Welcome to Dublin Kendo Kobukai
Learn Authentic Japanese Weapon Arts

The simple stick is perhaps the most practical, versatile and effective weapon ever developed. No one perfected the art of using a stick or staff in combat like the Samurai of Japan. While an incredibly simple weapon stick/staff fighting have long been associated with the most fearsome warriors, and have been used in popular movies and TV-Shows from Donatello of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Man in the High Castle, Daredevil, Cobra-Kai, to Neo in the Matrix, Darth Maul in Star Wars, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and even Kaiju movies like Pacific Rim and Marvel Superhero blockbusters like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!

And it's not just TV shows and movies that think the simple stick is a phenomenal weapon. In fact, this weapon, ideal for both men and women, is so practical it is still used today by the Japanese police force!

And in our 8-Week Beginners Course we want to share this awesome martial art with you and teach you the way of the stick!

We're going to teach you the same techniques, the same moves, the same samurai strategies taught to the Japanese Police, and developed from a 400-year-old authentic Samurai Stick Fighting method.

Jodo is the art of using the jo, a 4-foot stick, to fight and defeat an opponent armed with a (wooden) sword. Jodo is one of, if not the, most practical samurai martial arts ever developed. The stick is a simple weapon. Every household has a broomstick. And yet, the stick has numerous advantages of other traditional weapons. 

The Jo can thrust like a spear, sweep like a halberd, strike and "cut" like a sword. And do so equally from the left and right, as both ends of the jo can be used unlike the sword, where the design of the weapon only allows cutting from the blade. As both ends of the jo can be used without impediment, the jo can be used in continuous and flowing fashion, preventing counter attack and doubling it’s offensive capacity.

Our teacher, Kayoko Ueda Sensei performing Jodo demonstrations in the Butokuden

Jodo combines both solo and partner based training elements. The solo practice is called "Tandoku dosa" and is made up of 12 techniques designed to teach you the fundamentals of the weapon. With these techniques you'll learn how a variety of striking methods, thrusting methods, quick changes, blocks, parry's, trapping  techniques and more.

Once you're comfortable with these movements you'll learn how to apply them with a partner providing a series of attacks for you to counter in the "Sotai dosa".

Then, we have a series of 12 simple to incredibly complex paired forms called "kata" where you will learn not just how to use a sword, but how to defeat a swordsman intent on cutting you down. As one of our students said, Jodo is thrilling, exhilarating and incredible fun. The mastery of these 12 kata are the study of a lifetime in and of itself.

Once you have gained proficiency in these 12 kata, you can then start to study the "koryu", the old school style of Shintō Musō-ryū methods comprising of over 60 detailed kata of stick vs sword (and short sword, and sometimes two swords).  Within the Shintō Musō-ryū school we also have several Fuzoku Ryūha (Assimilated Schools). Each of the fuzoku ryūha retain a separate identity with their own history and tradition though they are generally not taught to people outside the Shintō Musō-ryū. They include:

• Isshin-ryū kusarigamajutsu (一心流 鎖鎌術): This is a school of using a chain and sickle weapon. It is composed of 12 Kata.
• Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu (一角流十手術): Is is a school of 12 Kata using a pronged truncheon called a jutte against an attacker armed with a sword (katana).
• [Kasumi] Shintō-ryū Kenjutsu (霞神道流剣術); is a school of 8 long-sword and 4 short-sword kata, (including one Nito [two-sword] kata).
• Uchida-ryū Tanjōjutsu (内田流短杖術); was developed by Uchida Ryogoro, menkyo Shintō Musō-ryū, as a way to incorporate the teachings of jodō with a western-style walking stick into a weapon of self-defence. It contains 12 simple and easy to learn kata, and is one of the most practical martial arts to study today.
• Ittatsu-ryū hojōjutsu (一達流 捕縄術); is a school of 24 forms of rope-tying.

All of the instructors in our Beginners Course have achieved at least the ranking of 4th Dan in Jodo (at present the highest ZNKR Jodo rank in Ireland), have multiple years of Jodo coaching experience, and have represented Ireland in multiple international competitions abroad, with Kennedy Sensei winning Bronze medals at the BKA Jodo National Championships 2017 in the Shodan category and 3-person Team Category, and O'Brien Sensei winning Fighting Spirit (Teams) at the 2023 European Jodo Championships.

When you sign up to our 8-Week Beginners Course Now you'll also get:

If attending the 8-Week Beginners course you will also have the option of attending a repeat class (if you miss or cannot make the primary Monday class) on Saturday's 11:30 - 12:45 in The Ballybough Community Youth & Sports Centre, 49 Ballybough Road, Ballybough, Dublin 3.

The following are some recent clips from our seminars and public demonstrations. 

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