Pros/Cons

[Ryan213]

What are the pros and cons of a swordsman studying jodo ?

[Berugijin]

The only contra I can think of is that you have less time to study kendo :) I'm seriously considering taking up iaido for a couple of reasons:



Once heard that kendo and iaido were "one package" or something like that.
Some sensei once said that one cannot excel in one without the other.
A lot of kendo sensei (5th dan and up) also have dan degrees in iaido.
Hope it improves my kendo kata
Get more 'feeling' of a real sword
Anyone here study both kendo and iaido? Has the one improved your skill in the other? If so, in what way?

[Hank]

The only contra I can think of is that you have less time to study kendo :) I'm seriously considering taking up iaido for a couple of reasons:





Once heard that kendo and iaido were "one package" or something like that.
Some sensei once said that one cannot excel in one without the other.
A lot of kendo sensei (5th dan and up) also have dan degrees in iaido.
Hope it improves my kendo kata
Get more 'feeling' of a real sword
Anyone here study both kendo and iaido? Has the one improved your skill in the other? If so, in what way?I've been taking iaido for a while and kendo for six months. I don't think kendo improves my iaido and I can't really comment about iaido improving my kendo since I have no comparison, but I suspect it has made the beginning in kendo easier as I know how to strike and I know the general stance. Basically I'm not advanced enough to see any synergy yet.


One con is, like you said, that taking both dilutes my practice time for each, but I wouldn't stop either of them. There is a jodo class locally that I can go to as well, but I have convinced myself that iaido and kendo is enough for right now.



Hank.

[Optomitrist]

I learned about the sword before I learn kendo. It gave me a better feel for what I was doing in kendo. the grip used, ect. I have also heard you need to have a complete understanding, which can be found doing both iaido and kendo

[ky0zero]

What are the pros and cons of a swordsman studying jodo ?

What do you want to get out of by studying a martial art?

[Pan-Chan]

The only contra I can think of is that you have less time to study kendo :) I'm seriously considering taking up iaido for a couple of reasons:



Once heard that kendo and iaido were "one package" or something like that.
Some sensei once said that one cannot excel in one without the other.
A lot of kendo sensei (5th dan and up) also have dan degrees in iaido.
Hope it improves my kendo kata
Get more 'feeling' of a real sword
Anyone here study both kendo and iaido? Has the one improved your skill in the other? If so, in what way?

Iaido definitely helps you excel in Kendo, and I've heard sayings like those, too. The first thing I noticed about my Kendo after starting Iaido was that my strikes had become much, MUCH more straight.(I wouldn't consider them very straight in comparrison to others', though ^^;)

Since Iaido is all kata, it developes your ability to get into that 'dueling mindset' that enables you to think of the kata seriously very easily; it carries over to Kendo very nicely I've found.

Anyways yeah, go for it.

As for Jodo, I seriously doubt it would have any ill effects on your Kendo. My sempai at my Iaido class is a godan in Jodo, and has even given my sensei a few lessons in it. It is all kata as well, so I can't see it being a bad thing, it would probably help you out.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Aden]

Jodo/Kendo

Pros - practice of jodo helps your understanding of mai - it gives additional 2 person kata practice - gives practice in a different sort of control - shows you different things with techiques drawn from sword / spear / staff / naginata. Can definitely help your understanding of what lies behind kendo. Some techniques like makiotoshi are directly transferable, and the soutai striking practice of jo on bokken is a very helpfull training aid.

Cons - can seriously cut into your kendo training time :). Depending on jo style one major consideration is the effect on stance, footwork and bodymovement - since it comes from the ZNKR seitei jo is very similar in these to kendo and poses no problems, the classical SMR jo it came from is not so similar, being a much more kesa cutting, not parallel feet, standing at an angle kind of art - so ideally you should be well set in your kendo before adding SMR to your repetoire. In my case my kendo is now very circular :) as koryu jo has excacerbated my natural tendencies.

Seriously though, it hinges on what you are doing kendo for - jo is not really helpfull for the competition / sport / fitness side of shinai kendo, for most kendo people with a limited time budget the time would be better spent on other things that would improve your kendo more, in particular, more kendo. For me regular jo training pretty well coincided with my giving up kendo copetitions and regular visits to other kendo dojos.

Aden

[Ric Flinn]

I got into the arts in a backwards order, I started with iai about 5 or 6 years ago, then added jo a few years later, and now I've also been doing kendo for about 2 years. Aden did a good job of comparing/contrasting jo and kendo. I will say that I picked up kendo more rapidly than most because of its similarity with iai, and I'm certain that they have helped each other. Jo maybe would be less helpful on its own, but many of the body mechanics are similar, and also remember, half of each jo kata is done with a sword, and good sword mechanics are a must.