Basic Description of Aiki Jujutsu
One of the principal features of Aiki Jujutsu in the beginning phases is its emphasis on waiting for an attack to be initiated, thus the system may be considered defensive in nature. The basic system consists of simple kicks, blocks and punches that reflect the traditional jujutsu systems. The main characteristic of Aiki Jujutsu is joint locking and throwing and smooth fluid motion.

Chokushin Aiki Jujutsu consists of, in the main, the following aspects:

The Goho, or Hard System
(Stances, Thrusting, Stepping, Striking, Body Management, Kicking, Punching, Blocking and Kata)

The Juho or Soft System
(Twisting Techniques, Strangling, Eluding, Breaking & Dislocations, Pinning, Kata, Throwing, Aspects of the Ken and Jo, The Five Principles, Reference Technique Variations)

Aiki
The exercises of Ki development (unifying of mind and body). The study of circularity and convergence of forces and their application to the physical concepts.

Zen
The study of Zen

Chokushin Aiki Jujutsu is/was a family style martial art of the Tamura family samurai, retainers to the Takeda clan. The Takeda clan in the ancient province of Kai, now known as Aichi, and the location of the modern city of Nagoya in central Japan, were the inheritors of the the Jujutsu system known as Daito Ryu (Great Eastern Style).

The Takeda clan unfortunately backed the losing side in the war of unification in which the Tokugawa shogunate unified Japan. Since the Takeda position became untenable, they were forced to move to the outer reaches of the Japanese empire and hence relocated to Hokkaido. The Tamura family it seems, were allowed to remain and thus continued on in their locale.

Chokushin Aiki Jujutsu is made up of the integration of four martial styles, refined over the years to it's present state.

The four martial schools are:

Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujutsu
Tenshin shinyo Jujutsu
Kito Ryu Jujutsu
Yagyu Ryu Kenjutsu