CLUB MALAGUEÑO DE IAIDO Y JODO

 

Jodo is the martial art which uses the middle stick or Jo. This was practiced by samurais who tried to stop to another samurais. It’s form of practice is based in Katas performing. A lot of the Jodo’s techniques are pointed in defence and counterattack against a Katana.

 

It is said that it was created 400 years ago; by Muso Gonosuke Katsukichi, who was a respected Japanese warrior and an expert in the art of katana’s handling (sable). Gonosuke signed on what is called “Musha Shugyo” (this is the search of the European wandering knights) going over all Japan.

 

Gonosuke fought a duel with a lot of enemies without knowing what a defeat was until he confronted against the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, maybe the most famous swordsman in Japan, with his bō (a long stick). In this fight Musashi wan and he forgave Gonosuke’s life; and the humiliated Muso left and kept studing the different martial arts styles, surely with the objective to win Musashi. After a few years he arrived to a city called Dazaifu, in the Chikuzen state, prefecture of Fukuoka in the island of Kyushu.

 

There he imprisoned himself during 37 days in the shrine Kamado, over the hill Hooman where he dedicate to meditation and to do spiritual exercises until a night he had a dream where a divine messenger who looked like a child appeared to him and said: “Using a round stick, find the suiguetsu” (maruki or motte, suiguetsu or shire, or opening of the soul). And like this he designed a new weapon; a simple stick made of white oak of about 128 cm long and created a fighting system with it.