Hard and soft techniques (original) (raw)

In martial arts, the terms hard and soft technique denote how forcefully a defender martial artist counters the force of an attack in armed and unarmed combat. In the East Asian martial arts, the corresponding hard technique and soft technique terms are 硬 (Japanese: gō, pinyin: yìng) and 柔 (Japanese: jū, pinyin: róu), hence Goju-ryu (hard-soft school), Shorinji Kempo principles of go-ho ("hard method") and ju-ho ("soft method"), Jujutsu ("art of softness") and Judo ("gentle way").