Yawara is the basic list of hand techniques and includes some of the oldest forms of JuJitsu. Yawara techniques are among the first to be studied and usually the last to be fully understood and appreciated. All the basic components of a martial art are included in the practice of Yawara, such as balance, momentum and leverage, combined with the variants of timing and strength. Therein lies the essence of JuJitsu, extreme gentleness balanced by a potentially severe destructiveness, which requires a student's utmost concentration and attention to detail.

Don’t be mislead into believing that Yawara techniques are rather benign. Every Yawara technique contains elements that can be developed into very devastating techniques of self-defense.

To the beginner, Yawara teaches the relation between physical movement and mental intention. An action is no longer an isolated process, it involves the whole body. It is a process that has the potential to create both emotional and physical unity with an opponent, a prerequisite for the most efficient conflict management.

To be clear, the basic list of Yawara is not intended to be a complete hand defense system. It is a foundation for further study that can add a hundred variations or more to each basic move. It is the principle that is to be mastered, not just the mere mechanical motions, before one can develop an effective system of self-defense.

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