Jo (weapon)
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A jo (Japanese: 杖 jō) is a four-foot (1.2 m) long wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts. The martial art of wielding the jo is called jojutsu or jodo; aiki-jo is a set of techniques in aikido which uses the jo to illustrate aikido's principles with a weapon. The jo staff is usually shorter than the bo.
Japanese stick techniques (jo) were reportedly invented by Muso Gonnosuke after he was defeated by Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. Struck by his defeat, he invented techniques to fight against Musashi's two swords using only a stick, and defeated Musashi on their next encounter. According to this legend, this was the only time Musashi was defeated.
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Categories: Weapon stubs | Weapons of East Asia