, most commonly known by its practice of jōdō, is a traditional school (koryū) of the Japanese martial art of jōjutsu, or the art of wielding the short staff (jō). The technical purpose of the art is to learn how to defeat a swordsman in combat using the jō, with an emphasis on proper combative distance, timing and concentration. The system includes teachings of other weapon systems which are contained in Shintō Musō-ryū as auxiliary arts (Fuzoku ryuha). The school is sometimes abbreviated as SMR.
The art was founded by the samurai Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想 權之助 勝吉, fl. c.1605, dates of birth and death unknown) in the early Edo period (1603–1868) and, according to legend, first put to use in a duel with Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645). The original art created by Musō Gonnosuke has evolved and been added upon ever since its inception and up to modern times. The art was successfully brought outside of its original domain in Fukuoka and outside Japan itself in the 19th and 20th century. The spreading of Shintō Musō-ryū beyond Japan was largely the effort of Takaji Shimizu, (1896–1978), considered the 25th headmaster, who, unlike many other traditional martial arts teachers, wanted Jodo to be known and taught internationally. With the assistance of his own students and the cooperation of the kendō community, Shimizu spread Shintō Musō-ryū worldwide.
History
According to its own history, Shintō Musō-ryū was founded in the Keichō era (1594–1614) by Musō Gonnosuke, a samurai with considerable martial arts experience. A wandering warrior (Rōnin), Gonnosuke would eventually cross paths with the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. The two men fought a duel in which Musashi defeated Gonnosuke. Gonnosuke, a proud warrior who according to the stories had never been defeated, was deeply shocked by his defeat and retired to a cave for meditation and reflection. This period of isolation led him to create a set of techniques for the jō, with a goal of defeating Musashi's two-sword style. These jo techniques constituted the core of Gonnosuke's new school (ryu), which he named Shintō Musō-ryū.
The school's history states that Musō Gonnosuke was victorious in a second duel, using his newly developed jōjutsu techniques to either defeat Musashi or force the duel into a draw. One of several legends says that while resting near a fire in a certain temple, Gonnosuke heard a voice say, . Supposedly that was his inspiration to develop his new techniques and go fight Musashi a second time.
Gonnosuke used his training in kenjutsu, naginatajutsu, sōjutsu and bōjutsu, which he acquired in part from Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū and Kashima Jikishinkage-ryū, to develop his art.
Gonnosuke was said to have fully mastered the secret form called The Sword of One Cut (Ichi no Tachi), a form that was developed by the founder of the Kashima Shintō-ryū and later spread to other Kashima schools such as Kashima Jikishinkage-ryū and Kashima Shin-ryū. Gonnosuke developed several techniques for the jō that were to be used against an opponent armed with a sword, partially by using the superior length of the jō to keep the swordsman at a disadvantage. After the creation of his jō techniques and his establishment as a skilled jōjutsu practitioner he was invited by the Kuroda clan of Fukuoka, in northern Kyūshū, to teach his art to their warriors. Gonnosuke accepted the invitation and settled down there.
Shintō Musō-ryū survived the abolishment of the samurai in 1877, and the Second World War. With the efforts made by Shiraishi Hanjirō and his successor Shimizu Takaji (清水隆次), the art's 24th and 25th unofficial headmasters, respectively, the art progressed into an international martial art with numerous dōjō all over the world.
Modern day Shintō Musō-ryū
Jōdō and jōjutsu
Because Shintō Musō-ryū has had no single head-organization or single governing body since the late 1600s, there is no standardized way of passing on the tradition. Dōjos belonging to individual SMR groups have individual ways of training and passing on the tradition. As with several other arts, such as iaidō and aikidō, Shimizu Takaji renamed "jōjutsu" "jōdō" in the year 1940. (Note that the use of the appellation "jōdō" is still not universal for all SMR practitioners and groups.) The words jōjutsu and jōdō are normally used interchangeably by the various groups.
Staff methods Being a koryū, an old school with a traditional way of teaching, SMR relies on verbal instructions (as opposed to the detailed manuals of the more modern era) in order to teach the large majority of the practical applications in the art. The teacher-student relationship is very important to koryu-arts. The training forms (kata) alone do not (and cannot for practical reasons) reveal all the large number of practical applications and variations of the techniques. This can only be done properly by an experienced teacher who spends many years passing on the teachings to the student in person. Many koryū arts have deliberately hidden some, or all, applications inside their training forms, making them invisible unless properly explained by a teacher knowledgeable in the art. This was done as a way of making sure the secrets and principles could not be copied by rival schools or individuals, should an outsider accidentally (or by deliberate spying) observe the techniques in action.
The SMR tradition has been shaped over the centuries as to teach the student the proper value and application of combative distance to the opponent (maai), posture (shisei), and mental awareness (zanshin), among other skills. As a traditional Japanese martial art, there is also a high emphasis on etiquette, such as bowing (rei) and attaining a proper mental attitude in the student and the approach to training.
