Different styles of Jo

[Monadnock]

I thought I'd get something started to list various styles of Jo. The jo is a shorter staff than the bo, typically around 4 feet in length, depending on style. If your style utilizes the jo, or similar, please feel free to include it here.

Shinto Muso-ryu (also called Shindo Muso-ryu)
This style was founded by Muso Gonnusuke Katsuyoshi around 1605. The 64 kata deal primarily with an opponent wielding a long sword.

Aiki Jo
This style of Jo is taught as a suppliment to Aikido training to practice Aiki principles using weapons. It was taught by Ueshiba Morihei but does not contain any koryu kata. There are solo kata practiced, often referred to as "31 kata" referencing the 31 moves.

Bujinkan
There is jo work in the Bujinkan, along with rokushakubo and hanbo, mainly attributed to the Kukishin-ryu, but other included ryu may also have jo kata.

I have heard that there may be other koryu systems that utilize the jo as well. Hopefully more users will post about their utilization of this weapon.

 

[Monadnock]

Yanagi-ryu Jo Jutsu
http://www.dojoofthefourwinds.com/curriculum.html

 

[Budo_NJ]

Monadnock,

Can you recommend any good books on Aiki Jo? My dojo teaches the jo but I am unable to attend those classes due to scheduling.

 

[Monadnock]

I can't say I've come across any books on that. Usually the Jo is featured in Aikido books in a Weapons Chapter, along with the Bokuto. Even then, the techniques focus more on Jo-dori and Tachi-dori, taking the weapon from an attacker. I wish I knew of more books that included techniques using the Jo by the Tori. But, even though Uke has the Jo, you will find that the Tori still manipulates the Jo to perform a throw anyways, so defense becomes offense anyways.

Best Aikido the Master Course, vol 2 by Kisshomaru and Moriteru Ueshiba includes some Jo I believe, and there is some great Jo work in the video Living with Nature, with Kisshomaru Ueshiba as well.

I haven't come across any of the 31 kata in book form yet, but there are some websites that show the steps.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[Yari]

Saito also has some videos on Jo work. His books also.

/yari

 

[DavidCC]

Monadnock,

Can you recommend any good books on Aiki Jo? My dojo teaches the jo but I am unable to attend those classes due to scheduling.

here's a couple

Jo: Art of the Japanese Short Staff (Weapons Series)

Jo, the Japanese Short Staff (Unique Literary Books of the World)

 

[Monadnock]

The first book looks like Aiki Jo. (Although Mr. Lowry does practice SMR jo) The second is a book based on Shinto Muso ryu. (how good, I could not verify).

 

[TimoS]

There is also a style called Tauramuso ryu and jojutsu is one of it's components. It is a rather small style, based in Hokkaido, but some people train it here in Europe also (Finland I'm certain about, others that I suspect are Estonia and Italy). I used to practise it, but dropped out after a while, since I was already doing karate in two clubs. The style seems to resemble Shinto Muso ryu jo somewhat, at least based on what I've seen from Shinto Muso ryu pictures (I've never seen it live, so it is likely that I'm wrong). According to official history of Tauramuso ryu there isn't any connection between the two, so it could be a co-incidence and the pictures just looked like what I learned during my brief stay in the style

 

[Saitama Steve]

For koryu bujutsu that have jo in their curriculum, there are quite a few.

Shinto Muso-ryu has already been mentioned on this thread several times. In addition, there's also Muhi Muteki-ryu in Ibaraki prefecture, Tatsumi-ryu in Chiba, Muhen-ryu in Morioka, Shojitsu Kataichi Kenri-ryu in Okayama is primarily a sword school, but has a jojutsu syllabus, Takenouchi-ryu (Takeuchi-ryu) have jojutsu and certain lines of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu have a set of jo kata called Jubei No Jo. Each school uses a jo of different length and design, which is usually individual to the ryuha.