Newb question that shows my MA ignorance...

[kartoffelngeist]

What do you actually do in jodo? :s

Is it only kata, or is there a more 'competitive' hitting type thing, like in kendo?

Sorry...curious...don't know much about other budo...

[WolfofMibu]

i think you mean "dojo" but you do do kata but you also do sparring. depending on the dojo you could do quite a bit.

[kartoffelngeist]

don't think i meant dojo...could be wrong though...

so doesn't sparring hurt? or do you wear armour?

[Alex_McGrady]

What do you actually do in jodo? :s

Is it only kata, or is there a more 'competitive' hitting type thing, like in kendo?

Sorry...curious...don't know much about other budo...

Jodo is the art of fighting/defending with a short staff or a "jo". It has prearranged kata that you do with a partner, much like the kata in kendo. Also, your partner usues a bokken to symbolize an attack with a sword, you defend with the jo. If you and your partner are into the kata practice pretty serious, it can hurt getting hit but these hits should be controlled, of course.

There is no jodo competition like tournaments, simply kata. You can gain rank by showing the etiquette, "rei-gi" and the kata. This is much like Iaido. For example, my Iaido sensei, is 7th dan in Iaido, 6th Dan in Kendo and 6th dan in Jodo. All three of this arts have a section under the kendo federation.

It's fun, check it out if you can.

Alex

[kartoffelngeist]

yeah, there's jodo practice before kendo, so i normally sit and watch the last 5 or 10 mins...just wondered if that was kata evening or if that's all it is...

might give it a try some day...

[satsumaruma]

This is hard to write down but a piece of piddle to tell you about - but hey I will have a go.

Jodo in the Uk seems to be mostly done at Dojos who also do Iai and/or kendo. I may be wrong but I believe that such Jodo practice is always done as Kata - this is the case within the BKA. Of course not all Jodo will be practiced within the auspices of the BKA so there may well be some dojo's who 'spar' with it.

I have many friends who do Aikido and JuJutsu and they also use the Jo within their practice. This again is often as kata but from what I gather they do use the Jo 'freestyle' on occasion. This seems to be done against an unarmed opponent so that they can practice their Aikido techniques against someone armed with a weapon.

Hope this made some sense.

Lee

[andrew_kumdo]

i think you mean "dojo" but you do do kata but you also do sparring. depending on the dojo you could do quite a bit.
no he didnt mean "dojo" he meant "jodo" the martial art.. why do you think he posted it on the jodo forums and not the faq..

[ScottUK]

i think you mean "dojo"Was that deliberate? I nearly fell of my chair... :)

[Niten Ninja]

This is an odd question, but one I've been curious about for a while. Why has no one created competitive version of jojutsu or bojutsu, in a similiar way to kendo or naginata?

[Aden]

There is competition jo in ZNKR (seitei) jodo, pairs perform kata (like the kendo kata competitions for you kendo types..) against each other. What is not there is a safety weapon free sparring / shiai version like shinai kendo or atarashi naginata.

As to why, I don't know - possibly (and anyone else with any idea please correct me...)

ZNKR and (at the omote level) SMR jo are both essentially jo vs katana not jo vs jo so 1 on 1 sparring in competition is not appropriate?

Mass weapons by their nature are not really as suited to having a non heavy version as cutting weapons? Doing kuritsuke with a shinai equivalent seems to invite shattered slats.....

Aden

[Niten Ninja]

I hadn't considered that. Perhaps it is also harder t judge a winner. A hit with a sword or naginata is a more definite kill than with a jo.

[Nakura]

This is an odd question, but one I've been curious about for a while. Why has no one created competitive version of jojutsu or bojutsu, in a similiar way to kendo or naginata?

One of the similarities between kendo and naginata, is that one end of each weapon represents the blade and as such is not a part that you're supposed to touch. The whole advantage of the jo is that you can slide it through your hands--rather awkward when wearing kote; also, if the jo kept splintering the way shinai do, your hand would soon turn into a pincushion of splinters--and use either end to attack/defend. Basically, I think it's a matter of it being impractical; otherwise it would have been done long ago.

[John Seavitt]

This is an odd question ... no one created competitive version of jojutsu or bojutsu ...

Hmm. Probably easier to wonder why anyone bothered to create competitive versions of koryu sword and naginata. You figure that the primary pedagogy in most historically known koryu was kata (and going out there and not being skewered). Sure, as time went by and the emphasis turned to dueling instead of battlefield engagements, some schools picked up the use of kote, fukuro shinai, and whatnot (providing some sort of equipment basis for later kendo). Heavens knows what students were up to on their own time, too, with those nonleathal duels in the records.

Regardless, it seems to me that one of the primary basis for the formation of organized kendo was to preserve "traditional culture" as imagined by some folks who saw the rise of European influence all around them. "We'll get all the schoolkids doing this!" I don't see any rush to revitalize western jousting competitions, say, 'cause that stuff's plain dangerous. Kendo and atarashi naginata - they've got nice safe shinai and the bogu protects the relevant targets. Easier to make one system, and try to spread it around with the government's backing ...

John