In the pure fighting art of SMR, the aim is to use the staff to defeat an opponent armed with one or two swords. The staff is a flexible weapon and can be used in several ways. A practitioner can use the greater length of the staff to keep the opponent at a distance. It is also used, when applicable, to get very close to the opponent and then to control the opponent's arms or hands. The staff can be used in a manner that enables the wielder to defeat the opponent without killing him. Common methods include controlling the opponent's hands, wrists, and other targets by using the staff to either strike, thrust or otherwise manipulate the target-areas. When applicable, more lethal strikes are aimed at the opponent's more vital areas such as the head, solar plexus and temples.
Training
SMR techniques are taught by forms (kata) and fundamentals (kihon). There exists no form of organized and standardized sparring-system such as in karate, kendō, judō and other modern Japanese Arts. New students usually start with the twelve kihon. This process includes slowly working its way into the first series of "kata", which starts with the "Omote"-series. There are approximately 64 forms with the jo, although the number can vary from the individual SMR groups and organizations. The auxiliary arts incorporate their own sets of forms with their respective weapons.
A normal training session is very systematic with the teacher, or a senior student, commanding the pace and direction of the session. Depending on the individual dōjō or organization, the entire group of trainees often starts training as one body, especially during warm-ups and drills. Often, the training then is split into beginner and advanced groups. Drills and forms involving newer students are often performed with a more senior student taking on the role of the attacker, or . In paired techniques and drills, the receiver of the attack is called . The uchidachi usually is senior to the shidachi in terms of experience. This is done as a way to develop the younger shidachis skill by having them face a more experienced and confident swordsman, which thus heightens the combative feeling.
Safety Training under a responsible leader is done with a high emphasis on student safety. Unlike the wooden sword, which is not as dangerous as a katana, there is no "safer" version of the staff and the weapon used in training is the same weapon that would have been used in actual combat. When applying strikes or thrusts to the head the student is taught not to use full force but to halt the staff within a few centimeters of the respective left or right temples or other parts of the head. Other less sensitive areas on the human body do make contact with the staff, though with much reduced force. The practice of forms and techniques is conducted under the supervision of a senior student who ensures the techniques and forms are proper and within safety margins.
Etiquette and traditions in the dōjō
A typical Shintō Musō-ryū dōjō practices the same courtesy and manners as found in Japanese society generally, placing great emphasis on etiquette and tradition. In some dōjō, Japanese verbal commands are used to guide basics, warm-ups, and the training of the "standard forms" (seiteigata).
The traditional Japanese bow (rei) is practiced in all Japanese and Western dōjō. Although not all dōjō use exactly the same routine, they do generally contain the same set of principles. Students bow to the front of the dōjō (shōmen) when entering the dōjō or leaving it, and observes the hierarchy with instructors (sensei), seniors (senpai), and juniors (kōhai).
During the practice of basics and forms, certain rules of behavior are applied when switching positions and weapons between shidachi and uchidachi. This is done in order to have an orderly training session and to reflect good manners, as well as for safety reasons. The students bow before and after finishing a specific series of kata, drills or any other type of exercise. The switching of weapons is, by tradition and experience, a way to minimize any threatening appearance and show respect for the training partner.
Kazari 飾り(かざり) is the traditional SMR-way of initiating and ending kata-training. Kazari (meaning ”ornament”) is also done in all the auxiliary arts. Kazari starts with the two practitioners crossing their weapons and placing them crossed on the floor, retiring a few steps to perform a squatted bow (rei), and ends which the practitioners going forward to retain their weapons and start kata-training. The principle of Kazari is found in other unrelated martial arts as well, although not necessarily by the same name.
Forms (kata)
The practice of forms (kata) is an old way of teaching traditional martial arts in Japan, and is the core of many "old school/flow" (koryū) martial arts. Forms are used as a way to teach advanced techniques and maneuvers through a series of scripted movements and actions against one or several opponents. In the majority of the old martial arts, forms are at the center of the art with little or no sparring as compared to modern martial arts (gendai budō) such as Karate, Kendō or Jūdō.
The modern Shintō Musō-ryū system holds approximately 64 staff-forms divided into several series, though this number is including variations and is not always counted as an individual form. Students following the teachings of Shimizu Takaji normally learn 5 more kata in a separate series called Gohon-no-midare. This series is not taught in all SMR-groups. A common procedure is for new students to begin their form training by learning two or more forms from the "standard staff forms" (seitei jōdō, 制定杖道) due to their (relative) technical simplicity.
The series Gohon no midare (五本の乱れ) was created by Shimizu in the late 1930s and are not part of the original "scroll of transmission" (denshō), which contains the list of official SMR techniques. Thus, the Gohon no midare is not taught in all Shintō Musō-ryū dōjō.
Basic techniques