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Old 08-09-2005, 05:24 PM   #39
Brion Toss
Dojo: Aikido Port Townsend
Location: Port Townsend, Wa.
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 104
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Re: "blocking" with japanese sword

Regarding the jo-blocking-sword idea, yes it is obviously true that if you present a firmly-held piece of wood for someone to swing at with a katana (or even better, swing it so that it actually collides with the edge of the simultaneously-swung katana), you will likely end up with two pieces of wood. But I don't know why anyone would even think of doing such a thing, except out of ignorance or delusion. That's why, as I understand it at least, jo parries tend towards deflections, not blocks, and those deflections are calculated to get the contact point away from the cutting edge. Heck, even another jo might well be able to break a jo held firmly, like in the overhead-with-both-hands position mentioned above (which is actually a deflection for a tsuki attack in most circumstances, I believe).
It seems likely, considering the source, that the practices of Aiki ken and jo have some reasonable underpinnings; if Aikidoka tend to be lousy with weapons, it might just be because they have lost contact with the principles that need to inform their motions.
Yours,
Brion Toss
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