Jodo
Introduction
The jo (4ft staff) is the second weapon taught at the Academy. It is taught alongside unarmed techniques during the green, brown and shodan phases.At the core of our jo method are a series of 20 basic techniques called “suburi”. We have retained these from aikijo (the jo method of the art of aikido) as we find them to be a comprehensive catalogue of the different deflections, strikes and sweeps that one can make using the jo.
Added to this are 9 “kumijo” (literally “an encounter with jos”) – 2 person combat drills that apply the suburi in a dynamic, effective environment. These drills are modeled on traditional kumijo from various schools but are, in the end, the Academy's own creation. They are the result of almost 30 years of martial training, combi
ning the features of aikijo, tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu, the arts of Chen Pan Ling, and many other armed and unarmed disciplines.
Importantly, unlike many other 2 person drills taught in relation to the jo and other weapons, the drills “loop”: that is to say, they can be practised continuously without end. The practical result of this is that in each drill both sides use the same sequence. The sequences are also short (between 6 to 10 movements), making them easy to learn.
Contents of the syllabus
- Jo suburi (basics) 1-20
- Kumijo 1- 9 (2 person drills based on the suburi)
- Jusan jo kata (13 count solo and 2 person form)
- Sanjuichi jo kata (31 count solo form)
