Aiki-jō

Aiki-jō (Kanji: 合気杖 Hiragana: あいきじょう) is the name given specifically to the set of martial art techniques practiced with a jō (a wooden staff about four feet long), practiced according to the principles of aikido. Jō techniques were introduced into aikido by Morihei Ueshiba, aikido's founder, and further developed by Morihiro Saito, one of Ueshiba's most prominent students.

Development of aiki-jō

Much of the aiki-jō syllabus was developed by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, 1883–1969) at his dojo in Iwama, Japan, at the same time he developed aikido's sword training (called aiki-ken). It is well documented that Ueshiba studied several different styles of martial arts, including the art of the spear (sōjutsu). 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 war) than to classical spear and staff systems.