. The system is arranged into eleven lists of techniques, which teach the basics of balance, leverage and inertia. The first five lists are taught below black belt level: Yawara (basic holds and escapes), Nage No Kata (basic throwing arts), Shime No Kata (grappling arts), Oku No Kata (advanced combination arts) and Goshin Jitsu (self-defense arts). The remaining six lists, which are primarily taught to advanced students and black belts, include advanced combination techniques; defenses against gun, knife, staff and sword; demonstration arts; iron fan and yawara stick arts; kicks; strikes and a system of resuscitation and restorative massage techniques.