Jo Tuesday

I got to class a little early and went over my sword katas, I am getting quite familiar with the sword and find the movements naturally flowing into each other. I want to record myself while I do the katas and see if it looks as good as it feels.

With anticipation in the air we did our stretches and warm-ups after which we were ordered to put the mats out. We did front rolls and break falls for about 25 minutes and it was interesting to see how the students have progressed. The falls are getting softer and the rolls are getting longer and we didn’t have any injuries.

We went over to syllabus work and one of the black belt candidates offered to teach me and my partner 4^th kyu and with the Senseis permission we started working with the Jo. The Jo is a short stick, about the length of your forearm. It’s a handy little weapon that is highly concealable and it packs a mean punch together with remarkable manipulation power.

The Jo has three holding positions; the first is an aggressive or ready position is when the Jo is held by one end in an upright position next to the stomach with the elbow tucked in giving the impression of a soldier at attention. The second is a natural or defensive hold with both hands holding both ends of the Jo in front of the groin aria and the third hold is meant for multiple attackers with the Jo in one hand held in the centre of the Jo in a fighting stance.

We tried a couple of blocks and locks with the Jo and it quickly became apparent that this little weapon can quite easily break bone on impact. We experimented a bit more before the Sensei intervened and showed us how he expects us to use the weapon. Each block in its basic form is performed with the defensive hold and with the proper footwork this sets up each lock position on the arm, neck or body.

I really enjoy the Jo and can’t wait to actually have a sparring session with it.

Embrace the shadows.