Jo kata

My sensei teaches 10 and 22 move katas but on the internet I've only ever seen 5, 13, and 31. I dont know pretty much anything about Jo technique or anythign really, only used one once. Just I was interested. What am I learning???

Rahmid

Ask your instructor!

I've seen totally different aikido weapons katas coming out of Iwama, Ki Society, Chiba Sensei, Kato Sensei, Kanai Sensei, not to mention that there are some aikido instructors who are also ranked in weapons ryu and may be teaching those in their dojos.

I'll chip in here and say that the three most common ones you're likely to see are Saito Sensei's 13 & 31 jo kata or Tohei Sensei's 22 jo kata.

There are others though.

Mike

In our organization (ASU) I believe there are five that are required for shodan and I'm sure there are more after that. Not sure how they fit into any large scheme, though.

In the ASU, there are 6 basic jo kata. I believe these 6 are there to give you a feeling for the versatility of the jo.

In gassho,

Mark

While I was in Japan, I learned a Jo Kata, although I never counted the moves in it, I did film it a while back:

http://www.shinkikan.com/video/misogiweb.wmv

Aikikai Honbu dojo never really taught weapons when I was there, although I did hear that there was a weapons class, I never saw it on the schedule, nor did I take it. I think they charged extra for it and it was on a Sunday.

I do know that the misogi jo kata does resemble a shinto ritual that is done with a branch; they did it at my wedding and I thought it looked just like the misogi I've seen O'Sensei do in videos.

YO YO!! Let's see I'm having trouble assembling ... ahh yes. There are 8 kumi-jo and 5 jo-ai. The kumi-jo is bokken vs. jo so there's really only four unique jo katas. The jo-ai though, is jo vs. jo and thus, this series has 10 jo katas. The kumi-jo are longer and have single step timing while the fun jo-ai are quick, double time and explore techniques not usually suited for fighting against a sword. I study in Petaluma, CA under Sensei Eric Zmarzly. He studied directly under Sugawara Sensei. The kumi-jo and jo-ai are standards in my school and add a wealth of martial knowledge in training. Different schools,different katas. different styles different katas. Do 13, 31, 8, whatever katas really mean more than another? Who knows? Just get some, do some, change some, get new ones. Relish in the kata. I'm out.

P.S. Wad up to all my peeps up in P-Town . I know u r out there!

Ahh geez I already f---ed up. There's 8 kumi-jo so there's eight freaken jo katas. God, I can be such a dumb@$$ sometimes. Sorry! Late!!

i have only seen (and practiced) 5, 8, 21, and 31 jo kata, 31 is probably the only one (i think) that most aikido branches learn. but hey what do i know im just a white belt!!! haha

Our system has 4 kata's, I think, each required from Shodan testing and beyond. The first one (Kata #1) is 22 movements.
There is one I found on www.videos.google.com for 22 movements (just search jo kata). It's slightly different than the one I learned in a few spots.
There is also a 22 movement kata in the book "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere"

When I was a young whipper-snapper, Saito was the only authority on weapon work since it was believed that only he had been taught all the aiki-weapons that Ueshiba had developed. However Saito also said to make up your own kata for practise and deeper understanding, so I would not worry that what you are being taught is 'not official'. The important thing is, do you understand the principles and does it benefit your aikido?

(Frankly, a couple of the paired jo-exericises I think are plainly stupid, and can be performed in a much more practical way with less risk of being battered)

(I did start teaching some paired jo exercises which incorporated most of the main strikes and blocks and which could be looped into a continuous motion, which was incredibly helpful)

P.S. following Saito (but unfortunately not directly!), I learnt 13 and 31 jo kata, 21 kumi-jo, and the paired jo exericses (8 of them I think). In fact, I believe the jo is less valuble in training than the bokken unless done consistently for many years (took me 18 yrs to find it of any benefit anyway!)