Beats me. Too poetic and diffuse for my taste.Originally Posted by RobertRousselot
Beats me. Too poetic and diffuse for my taste.Originally Posted by RobertRousselot
Fredrik Hall
"To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous." /Confucius
Hello,
One of my students was a high level detective with the Tokyo Police Department. When I taught him, hadn't worn a uniform in many years, and his main duty at the time was to study English, which he did at least four hours a day instead of other police duties. He was later sent to the Japanese embassy in Thailand as the official Japanese police representative. Given his status, I think he must have been pretty knowledgeable about the Japanese police department.
I had often read about Shimizu sensei and others teaching the jo to the police and so I specifically asked my student about their training with it. He said that the training he had received was quite basic. Specifically, he mentioned that if some one has a weapon such as a knife that they were trained to just hold the jo on one end and use the other end to knock it out of the suspect's hand before arresting him. That was it.
Despite being a student of English, he had no trouble expressing himself and we spent lots of time together, so there was nothing holding him back. I asked about other uses, but he said that the jo was still used but they had very little training in it. He also did not know of anyone in the police department actively teaching it full time.
Their training with the jo may indeed be more in depth than I was told, the old days aside, I haven't heard much about their training recently to contradict what the detective told me.
I have observed some of the Tokyo Riot Police training in aikido at the Yoshinkan Headquarters. Police training in kendo and judo is also well-known. We even had one of them training at my naginata dojo for a while. In a similar fashion, that police officer mentioned pretty much the same thing, that he had not received any real training on how to deal with longer weapons from the police department and so he was interested in training with us.
Although not totally useless for them, I get the impression that the police department sees training in the martial arts is seen as being more beneficial for strengthening the spirit, rather than for strict functional application.
Although Japanese policemen can often be seen standing at Narita Airport and in front of police boxes around town with a jo in hand, it appears that jo are primarily used nowadays as something to lean on to take some of the weight off their feet while standing guard.
Regards,
Ron Beaubien
Yep, that was the 'kamae' I saw too...Originally Posted by Ron Beaubien
No no no - they are ready to commence "Tsukizue" - omote or kage, you just don't know what those craaazy cops are gonna do!
I didn't realise the tazer was up there with kusarigama, hojo and tanjo...
Originally Posted by ScottUK
Not to mention .32 calibre S&W
You guys are silly I love it!
On a side-note, does the south-korean riot police use a staff as well? I have a small (mental) image of them in action.
Fredrik Hall
"To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous." /Confucius
The truth is more easy, the jo or tanjo is not used. Simply because it is not a weapon capable against a gun. Therefore it is used as an object of authority if
the fellon waits to be attacked with a jo then it would be a mystery to me, what are we thinking of the modern day fellon that they are unbelievable stupid, i do not think so. A fellon with a pocket knife, yeah sure.
The other things what you can do with a jo, i have seen it, is drag it behind you, lean on it, or do some things i have not seen.
If the japanese police are using the jo then it is for other reasons than restraining fellons, besides there are some people able to use the jo in every situation,but confined spaces is an other matter, the ceiling is too low in japan.
best regards bert sijben
As a former policeman, let me say that I have met more than a few unbelievably stupid felons, and only a few smart ones. The smart ones usually manage to avoid legal entanglements to a large degree.Originally Posted by bert sijben
I can't speak for Japanese police, but I can say with 100% certainty that at least one American policeman -- yours truly -- carried a chemical spray, a handgun, a baton, an automatic rifle, and/or other "tools of the trade" as needed depending on the situation.Originally Posted by bert sijben
That same policeman has used a baton against a felon, so your logic (or lack thereof) doesn't fly.
Are you involved with the Japanese police? If not, what is your source that gives you information that the jo and tanjo (and by association the keibo) are "not used"?
Last edited by Brian Owens; 6th April 2006 at 08:01.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
Hello Brian,
Do you mean you hit the fellow with your baton?
Bert Sijben
At a seitei jodo seminar a few years ago we were taught that kata 2 and 4 came from police jo - so I have always assumed that they (the police) have their own formal curriculum - though since the seitei names are the same as 2 of the Uchida Ryu tanjo curriculum I also wondered if there was some relationship there but I have never seen any information on it in English.....
Back when I was doing kendo at a Tokyo police dojo for a short time I used to go past a man with a jo every morning and never thought to ask. Aikido, restraining people and jo happened later in the day, Kendo was 6.30 am, so I never saw the other practice - except once when they were doing what I thought of as 'how to break up nonviolent protester practice' on each other in special preparation for some event.
Aden
wants to know more about police jo.
Bert,Originally Posted by bert sijben
Yes, there are several locations that a Law Enforcement Officer can strike with a baton.
George Kohler
Genbukan Kusakage dojo
Dojo-cho
Yes.Originally Posted by bert sijben
On one occasion a fleeing subject was trying to escape on a motorcycle, and I was on foot. I shoved my baton into the spokes of his front wheel, stopping his flight.
On another occasion a perp was resisting arrest by brandishing a tire iron. I would have been legally justified in shooting him, but chose instead to spray him in the face with Mace and then knock the tire iron from his grasp with my baton. (Actually, it might have been an aluminum Stream-Light flashlight; I don't recall specifically. I sometimes carried one and sometimes the other.)
Not all criminals carry guns, despite what one might see on TV and movies.
Yours in Budo,
---Brian---
the Jo seem to be a sybol of authority more than a weapon now. Most of the officers I knew in Yokosuka who carried a jo had reflective tape on it which was great for directing traffic. That said drunk sailors are stupid and on occasion same said officers did use the Jo for restraint...A jo laced through handcuffed wrists makes a beligerant sailor quite easy to direct amoung other things and any "damage" the sailor got while fighting a japanese cop was not a problem for us. Now if I had used my baton on him in the same manner? I'd still be doing paperwork a year later. Longs nights spent with a japanese counterpart in the Honch we compared techniques and at least the ones I talked to did get SMR like training though my Japaneses wasn't fluent enough to folow up on how much
Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow...
...that's what makes my thumper go
Just recently there has been talk of "gangs" of car hoons (for want of a better expression) coming to Tokorozawa to disrupt some politician's campaign against them.
Anyway, apart from essentially boarding up all the entrances to the venue, and the bus loads of riot police on standby, there has been a noticable presence of officers carrying jo (keijo). around the venue, council office and mayor's residence.
Since they are expecting trouble of some sorts, I doubt they'd be sending officers out with ineffective weapons.
Andrew Smallacombe
Aikido Kenshinkai
JKA Tokorozawa
Now trotting over a bridge near you!