Jo as a prefered weapon

[SiouxDogEater]

Hi,

I have just recently begun training in Ninjitsu (about one month). I am being taught by a former Ninjitsu teacher/trainer. I have a lot of one on one time and he is very versed in the five scrolls (earth, wind, water, fire, void) and is a skilled swordsman. He says i tend to work naturally out of the water scroll. What I like about him is that he wants me to work through the other scrolls and become equal in each. NOt letting one dominate the other so to be more balanced.

I was watching some work he was doing with a Jo and noticed that the Jo can be used with no biasis. Meaning, it can be used as it's own self... a Jo. But it can also be used likie a sword, staff, yawara and so on. To me this is a balanced weapon. I really like the Jo from what I have seen.

Can any of you tell me your thoughts on this. As a beginner I am interested in what the veterans think.

Thank you!
SiouxDogEater

[m.artist]

the only thing i don't like about the jo staff is that it is too short for my tastes. i like the bo staff because of it's range power and speed. the jo is obviously faster due to it being shorter. so you have found a weapon you like that's great. keep with it. you can use it as a cane and when someone tries to mug you you have a great short range weapon that your experianced with right at your disposal

[SiouxDogEater]

Thanks for the info. I know that being a noobie, I will probably have a lot of things catch my eye. It may be too early to try to name my weapon of choice. Especially with so little training. However, I do want to begin to know some of the weapons that are out there.

Another reason I may choose the Jo is because of it's size. It is kind of a sleeper weapon. Not a lot of people look at a stick as a real weapon. I will of course need to check out the bow staff. Along with other weapons that I may prefer as continue to train.

Again, thanks for the feedback.
SiouxDogEater

[Hikage]

good observation on the JO. U are absolutely correct in your observation of its versatility. It is short enough to be used inthe same manner as a hanbo, cane, or even wakazashi (I can't spell). However, at the same time it is large enough to be used similar to a sword (minus teh obvious sharp, pointy edge) or even a bo. The nice thing is these can be in teh form of walking sticks that noe one will ever question you for carrying. Also they are found in things like mops, brooms, etc.. all sorts of things that are readily available.

U are also correct in saying it is too early to know what exactly your "weapon" will be. I have gone from saying that my "weapon" is the hanbo, then to the cane, then the escrimia stick, then the knife, then teh jo, back to the hanbo, then the bo, then the sword, ... it just changes to whichever weapon I'm currently spending the most time on. It'll take a good 20-30 years to really find a weapoin that is "yours."

The jo is really good at demonstrating who really knows what's up in ninjitsu. The techniques in ninjitsu with a stick and with your hands. Ninjitsu, being such a precise art, forces you to be correct on all your angles, body positioning, and balance. You may get away with doing a technique incorrectly but still taking the man down, but the stick will tell on you because it won't work and you won't know why. It's always good to pick up the stick to see where your flaws are and to work the kinks out. We use it often for 2nd and 3rd dan tests -- because if the student can do the techniques with teh stick, there is no need to see his hands becuase you know he (or she) knows where he's going.

-Hikage

PS> You're sensei should be praised for forcing you to work in the other elements.

[Tiger Claw]

I perfer the bo staff as well. I perfer a knife over a bo staff. I can carry a knife just about anywheres except my school. I am armed with a knife at my job as well. It is just more pratical for defense. For the fun factor I think a bo staff would be my favorite. It is pratical too. You my find a object that resembles one in a fight. Unless you got a ninja kit, but the cops may think it is a rape kit .

[m.artist]

my weapon(i think, or am rather sure and hope) is the katana. i like the knife as it is legal and effective. you won't see too many people walking around carrying bo staffs or katanas' much but it still help to learn the techniques. morihie ueshiba said " the sword is the soul of a warrior, and when a warrior holds a sword he is holding his soul, and is therefore fighting with all of his heart and soul" and to be able to become profficient with a weapon of such honor,it's amazing. and once you have the skills of the katana, you can use thsoe skills to help you overcome many things. and you don't have to be even carrying a sword around. you can use the sword techniques, with a knife, or a bo or a jo. or even bare handed. that's what i like about the katana. alot of people don't give it enough credit because it's a weapon, and it cant be carried let alone used, i was reading the biography(sorta) about a samurai named ryoma, who was a master of his sword style, but could take on any challenger weapon or not. and it's because of his skills with a weapon that allowed him to posses such superior skills. i think all ma training should include weapons training, if nto do a martial arts specifically about a weapon(i.e kendo,kenjutsu,iaido) or something like that. every fighter/ma's/ civilian could benifit from the training of weapons. even if they can't be used. you like the jo staff. that could open up a whole new world to you as far as martial arts are concerned.learn the jo, which can just about be used at any time, and go with that. i hope you like what you study. have fun

[Toudiyama[NL]]

the jo was specificaly developed against the katana, it is slightly longer because of that

[m.artist]

i've heard that as well. and i have also heard of many fights involving samurais and masters with the bo, but it seems to depend on the level of skill with the weapon that determines the outcome, not the actual weapon. and an expierianced person with a katana should be able to cut thru a jo fairly easily. but like i said it all depends on the skill level, not the weapon itself

[Hikage]

TO add to what M.artist is saying -- to counter having people cut through their bo's, warriors began to inlay metal into their bo around the 17th centuries.

-Hikage

[m.artist]

i figured that was what they did. it would make sense but it would take away flexibility.but if it helped..

[Hikage]

I was just reading Dave Lowry's "Jo: Art of the Japanese Short Staff" as this thread began and there is a section of his book that he would use to add to this discussion if he were present. So, I guess i'll represent him.. I apologize for quoting such a long passage.

-Hikage

With a weapon like the jo in his hands, the budoka is suddenly faced with all sorts of details, most of which he never before considered. How deos he carry it safely in the dojo? How should he bow and move around with it when not actually training? What kind of distance is necessary for the jo to be effective? All of these questions (which he may have neglected to ask in training empty handed) suddenly add new significance to the fundamentals of his art. Engaged in practice, a similarly beneficial situation arises. With the jo, the student soon becomes absorbed with problems of the weapon's trajectory, the exact location of its targets, correct intervals; all things he often overlooks in his regular training. Practice with the jo brings him face to face with these considerations and causes him to investigate their importance at a more intense level than he otherwise might.

Then too, there is a certain undeniable seriousness that enters the dojo when a weapon is in use there. This alone is ample rationale for jo training. If the budo are not perceived and pursued as a means of seishi o choetsu (confronting the fear of life and death), then they are reduced to the level of an inconsequential exercise. Although it should obvious that every precaution be taken and danger avoided, the possibility of danger is absolutely crucial to the education of the budoka. He must face the critical realization that a mistake on his part or his partner's, unlike errors made in sports, cannot be "fixed whith a "whoops, sorry." Even a fractional miscalculation made with the jo, whether one is attacking or receiving an attack, can be fatal. Such a realization will hone his reflexes and his spirit, and bring the budoka to a more solid comprehension of what the budo are all about.

With a jo in his grip, the budoka can begin to gain some sense of the values and life-style of the classical bugeisha that preceded him. He is enabled at the same time to achieve a greater awareness of the fullest goals of his modern budo, and of the responsibilities and power that are inherent within all of them. The practice of the jo spans the entire epoch of the traditional Japanese martial arts and Ways, from the time of the ancient warriors until the present.

-Dave Lowry