Studying Jodo offers many benefits including: vigorous physical movement and coordination skills, understanding timing & distancing for the weapons you are learning to use, learning to be aware of your surroundings and what is going around you, learning to maintain composure under stressful conditions, learning to respond appropriately with the weapon in your hand at the time. The sheer depth of the kata, and groups of kata, provide a very rich, cohesive curriculum to learn and master.
Training in Jodo builds a sense of self-discipline and precision in your way of thinking. The groups of kata can be long and complex, you must be present and engaged mentally to operate at your best.
Because attacks by the swordsman allow for a range of response with the Jo/staff, this reflects a moral choice you must consider, and make, again and again. Without a proper mindset the martial arts are nothing but brutal power that has no place in modern times.
Training with various partners allows you to step outside the ‘me zone’ and consider the good of the greater group that are the people in your dojo. In broad terms western society is more individual-focused, while in Japan the welfare of the group is important. Training in SMR exposes you to these perspectives. Included in this is the etiquette used within the dojo. This serves as a safety mechanism when training with dangerous weapons, but also helps each of us understand our place in the hierarchy of relationships and responsibilities within the dojo.
Lastly, study of SMR provides an appreciation of, and connection to a 400+ year old classical Japanese martial tradition that has stood the test of time, surviving to this modern age.
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