Jo (Short Staff)
Wooden staff weapon
Quick Facts
About
The jo is a smooth wooden staff without point or edge, roughly 128 centimetres long and about 2.4 centimetres thick. It is shorter than a spear and longer than a sword, so it works at both distances: it thrusts like a spear, cuts like a sword and is also used for locks and takedowns. That is exactly why aikido keeps it as a training tool — the body movement the jo demands is the same as the movement without a weapon. Besides aikido, the jo is the central weapon of jodo.