Making The Hojo

I call the cord bundle that is used in Hojo Jitsu a Hojo. The Hojo is made with a cord that is about 1/8 inch in diameter and 30 feet long. The Hojo I bought with the Hojo-Jitsu tapes was made from military parachute cord (now called 550 cord). Because cord comes in 50 foot lengths one can get two 25 foot Hojos. A loop is made in the end of the Hojo that is called a snare because it holds Uke's arm. The loop is made with two overhand knots. The overhand knot is probably the simplest possible knot.

Fig. 1 Start		Fig. 2 Insert End		Fig. 3 Tighten Knot		Fig. 4 Start Loop

1. Fig. 1 shows the start of the overhand knot by making a loop by putting the end of the cord over the standing part of the cord.
2. In Fig. 2 the end of the cord is brought under the standing part and up through the loop. This makes the knot.
3. Fig. 3 shows the knot tightened.
4. Fig. 4 shows the start of making a loop with an overhand knot. Six inches of the cord is folded back to make the loop. This double cord is used to tie an overhand knot just like was done with the single cord.

				5. In Fig. 5 the end of the double cord is brought under the standing part and up through the loop just like in Fig. 2. This makes the knot. 6. Fig. 6 shows the knot tightened.
Fig. 5 Insert End		Fig. 6 Tighten Knot

Fig. 7 Add Another Knot		Fig. 8 Snare By Rule

7. Fig. 7 shows the finished snare with two overhand knots.
8. Fig. 8 shows a snare beside a rule so that the size is obvious.

		9. In Fig. 9 the standing part has been brought through the end loop to form a large loop that completes the snare.
Fig. 9 Form Snare

Bundling The Cord.

Edited Making The Hojo Movie.

Full Making The Hojo Movie.

Fig. 10 Snare Thumb		Fig. 11 Across Back		Fig. 12 1st Long Loop		Fig. 13 Continue Making Loops

1. Fig. 10 shows the snare on Nage's right thumb to hold the snare while starting the Hojo.
2. In Fig. 11 the cord is brought around the back of the right hand so the snare hangs out.
3. Fig. 12 shows Nage grabbing the hanging cord to form the 1st long loop in the bundle.
4. In Fig. 13 Nage's hands have reversed to continue forming loops.

   Fig. 14 1st Wrap		Fig. 15 Continue Wrapping		Fig. 16 Finished Hojo		Fig. 17 Close Up

5. Fig. 14 shows Nage making the 1st wrap around the long loops. In the video one can see Nage looking to see that about 6 ft of cord are left to start wrapping. The wrapping starts at the end where the snare is hanging.
6. In Fig. 15 Nage continues wrapping until most of the remaining cord is used. If the wrapping is too tight Nage cannot easily pull the cord out. If the wrapping is too lose the Hojo will come apart.
7. Fig. 16 shows the finished Hojo. When Nage is near the end of the cord, the cord is folded and tucked under the last wrap.
8. Fig. 17 shows a close up the finished Hojo with detail of the tuck under the last wrap.