Jodo (Japanese:杖術), or Jojutsu, is a Japanese martial art using staves (jo), similar to bojutsu, in defense against the Japanese sword. The jo staff is usually about 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) long, about the average length of a walking stick. However the art was not used, as one might fancifully imagine, by travelers to ward off aggressive bandits or swordsmen, but was the province of professional warriors. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Bojutsu (棒術) is the martial art of using a staff weapon called bo (abbreviation of roku-shaku-bo (six-shaku-staff), a shaku being close to one foot long). ... Katana of the 16th or 17th Century, with its saya. ... A jo (Japanese: 杖 jō) is an approximately four-foot (1. ... A walking stick (or two) is a tool used by many people to ease pressure on the legs when walking. ...

Origin

Jojutsu is reputed to have been invented by the great swordsman Muso Gonnosuke about 400 years ago, after a bout won by the legendary Miyamoto Musashi. According to this tradition, Gonnosuke challenged Musashi using a bo, or long staff, a weapon he was said to wield with great skill. Although there are no records of the duel outside of the oral tradition of the Shinto Muso Ryu, it is believed that Musashi caught Gonnosuke's bo in a two sword "X" block (juji dome). Once in this position, Gonnosuke could not prevent Musashi from delivering a counterattack, and Musashi elected to spare his life. Gonnosuke then withdrew to a Shinto shrine to meditate. After a period of purification, meditation, and training, Gonnosuke claimed to have received a divine vision. By shortening the length of the bo staff from roughly 185 cm to 128 cm (or, in the Japanese measurements, four shaku, two sun and one bu), he could increase the versatility of the weapon, giving him the ability to use techniques created for the long staff, spearfighting and swordsmanship. The length of the new weapon was longer than the tachi long sword of the period, but short enough to allow the reversal of the striking end of the jo in much tighter quarters than a bo staff. Gonnosuke could alter the techniques he used with the jo stick, depending on the opponent he faced, to provide himself with many different options of attack. He named his style Shintō Musō-ryū and challenged Musashi again. This time, when Musashi attempted to use the juji dome block on the jo staff, Gonnosuke was able to wheel around the other end of the staff (because of the reduced length), forcing Musashi into a position where he had to concede defeat. Returning the courtesy he received during their previous duel, Gonnosuke spared Musashi's life. This may be a fabricated origin of the creation of jojutsu, as the oral tradition of the Shinto Muso-Ryu is the only mention of this duel, or for that matter, a person defeating Musashi in combat. Witness accounts of Musashi's life, as well as his own writings, insist he retired from dueling undefeated. What is known, however, is that Gonnosuke eventually became the martial arts instructor for the Kuroda clan of northern Kyushu, where Jojutsu remained an exclusive art of the clan until the early 1900s, when the artform was taught to the general public. Muso Gonnosake by unknown artist Musô Gonnosuke Katsukichi (夢想權之助勝吉) was a samurai and the traditional founder of the Koryu school of jojutsu known as Shintō Musō-ryÅ« (神道夢想流/神道無想流). He is perhaps most famous for his duels with the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. ... Miyamoto Musashi killing a nue, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). ... Bo or BO may be: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (AAR reporting mark BO) Belarus, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram (BO) Bouraq Indonesia Airlines IATA code(BO) Bo is the evil aspect of Voodoo practice Bo is a common Scandinavian forename (male) meaning to live or stay and... Shinto (Kanji: 神道 Shintō) (sometimes called Shintoism) is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. ... Tachi forged by Bishu Osafune Sukesada, 12th year of the Eishô era, a day in February (1515, Muromachi). ... For an account of the Steven Spielberg film, see Duel (movie). ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyushu (九州 kyÅ«shÅ«) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ...

