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Henrik Jonsson
1st November 2001, 17:56
Hello out there.

I'm an absolute novice in the art of the jo, and I
hope I can ask this question here without sounding way too
ignorant. :-) I have 10 months of Bujinkan training and
about a year in various mixed styles.

I'm going with my family on a brief vacation to the city
of Perpignan in southern France to visit my girlfriends
parents. I have been looking for a dojo that would
be willing to accept a visiting, foreign student, as
David Dow of Bujinkan Anko Dojo in Los Angeles did
when I visited California this summer.

A quick search on the web reveals little, but I did find
this website:

http://www.kobujodokai.com/liste_dojos.htm

with the address of Judo Club Catalan Jodo, headed by
Alexandre Poveda, 2nd Dan Jodo (graded by Jean-Pierre
Reniez).

Would it be considered rude to merely call him and ask?
(there's a phone number on the web site). Edited:
I found on the site that they practice Shindo Muso Ryu,
which is what I'd love to try or at least watch, as it seems
very interesting. (The only dan graded SMR exponent in
my hometown here in Sweden is Shingo Ohgami and
he does not teach SMR anymore)

I have studied some hanbo techniques in the Bujinkan, from
the Kukishin Ryu, but I have no experience in the use of the
jo.

Also, my french is fairly poor, so I'm not sure I would be able to
come across too smartly over the phone. My girlfriend is fluent
in French, but unskilled in the budo specific terminology.

Any ideas or suggestions? Should I just leave it be? Or should
I stop asking questions here and head straight for the phone? :-)

Thanks for any input!

/Henrik

Jeff Hamacher
2nd November 2001, 01:13
Dear Henrik,

i train in japan with a dojo that is part of the Kobukai organization, so perhaps i can offer you at least a bit of information.


Originally posted by Henrik Jonsson
Would it be considered rude to merely call him and ask?
i don't see anything wrong with calling to ask questions.

I found on the site that they practice Shindo Muso Ryu, which is what I'd love to try or at least watch, as it seems very interesting. (...) I have studied some hanbo techniques in the Bujinkan, from the Kukishin Ryu, but I have no experience in the use of the jo.
i know very little about Kukishin-ryu hanbo (i've skimmed the Hatsumi/Chambers book Stick Fighting), but i can tell you it's significantly different than SMR. you should also consider the following important issues:

1) my teacher (like his teacher who is the head of the Kobukai) maintains a somewhat traditional approach to martial arts training. "dropping in" for a few weeks to train in SMR is not ... the done thing, so to speak. it is assumed that a new student, once accepted by the teacher, has made a commitment to attend classes regularly for a fairly lengthy period of time. of course, people have real lives outside the dojo and sometimes students can't attend class, but in principle they have a long-term commitment to their training. i expect that everybody in the Kobukai follows a similar pattern.

2) once you begin training, it's not likely that you'll immediately dive into actual Shinto Muso-ryu techniques; rather, you begin with a set of 12 basic movements (kihon), as well as etiquette and perhaps some other exercises. once you've learned all of that, you start to study the 12 All-Japan Kendo Federation jo kata (seiteigata). i've been training for about 10 months, at an average of 3-4 hours a week, and i've learned up to the 8th kata. once all of that is under your belt, then your teacher will consider allowing you to begin training on the SMR kata.

it's not my intention to dissuade you from looking into SMR jo, but i don't think that you should get your hopes up for a "crash course" during your vacation. you really need to find a qualified teacher under whom you can train for a good length of time or you just won't make any progress.

if you have any further questions, Henrik, please respond here or write me by e-mail and i'll try to answer as well as i can.

Henrik Jonsson
2nd November 2001, 06:09
Originally posted by Jeff Hamacher
Dear Henrik,

i train in japan with a dojo that is part of the Kobukai organization, so perhaps i can offer you at least a bit of information.


Thank you Jeff for taking your time.



i don't see anything wrong with calling to ask questions.

Ok, that's always something. I've had an interest in SMR
for quite a while and I have a friend who studied under
Shingo Oghami(5th dan) here in Sweden who's telling
me that it's a great martial art for those interested in
traditional japanese arts.

As he no longer teach SMR, I'm looking for any chance to
catch a glimpse of the art. :-) There's noone available
within a 400 miles radius, and with work and family, I can't
drive such a distance for each practice session.

So I figured I should at least try now that I'm on vacation. :-)



i know very little about Kukishin-ryu hanbo (i've skimmed the Hatsumi/Chambers book Stick Fighting), but i can tell you it's significantly different than SMR.


Oh yes, I know it's very different. The reason I brought it up
was to say that Kukishin-ryu is the only experience I've had with
stick techniques.



you should also consider the following important issues:

edited
Yes, I realize that SMR is a traditional art and not something
that I'm likely to be able to drop in on. Also, I would be
quite content with starting with Kihon excercises. After
all, what's the point of learning an art unless you want
to learn the foundations?



it's not my intention to dissuade you from looking into SMR jo, but i don't think that you should get your hopes up for a "crash course" during your vacation. you really need to find a qualified teacher under whom you can train for a good length of time or you just won't make any progress.


I am well aware of this, and I've done fairly extensive searches
for SMR teachers in Sweden. The only ones I can find are
Lena and Lars Carlberg in Stockholm's Jodokai, which is located,
as I said, 400 miles away, on the opposite coast of Sweden.

I realize that Koryu Bujutsu, or any traditional non-Gendai
budo are hard to find, especially in my neck of the woods,
which is why I'm even considering this "crash course"-style
visit during my vacation.

Thank you very much for taking your time, Jeff. It's
tricky to have an interest in Koryu bujutsu when
they are, by definition, rare and hard to find arts.
I appreciate you taking your time.

/Henrik

Jeff Hamacher
2nd November 2001, 06:40
Henrik,

it's my pleasure to provide you with the information, as paltry as it is. it sounds like you understand clearly the limitations on your opportunity to experience SMR during your trip to france, but since you're sincerely interested why not make that phone call? assuming that the instructor will permit you, even watching a class or two would give you a good idea whether or not SMR jo is the thing for you. have a safe trip and enjoy your dojo visit!