Mugen Dojo Hawaii
Mugen Dojo is a group dedicated to the preservation, practice and research of the classical Japanese martial art (Koryu) of Shinto Muso Ryu Jo as taught by Menkyo Kaiden Quintin Chambers. The Mugen Dojo currently has locations in Hawaii, Nebraska, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Alaska.
Shinto Muso Ryu Jo
Shinto Muso Ryu Jo is a classical Japanese martial art said to have been created in the early to mid 1600’s by Muso Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, who was known to be a practitioner of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu, especially in the use of the Bo (staff). Shinto Muso Ryu is centered on the use of the Jo (stick), particularly the use of the Jo against a swordsman.
According to the art’s history, Muso Gonnosuke engaged in a training match with a Bo against Miyamoto Musashi, known to wield two swords at once, and was defeated. As a result of this defeat, Gonnosuke was said to have retired to Mt. Homan, where he engaged in a period of austere meditation and self-reflection. As a result, Gonnosuke was said to have been “divinely” inspired, creating a new method of using a shorter, thinner stick to increase its maneuverability, with an emphasis on being able to defeat Musashi’s two-sword style.
According to oral history, Gonnosuke was able to defeat Musashi in a subsequent rematch, due to the revelations that came to him because of his meditations. The art has been passed down since and continues to be practiced all over the world.
Shinto Muso Ryu Jo as practiced today consists of 64 forms (kata), divided into a number of sets, each with a different emphasis. Through the practice of these forms, physical and mental attributes are developed to successfully use the weapon in a combative situation. There are also auxiliary arts which have been subsumed into the art including Tanjo (short stick), Jutte (truncheon), and Kusarigama (chain and sickle). New forms are introduced when appropriate, at the pace of each student.
Quintin T. G. Chambers
Quintin T.G. Chambers was born in London, England in 1933. After a brief 2-year stint in the Royal Navy, he attended Cambridge University, earning a BA in Modern Languages, as well as practicing Judo. In 1961, Quintin Chambers relocated to Japan after accepting a tutoring position with a British diplomatic family. Having practiced Judo at Cambridge, he visited the Kodokan in Tokyo, where he met Donn Draeger. Quintin observed another Western Judoka, Doug Rogers, performing techniques with a stick he called a “Jo”. Expressing an interest in the use of the Jo, Donn Draeger introduced Quintin to Takaji Shimizu Sensei, 25th Headmaster of the Shinto Muso Ryu. Quintin was also introduced to Risuke Otake, Master Teacher of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-Ryu, said to be Japan’s oldest existing martial art.
Quintin Chambers spent the next 11 years living in Japan, continuing his training in both Shinto Muso-Ryu Jo, and Katori Shinto-Ryu (sogo bujutsu), and also continuing to teach English. Quintin Chambers married in 1966, and in 1974, relocated to Hawaii with his family, working in various fields, including teaching ESL at the University of Hawaii.
Quintin Chambers continued to teach Jo to dedicated students in Hawaii, as well as several mainland states until he fell ill at the end of 2025.