Jodo
Jodo is the art of defeating a sword-armed opponent with
the use of the 4-foot stick (yon shaku jo). The Jo
borrows elements from the arts of the sword (ken), the long staff (bo), the spear (yari) and the halberd (naginata). It uses a
weapon much like that found in some Aikido and Jujutsu schools, but it is used
specifically to defeat the superiorEsword-armed opponent. The sticks used in
these different arts are not quite the same, so the exponent must be careful to
buy the correct weapon, as many martial arts suppliers are unaware of the
differences.
Jodo was invented 1603 by Gonnosuke after he was defeated
in a sword-bout with
the famous Ronin Myamoto Musashi. In the return match, this time armed with a
Jo, Gonnosuke handed Musashi the only defeat in his career. Seitei Jodo is the
standard curriculum of practice used under the ZNKR and was designed initially
for the Tokyo Police in the 1930s. It is loosely based on the old-school
(koryu) styles of ShintoMuso Ryu Jodo which contain hundreds of kata. The great
teacher, Shimizu DaiSensei, intended the Seitei form to be an introduction to
the koryu form. In the 1960s the All-Japan Jodo Federation (ZNJR) was
established as a branch of the All-Japan Sword Federation (ZNKR), and Seitei
Jodo is now referred to as ZenKen Jodo, which has been further modified to
compliment the study of Kendo and the other ZenKen arts.<>Jodo exponents
must learn to handle both the Jo and the wooden sword (bokken). For the sake of
safety, no free-sparring is done, but instead partner training in striking
techniques and kata are studied. Jodo is conducted in the spirit of true combat
even though the kata are designed to be safe. As with any kata-based martial
art, Jodo actually builds a repertoire of combative reflexes and techniques
which in ancient times would save the exponents life in a fight. Every kata is
conducted as if it was a real fight and must never simply be performed like a
dance.
In order to defeat the technically superior sword, the
Jodo exponent must learn to exploit a fine understanding of distance, timing,
targeting and mental control. Exponents of Jodo often have far a superior
understanding of these important points than other martial artists. Jodo is an
excellent additional study for kendo players for precisely this reason. Also,
with a superior understanding of distance (maai) and zanshin, Jodo exponents
usually perform better than Kendo exponents in Kendos own compulsory kata
forms. As with any weapons-based art, Jodo must ONLY be taught by qualified
Dan-grades and cannot be safely or successfully learned from a text-book or
video alone. The NSWKA discourages beginners under the age of 16.