Andy Watson

When were you born and where are you from?
I was born in 1971 in England. I have lived in the UK all my life except for a 2-year secondment to Japan from the age of 24 to 26.

Where and when did you start practising jodo?
I started to self-study Aiki-jo while I was training in a Shotokai karate dojo when I was about 20 years old. This was prompted by reading “Moving Zen” by C W Nicol who mentions Jodo training while he trained in the Shotokan while living in Japan. Then, when I was seconded to Japan for work, I sought out an iaido teacher in 1995. I was introduced to Yoneya Sensei from Yokohama who then introduced me to Fujita Bunzo Sensei. He then invited me to one of the dojos he was patron of, run by Noguchi Hideo Sensei where both iaido and jodo were taught. In the first week I started iaido and then started jodo in the 2nd week. I am therefore exactly one week more experienced in iaido than jodo.

How did you begin teaching Jodo in Poland?
Through the kind invitation of Jock Hopson Sensei in 2008 and the amazing coordination of Lukasz Machura, Jock and I travelled through Poland starting in Gdynia and then ending somewhere far further south. We did a series of training sessions in both iaido and jodo. With Jock Sensei’s recommendation, Lukasz started inviting me on a regular basis to Poland, initially for very general training and then more into taikai training and koryu. In this time I have made many good friends, some of whom have left the budo world but my memories of them are very fond. I express my sincere gratitude to Jock Sensei for setting me on this path and to Lukasz for being a constant companion in this journey.

What are the main differences and similarities between jodokas in Poland and your home country?
I would have to say that the average age of Jodoka in Poland seems to be much younger than in the UK. Maybe this is a generation thing or probably because Jodo started much later than the UK and so the teaching generation is younger and thereby attracts younger students.
Also, being based in the middle of central Europe, there are a lot of opportunities for Polish Jodoka to travel abroad and to take part in training sessions and taikai in other countries. This has led to a very fast advancement of jodo in Poland in the last 10 or so years; this enthusiasm to travel and to improve also means that they are willing to train with each other after journeying for many hours. I am in admiration of their willingness to do this.

What are your favourite and the most challenging aspects of Jodo?

I personally enjoy the interaction with a partner that Jodo offers. This for me has changed significantly during the time of my training. As a lower grades jodo student, I would enjoy the athleticism of training with my partners and the feelings of accomplishment when completing a kata. Also laughing at our mistakes was part of the fun. Then it phased into something a bit closer to shinken shobu where one had to take the kata seriously like a life or death situation. These days I feel the contrast between the role of the jo (to master the techniques of Jodo effectively and perform an efficient “seme” against the Uchidachi) and the role of the tachi (to help elevate the Shijo through the application of challenges and attacks). This evolution is part of the enjoyment and the challenge.

To add to this, the more challenging aspects of Jodo also make it enjoyable that one’s technique has to adapt to one’s partner, whether they are low grade or high grade, tall, short, far, close, slow, fast. You don’t experience this in solo budo like most of the kata in iaido. 

What are your memories and experiences from your visits to Poland? Do you have any anecdotes that you like to share?

I think some of the best memories have been when I have coupled a seminar visit to Poland with a walk in the mountains with my Polish budo friends, to get out of the teacher-student mindset and just enjoy nature with friends. 

More budo-specifically, when I have witnessed the Polish jodo or iaido squad winning high numbers of medals made me very glad. Not because of anything I had done but seeing how their enthusiasm in their training led to good results…it leaves one with a warm glow. I have also thoroughly enjoyed and learned so much by teaching alongside other teachers invited to Poland including Momiyama Sensei, Robert Rodriguez Sensei, Henry Schubert Sensei and many others.

Anecdotes….so many…but so many involving alcohol that shouldn’t go into print. Possibly the one which is suitable for public consumption is the time that Poland hosted the European Jodo Championships (EJC) and the ZNKR delegation consisted of Morimoto Sensei, Otake Sensei and Tsuriga Sensei. They arrived a day early so we could go to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Silesia. We stayed at a hotel near the mines and the next day Morimoto Sensei asked us all details about our rooms. We all responded that they were normal hotel rooms. When he showed us his room it had a circular, curtained bed suspended from the ceiling - this was a very special bridle suite. Morimoto Sensei was slightly amused if this was how all beds were in Poland.

What still motivates you in Jodo?

Jodo has such a rich and deep curriculum, there never seems to be a point where one would run out of things to learn. However, given that it is generally a paired martial art, I think one can spend the whole of one’s training life penetrating into the depths of the “fight”, to be able to move at the absolute right time, to the right distance, with the right speed to be able to overcome and control one’s opponent without excessive power, just through the execution of the perfect technique. This is what I challenge myself to do for my own growth. 

Of course, given the enthusiasm that others exhibit in Jodo, to help others along the way is a constant source of inspiration, to see how much and how fast they progress. Watching the shiai at the EJC each year is a good dose of that inspiration.