Aiki-jō (

Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

: 合気杖

Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

: あいきじょう) is the name given specifically to the set of

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

techniques practiced with a '' jō'' (a wooden staff about four feet long), according to the principles of

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

. Jō techniques were introduced into aikido by

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

, aikido's founder,Lowry, D. (1987): ''Jo: Art of the Japanese short staff'' (p. 27). Burbank, CA: Ohara. () and further developed by

Morihiro Saito Morihiro Saito (斉藤守弘 ''Saitō Morihiro'', March 31, 1928–May 13, 2002) was a teacher of the Japanese martial art of aikido, with many students around the world. Saito's practice of aikido spanned 56 years, from the age of 18, when h ...

, one of Ueshiba's most prominent students.

Development of aiki-jō

Much of the aiki-jō syllabus was developed by

(植芝盛平 ''Ueshiba Morihei'', 1883–1969) at his dojo in Iwama,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, at the same time he developed aikido's sword training (called ''

aiki-ken Aiki-ken ( Kanji: 合気剣 Hiragana: あいきけん) is the name given specifically to the set of Japanese sword techniques practiced according to the principles of aikido, taught first by Morihei Ueshiba (aikido's founder), then further devel ...

''). It is well documented that Ueshiba studied several different styles of martial arts, including the art of the spear (''

sōjutsu , meaning "art of the spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a . Origins Although the spear had a profound role in early Japanese mythology, where the islands of Japan themselves were said to be created by salt water dripping fro ...

'') and the modern art of the bayonet or " Jūkendō". The aiki-jō techniques taught by Ueshiba were a distillation and modification of that training, with an emphasis upon the use of the ''jō'' as a method for the refinement of one's empty-handed aikido techniques. Some practitioners of traditional Japanese martial arts have noted that aiki-jō techniques bear more resemblance to jukendo (bayonet fighting, which Ueshiba studied during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

) than to classical Japanese spear

Sōjutsu , meaning "art of the spear", is the Japanese martial art of fighting with a . Origins Although the spear had a profound role in early Japanese mythology, where the islands of Japan themselves were said to be created by salt water dripping fro ...

and staff

Bōjutsu , translated from Japanese as "staff technique", is the martial art of stick fighting using a bō, which is the Japanese word for staff. Staffs have been in use for thousands of years in Asian martial arts like Silambam. Some techniques involve s ...

systems. Note that the practice of Aiki-jō is not universal. Some schools of aikido incorporate weapons training that is unrelated to aiki-jō, and others cast aside weapons training entirely.

Aiki-jō Practice

Aiki-jō practice can help uncover errors in the student's empty-handed aikido technique, and provides an opportunity to apply the principles of aikido in different situations. Saito codified three sets of techniques, the first being twenty ''suburi'' (solo cutting exercises), the second being ten partnered forms, and the third being two ''

kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

'' (solo forms). Some dojo also practice ''jiyu-waza'' armed with ''jō'' (a freestyle technique without a predetermined form of attack and response).

Suburi

, a word that translates literally to something like "elementary swinging", is used to refer to the basic solo movements of aiki-jō, developed by Saito as a distillation of the forms and partnered practice. There are twenty aiki-jō ''suburi''. They are divided into sub-groups and named as follows (the English given is an approximate translation): :Five Movements 1.
2.
3.
4.
5. :Five Movements 6.
7.
8.
9.
10. :Three Movements 11.
12.
13. :Five Movements 14.
15.
16.
17.
18. :Two Movements 19.
20.

Kumijō

The partnered forms practice of aiki-jō is called , meaning the crossing/meeting of staves. There are ten ''kumijō'' in Saito's aiki-jō curriculum. Ueshiba originally taught various partnered drills and techniques with the ''jō'', and Saito originally codified them into a discrete series of seven such partner drills. In 1983, Saito was set to give a public demonstration, and so devised three more ''kumijō'' at that time. The ''kumijō'' teach students how to alternately control the center line and move off of it to avoid attacks as well as how to blend with an opponent's attacks, among other skills. Improvisational variations on the ''kumijō'' (called ''henka''), which generally cause the ''kumijō'' form to end early with one person taking advantage of an opening to strike or throw the other, are also taught.

Kata

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

'', simply meaning "forms", are typically solo, using a predetermined series of techniques practiced against an imaginary opponent. In the aiki-jō curriculum, there are three primary kata. The first is called "''Sanjūichi no Jō''", generally referred to in English as the "Thirty-one Point ''Jō Kata''", and was taught by Ueshiba. The second one is "''Jūsan no Jō''"; "Thirteen Point ''Jō Kata''". The third one is "''Roku no jō''". There are also well known partnered versions of these forms, called ''bunkai''.

References