Jor-El is Krypton's Chief Scientist. Krypton, a world of flying monsters, ray guns and space ships. With their being a hint of Zod and him being at least associates I don't think that a man so strong minded as well as being possibly the most intelligent on the planet, wouldn't know some ancient self defence techniques, which could catch a very arrogant man like Zod off guard.
I think that is one of the little nuances in Zod character, is that he keeps underestimating his opponents due to how powerful he is. Jor-El showed him up a few times in the opener and yet he still kept underestimating him.