The modern study of the jo, known as Jodo (way of the stick), has essentially two branches. One is the koryu, or "old school" Jodo, which also incorporates other arts and weapons, such as the short staff (tanjo), the chained sickle (kusarigama), the police truncheon (jitte), and a lesser-known art called Hojojutsu, the art of tying up one's opponent after subduing him. All of these point to Jodo's strong connections to law-enforcement, which is probably what it was originally used for. The other branch is called Seitei Jodo, which is practiced by the Japanese Kendo Federation (ZNKR) in conjunction with Kendo, the art of Japanese fencing, and Iaido, the art of drawing and cutting with a real blade. Seitei Jodo starts with 12 kata (or "forms") which are drawn from the koryu system. After mastering these 12 kata the student continues with the study of the koryu. Tanjo is a short japanese walking stick also known as tanbo. ... Kusarigama at Iwakuni Castle Kusari-gama is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of kama (Japanese for sickle) on a metal chain with a heavy iron weight at the end. ... Shotokan Kata: Jitte (Ten Hands) Jiin, Jion and Jitte form a group of katas beginning with the same characteristic kamae, which apparently has roots in ancient Chinese boxing. ... Seitei Jodo, (or Seitei Jo), is a modern form of jodo created by japanese martial artist Shimizu Takaji in 1968. ... Kendo (剣道 Kendō) , which is the modern martial art of Japanese fencing, developed from traditional techniques of Japanese swordsmanship known as kenjutsu. ... Respect due to the sword (To Rei) before and after the practice Iaido (居合道 iaidō) is a sword-based Japanese martial art that trains the motions associated with drawing a katana(刀) from its sheath, striking an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then re-sheathing the katana with smooth, controlled...

Today, jojutsu has also been adapted for use in the Japanese police force, who refer to the art as keijo-jutsu, or police stick art.

See also

• Stick fighting
• Aikido - Martial art that incorporates jo training. Note that this is not the jo training practiced in Jodo.
• Shinto Muso-ryu

Stick fighting is a generic term for any of several martial arts which employ a small staff, cane or walking stick as a blunt hand weapon. ... Aikido (合気道 Aikidō, also 合氣道 in an older style of kanji), literally meaning joining energy way, is a gendai budo — a modern Japanese martial art. ... Shintō Musō-ryū, or Shindō Musō-ryū, most commonly known as Jodo, is a koryu (old school) of jojutsu, teaching the art of handling the japanese quarterstaff jo. ...

References

• Michael Finn: The Way of the Stick Paul H Crompton, 1984, ISBN 0-901-76472-8
• Pascal Krieger: Jodô - la voie du bâton / The way of the stick (bilingual French/English), Geneva (CH) 1989, ISBN 2-9503214-0-2
• Matsui: Jodo Nyuumon (Japanese, with illustration of all seiteigatas, kihon) Tokyo, 2002, ISBN 4-884-58018-4

Lists of martial arts that include Jodo/Jojutsu

• Aikido
• Hoten-ryu - jojutsu
• Jigen Ryu - jojutsu
• Keijojutsu - jo for Japanese Riot Police
• Kukishin-ryu
• Muhi Muteki-ryu - jojutsu
• Takenouchi-ryu
• Tendo-ryu
• Toda-ha Buko-ryu
• Yamate-ryu

Aikido (合気道 Aikidō, also 合氣道 in an older style of kanji), literally meaning joining energy way, is a gendai budo — a modern Japanese martial art. ... Kukishin Ryu is a samurai school of jujutsu, Yoroi Kumiuchi (Grappling in Samurai armour), kenjutsu, bojutsu, sojutsu, naginatajutsu, juttejutsu, Bo-ryaku (Strategy), and Sui Ren in Ka Ren (Use of water and fire), bajutsu. ... Hinoshita Toride Kaizan Takenouchi Ryū (Japanese: 日下捕手開山竹内流) is one of the oldest, if not the first, jujutsu koryu in Japan. ... Tendo-ryu can refer to the following things: A bujutsu koryu specializing in the use of the naginata. ...

External links

• [1] Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo Website
• http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_taylor_0900.htm
• http://koryu.com/library/wmuromoto1.html
• Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi article in Fight Times magazine
• Jojutsu article in Fight Times magazine