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What is
Jodo?
What is the history of Jodo?
What is koryu or kobudo?
What is the difference between kobudo (old martial arts) and shinbudo
(new martial arts)?
What equipment does Jodo use?
What is the Jodo uniform?
What is the curriculum?
What are the Jodo ranks?
Is there sparring in Jodo?
Can Jodo be used in self
defense?
What kind of
exercise can I expect doing Jodo?
Where can I read more about
Jodo?
Where can I buy weapons?
What can I expect to learn in a beginner’s 8-week county parks and
recreation Jodo class?
Do I need to learn Japanese for the beginners’ 8-week county parks and
recreation course?
What are the teacher expectations for the beginners’ 8-week county parks
and recreation class?
What is the basic
dojo etiquette for Jodo?
Are there different types
of Jodo?
What is Jodo?
Jodo is a 400-year martial art from Japan. It
focuses on using a wooden stick against a sword. The full name of the
art is Shinto Muso-ryu
jo.
What is
the history of Jodo?
It was founded in the early 17th century (about
1605) by Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, an exponent of Tenshin Shoden Katori
Shinto-ryu. Shinto Muso-ryu oral tradition maintains that Gonnosuke once
fought Miyamoto Musashi, one of the most famous swordsmen of the time,
with a staff (bo) in a training match and was defeated by Musashi’s
cross-block (jujidome) technique.
According to legend, Gonnosuke was dissatisfied
with this outcome and retired to Mt. Homan, in what is now Fukuoka
Prefecture, in Kyushu, where he engaged in a series of religious
austerities, all the while contemplating the reasons for his defeat.
Finally, he received "divine" inspiration about a new method of using a
staff-like weapon, making it shorter (50 1/4") and thinner (7/8") for
more rapid manipulation. He devised a number of techniques for this new
weapon, which he called a stick (jo) (as opposed to staff or bo), that
included the use of the thrust (tsuki) of a spear, strike (utsu) of a
sword and staff and sweep (harai) of a naginata. Factual documents of
the style (ryu) are quite rare. It is said that there is a record at
Tsukuba Shrine, in Ibaragi Prefecture, that reports that Gonnosuke was
able to defeat Musashi in a rematch. This story is not recorded
elsewhere, however, outside fictional novels, and may not be factual.
(Source:
http://www.shinto-muso-ryu.org/)
Details of Muso Gonnoske and Jodo can be found at
http://www.koryu.com/library/wmuromoto1.html
What is koryu
or kobudo?
Koryu means “old” school or classical Japanese
martial arts. Shinbudo or “new” martial arts is used to describe modern
martial arts.
What is the difference between kobudo (old martial arts) and shinbudo
(new martial arts)?
The easiest definition is the date of 1876 when the
act prohibiting the wearing of swords (Haitorei) was instituted. Any art
developed before 1876 is considered a killing art for combat but
martial arts developed after that date are more for self development.
However, this is by no means a complete and clear distinction and
continues to be controversial. For more information see
http://www.koryu.com/koryu.html
What
equipment does Jodo use?
Jodo uses primarily two weapons: 1) a wooden stick
or “jo” which is 50 1/4 in. long, and 15/16 in diameter, 2) and a
wooden sword or “bokken”. These weapons are the focus of Jodo and cover
about 90% of the forms. There are additional weapons such as the
short stick (tanjo) and sickle and chain (kusarigami) and metal short
stick (jutte). These additional weapons comprise a small part of
training and are only learned after many years in the art after most of
the jo techniques are covered. Live blades or training blades (iato) are
not used for training.
What is the
Jodo uniform?
The uniform is the traditional indigo blue top seen
in kendo dojos and the black skirt or hakama. Uniforms are recommended
for long term serious students only.
What is the
curriculum?
There are a total of 64 techniques in Shinto
Muso-ryu jo that are divided into a number of sets, each with a
different character. Training is systematic and develops the exponent’s
technical skills and psychological abilities, from body movement and
weapons handling to the proper use of timing, targeting, and distancing,
and intense mental or spiritual training, all to enable the exponent to
use the weapon successfully in mortal combat. Also included in the
curriculum of the Shinto Muso-ryu jo are twelve techniques of
swordsmanship called Shinto-ryu kenjutsu. There are also several
separate arts that have been assimilated into the curriculum, including
Uchida-ryu tanjojutsu, Ikkaku-ryu juttejutsu, Isshin-ryu kusarigamajutsu,
and Ittatsu-ryu hojojutsu. (Source:
http://www.shutokukan.org/arts.html)
What are the
Jodo ranks?
