In jodo (杖道), or the way of the staff, we use a staff to defend ourselves against an opponent with a sword. The staff, or jo (杖) as it is called in Japanese, is traditionally made of Japanese white oak and is about 128 cm long. The style of jodo we practice is part of a martial arts school called Shintō Musō-ryū (神道夢想流). It was developed around the beginning of the 17th century by the samurai Musō Gonnosuke.
According to the story, Musō Gonnosuke was defeated by the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. Gonnosuke then retreated and meditated on the loss for a while, which is when he developed a set of techniques for the jo staff. After that, the stories diverge, with some within Shintō Musō-ryū saying that Gonnosuke won their next duel with the new techniques he developed, while others say that Musashi never lost without the second match ending in a draw.
Within Shintō Musō-ryū, people also train with weapons other than the staff. Over time, the school has incorporated tanjo (short staff), kenjutsu (sword against sword), kusarigama (slash with chain), jutte (police weapon) and hojōjutsu (how to tie up prisoners).
Begin practice
For beginners, we focus on coordination and body control by practicing basic techniques (kihon) that show how to use the staff. These can be practiced individually (tandoku) or against a partner with a sword (sotai). We start calmly on our own and then try to develop our skills against someone with a wooden sword. The training then becomes more and more like duels – yes, against wooden swords – but always with predetermined patterns (kata).