Comments for Questions About Jodan

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May 31, 2010
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DON'T UNDERSTIMATE THEM
by: Anonymous

Yeah you are right. You need strong kihon kendo to do Nito or Jodan. But it doesn't mean that if you do Jodan or Nito your kendo will get worse .


It can be a positive thing for anybody that practices kendo to commit to a HARDER training than everyone else because of Jodan or Nito.

Jodan or Nito if trained the right way (THOUSANDS OF KATATE SUBURI AND KAKARI GEIKO) can even improve small cuts for chudan no kamae and chudan no kamae will improve as well . Of course for shinsa (promotion exam) you need to use Chudan no Kamae.(which will improve because you are supposed to do at least 500 suburi a day ) .

If anyone wants to take jodan , I don't recommend telling them that they are arrogant or that they are just noobs that want to do cool moves because that is what creates EGO on them .

Instead, you have to recommend them or to test them. "If you cant do 500 katate suburi or significantly improve your katate cuts I won't teach you," . That will improve their Chudan no Kamae as well.

So if for example they spend 6 months preparing for Jodan or Nito ( still in chudan) but constantly doing thousands of suburi their whole kendo will progress . After all Jodan and Nito are there to make kendo a more complex martial art not to be frowned upon .

I hope I made my point here .

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thank you for your comment. I like the idea of testing or encourage students to train more to take jodan or nito. Thanks for that!

Apr 01, 2010
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Kill your ego
by: Anonymous

Bushido is done to kill the ego and kill the difference between you and others. That?s why every level wears the same. That?s why shiny bogu are not welcome and that?s also why jodan and nito aren?t suitable for beginners. 

Firstly, you have to kill your ego.  After that you can search other ways of the sword like jodan but first learn kendo and bushido.  Those who practice (not try but just only do that) jodan and nito before go-dan are people full of ego and they are not well accepted.

Kendo-Guide.Com:  Thank you for your post. Japanese martial arts, or any do in this matter, are to discipline ourselves. That includes ?killing ego? as well.

However, I do not think those who take jodan and nito before they reach 5th dan or go-dan are full of ego. There are many people who start taking jodan when they are 3rd dan.

However, I must say that it is necessary to have a teacher/instructor to learn, especially jodan and nito. Those who start taking jodan in Japan at their 3rd dan have a teacher to teach them jodan.

Some people want to take jodan or nito because they look cool. Now that is not a good sign.

If you cannot control a sword with two hands, you should, first, to learn how to control a sword with both hands. Then start practicing with one hand on your own time until you find a good teacher.

Mar 23, 2010
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Need an instructor
by: Matt


You both need an instructor and need to have a certain attitude/ki to do jodan. Additionally cuts from jodan are made katate or one handed, if you cannot cut with proper tenouchi from chudan you will not be able to cut from jodan. This is something you can work on and think about until you can find a teacher.

Kendo-Guide.Com: Thanks for your post, Matt. Jodan's main cuts are one-handed as Matt said. This is a part of the reasons that the beginners should not practice jodan.

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