, also known as ''jōdan-gamae'', and frequently shortened simply to ''jōdan'', is a basic ''

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of ...

'' posture. Jōdan-no-kamae means upper-level posture (lit. 'high/upper degree posture').

Kendo

Jōdan-no-kamae is one of the five stances in

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

: ''jōdan'', ''

chūdan is one of the three heights commonly referred to in Japanese martial arts. It roughly means "middle level", and refers to the space above and including the waist, and below but not including the shoulders. The most common strikes to the chūda ...

'', ''

gedan , meaning roughly "lower level", is one of the three heights commonly referred to in Japanese martial arts. It refers specifically to the lower part of the body, from the belt on the ''karategi'' and below. See also *Chūdan *Jōdan , which i ...

'', '' hassō'' and '' waki''. In jōdan-no-kamae, the sword is raised above the head with the tip (''kissaki''; 切先) pointing back and the blade facing up, in readiness to strike. It is the most aggressive stance of the five. There are commonly two types of jōdan-no-kamae, left (''hidari''; 左) and right (''migi''; 右), referring to which foot is out in front. As a more rare case, only one hand is used to hold the sword. Even rarer, the positions of the hands on the hilt of the sword may be reversed. In normal practice or competitions, left (''hidari'') jōdan-gamae is the most common. Its advantage is the reach of the strike, the intimidating posture and the speed of the strike. Its disadvantage is the weak defense, since the throat, wrists and body are open. In order to protect the vulnerable area, a jōdan user must have a very fiery spirit to "scare off" the opponent. It is also more difficult to judge the striking distance (''maai''; 間合い). Therefore, this stance is only used as the normal stance during practice or competition by experienced ''kendōka'' (剣道家). Both jōdan-no-kamae positions are used in Nihon Kendo

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 ...

Kenjutsu

As one of the most basic postures, jōdan-no-kamae is common to virtually all schools of ''

''. The primary attribute of jōdan-no-kamae is always the weapon lifted above the head of the practitioner. One of the only significant variations is the relative position of the elbows. Some styles, such as

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 ...

, prefer the elbows to be as far inward as possible. Many others insist on the elbows being open. Jōdan-no-kamae is called the in

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship (''kenjutsu''). Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who ...

and the in

Shinkage-ryū ' meaning "new shadow school", is a traditional school ('' koryu'') of Japanese martial arts, founded by Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Fujiwara-no-Hidetsuna, later Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna Friday, Karl ''Legacies of the sword'', page 24. Univer ...

.上野靖之 (1966) ''剣道教典 (Educational Model Fencing)'' 尚武館刊. p315

European schools of swordsmanship

Similar stances to ''Jōdan-no-kamae'' are also found in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

schools of the

longsword A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...

. It is known as ''Dach'' ("roof") and ''bocca di falcone'' ("falcon's beak") respectively. One-handed variants also exist for the single sword (''Schwert'') and falchion (''Messer''). Another tradition that includes this posture is the English master

George Silver George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on swordplay. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers (one of whom, Toby, was also a swordsm ...

's teachings, where it is known as the "open fight." In German traditions such as Liechtenauer this is called center vom Tag. It is often translated as "day" or "from the roof". In Italian traditions such as Bolognese-Dardi this would be referred to as Guardia Alta or High Guard.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jodan-No-Kamae Kendo stances