Jodo, 2/21/09

Today, I had a Jodo lesson with Pat in lieu of our regular Aikido class. This was my first Jodo lesson, and I gotta say I really enjoyed it. I don't know if I'll find the time to study Shindo Muso Ryu / Jodo regularly, but I wish I could. Pat says it's a great compliment to Aikido, and can refine one's Aikido. That, I'm definitely interested in. And it's just plain fun, too.

We started out with 4 basic bokken strikes (from kendo). Men, a strike to the head when your opponent drops his sword to your left. Kote, a strike to the wrist when he drops his sword to your right. Do, a strike to the side of his abdomen if he raises his bokken to strike. Finally, tsuke, a thrust to stick guy's throat, in response the the same motion.

Next we worked on honteuchi, one of the basic strikes with the jo (normal grip strike).

Finally I learned the first of the seitei kata in Jodo - tsukezue ("the reaching stick").

Some things I need to remember:

• Keep my shoulders square, particularly when lifting the jo to strike.
• The top hand lifts, the bottom hand strikes, and the top hand catches (stops the falling motion of the weapon).
• The hands should work in conjunction with the foot steps while performing their specific roles. This is hard to explain, but I'll try, because I'll need to refer to this later. I'll use the bokken strike for an example. When the bokken is overhead, right hand higher on the handle than the left hand, as the left foot pushes the step forward, the left hand supplies the force for the strike (not a ton of force, just enough). As the right foot "catches" or stops the forward step, the right hand catches the weapon and stops the motion from the strike. As the right foot pushes the step backward, the right hand lifts the bokken overhead again.

Some important things for me to remember about this: 1) the "same hand, same foot" principle from Aikido applies here, and 2) When one hand is not doing something (the left hand, in the case of lifting the bokken), that's a good opportunity to make any corrections needed in the grip. In fact, I found myself almost letting go with the "inactive" hand, to start training my hands to each do their own job.

One other note: I realize the kanji in the picture at the top of this post has nothing to do with Jodo or SMR. It's actually Japanese for "Mercy, Grace, or Kindness". It's the inscription burned into the jo I got from Kingfisher Woodworks. The main reason I chose this inscription was to remind me once again, that I need (and have received) much mercy, grace, and kindness, and to remind me to be merciful, gracious, and kind. The other reason is that I found it pleasantly ironic to have that meaning on a weapon.