There are no ranks in a the modern sense: green
belt, yellow best etc. Kobudo does not have ranks used in many martial
arts today. You are simply a student or a teacher. When students train
you simply say what your last technique is and train up until that
point.
There are levels of recognition in Shinto Muso-ryu
jo. They are okuiri-sho, sho-mokuroku, go-mokuroku, menkyo and menkyo
kaiden. Menkyo kaiden is the style’s highest certification and only
people at this level are legally qualified to teach and promote
exponents of Shinto Muso-ryu jo.
Is there
sparring in Jodo?
There is no sparring in Jodo. The focus is on
prearranged forms with a partner. One person uses the jo and the other
uses the bokken.
Can
Jodo be used in self defense?
Yes and no. people in today’s world do not carry
swords so the first answer is “No.” In addition this art is taught in a
traditional manner and does not cover modern self defense scenarios: “A
guy comes up behind you in a dark alley, what do you do?” By training
in this classical style the by-product is you can use any long object
(umbrella, mop handle etc) and disable an opponent with strikes to the
head and body. That is an outcome of training but not the objective.
What kind of
exercise can I expect doing Jodo?
Jodo training is best considered as low-impact
aerobic activity. It is not 70-80% your maximum heart rate for 20
minutes. However, you will feel the effects of training and benefit from
increased endurance, strength, and flexibility.
Where
can I read more about Jodo?
A very comprehensive jodo reading list is on the
koryu site at
http://www.koryu.com/guide/muso.html
Where can I
buy weapons?
Traditional weapons are only recommended for
serious students after they have been doing it awhile. Traditional white
oak weapons can be bought in Baltimore at Kiyota Co Inc at 2326 N
Charles St Baltimore, MD 21218 tel:410 - 366 - 8275. Please call to
confirm hours. Recommended online shop is
http://www.kingfisherwoodworks.com/
What can I expect to learn in a beginner’s 8-week county parks and
recreation Jodo class?
The class will cover three elements: 1) physical
movement of jodo, 2) dojo etiquette, and 3) Japanese culture.
Specifically the beginners’ class covers the first twelve basic
movements of Jodo called “keehon.”
Do I need to learn Japanese for the beginners’ 8-week county parks and
recreation course?
No, it is not required. If you do the art for an
extended period, you will pick up basic Japanese commands and words.
What are the teacher expectations for the beginners’ 8-week county parks
and recreation class?
Think of the beginners’ class as an introduction
into the art. It is okay to come late and it is okay to miss a few
classes and return. The beginners’ class is not a weed out process for
serious student but rather an opportunity to learn something new and
have a good time doing it. If this is something that captures your
interest and prompts you to study long term, then we can discuss the
next level of expectations.
What is the basic
dojo etiquette for Jodo?
Please bow when you enter and leave the dojo.
Please do not lean on the jo and do not step over any weapons when they
are on the ground. More etiquette will be covered later.
Are
there different types of Jodo?
There is only one complete jo system and it is
called Shinto Muso-ryu
jo. That is the koryu version that will be taught
in this class.
A wooden staff is part of many martial arts
including aikido. In those arts the jo is an auxiliary weapon with
limited forms.
Some people know Zen-ken jodo which is an
abbreviated form of Shinto Muso-ryu
jo developed after WWII to popularize
the art in Japan. It takes 12 techniques out of the 64 technique
curriculum. This abbreviated form is taught in kendo dojos world wide.
More information on this at
http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_taylor_0900.htm
Within martial arts like karate or aikido there are
different branches from the original style under a headmaster. For
example in Aikido the original line is Akikai under Ueshiba's son and
there are branches such as Ki Aikido under Tohei Sensei and Yoshinakn
Aikido under Gozo Shioda Sensei. Shinto Muso-ryu
jo does not have a headmaster and also does not have official
branches of the art. The last headmaster Takaji Shimizu Sensei died
in early 1978 without naming a successor. At that time the oldest
practitioner, Otofuji Sensei, was running the original school in Kyushu
and became the defacto head of the art. He died in 1998. Today there
remains no headmaster but simply large jodo schools run by the senior
students of Shimizu Sensei and Otofuji Sensei. These teachers include
but are not limited to Kaminoda Sensei, Nishioka Sensei, and Matsumura
Sensei. Phil Relnick Sensei is one of the oldest direct foreign students
of Shimizu Sensei. He leads the US organization together with Nishioka
Sensei. Quintin Chambers Sensei is also one of the eldest direct students of
Shimizu Sensei and is part of the Relnick/Nishioka organization in the
US.
A biography of Takaji Shimizu Sensei can be found
at
http://www.fej.ch/en/shintomusoryu.htm
A biography of Nishioka Sensei can be found at
http://www.jodojo.com/sensei.html |