Bo staff has lasted longer than any other weapon in history. For centuries now, a bo stick has been used-not necessarily as a weapon-by people as a tool.
Although we have seen bo staff being extensively featured as a stick pulling bo tricks in movies like Pacific Rim and Enter the Ninja, a bo staff wasn’t always this cool and amazing.
Before we move onto the different types of materials that make different bo staff, it is important to look at the origins of this simple yet flexible ninja weapon.
Bo Staff Through The Ages
People in Southeast Asia had been using a bo staff as a farming tool for centuries since it was first used as a weapon- documented in Okinawa, Japan around the 15th century.
During the time of the Sho dynasty, people of Okinawa weren’t allowed to carry swords or blades. So they improvised what was a wooden stick used to carry water buckets by the farmers and fashioned a harmless looking weapon out of it.
Gradually, a bo staff was adopted by the ninja as a striking and thrusting weapon in combats and modification in the design of bo staff led to greater variety of maneuvers a holder could do using a bo stick.
Now let’s look at three different types of bo staff and how they are used today.
Hardwood Bo
The initial use of bo staff as a weapon in Okinawa led to development of an artform called bojutsu, that created special techniques of effectively deploying a bo staff for training and combat purposes.
The first ever bo sticks used by trainees were made from hardwood. It was a strong material that was easy to hold and spin. The typical length of bo staff was and is still around 6 to 8 feet. Unlike a Jo Staff, which was 4 feet long, a bo staff was supposed to be just a few inches short of one’s height.
The hardwood bo staff provides strength to the stick to take and absorb varying degrees of shocks but it was also heavy. A heavy bo staff was limited in its range of moves and speed at which it can be used.
A bo staff was held by one or two hands (facing opposite directions) and divided into 3 portions to accurately predict and carry out moves using a hardwood bo staff. But gradually, hardwood bo staff was getting flak for its heavy weight and wood chipping that would change the whole balance of the bo staff.
Rattan Bo
This led to creation of a rattan bo staff. Rattan, or bamboo is considered a perfect material for a bo staff since it not only provided sturdiness to the bo stick, but also reduced the weight of a bo staff. The bo staff also became grippier and flexible compared to hardwood bo staff.
Some trainers of bojutsu actually want their bo staff to be tapered, and so a bo is carved off towards the end. This changes the balance of a bo staff and leads to different aerodynamics while training various bo tricks like spin, strike,rotate,etc.
The people who use bo staff for performance and sticks solely, as opposed to training for hours with them to perfect their thrusting action-prefer this lightweight bo staff. While those ninja trainers prefer heavyweight bo staff as it strengthens their arms after months of practice.
Metal Bo
A metal alloy or aluminium bo staff is a recent variation of traditional bo staff. Although one can change the balance and weight of their wooden or bamboo bo staff by adding metal inlays or iron studs on it, a full metal bo staff is considered more high end now.
A metal bo staff is heavier and generally difficult to grip for long hours. That is why it is preferred by bo staff performers who perform bo staff tricks in front of the audience or by themselves. These are martial arts enthusiasts who prefer more versatile moves over fighting tactics in their bo staff techniques.
The performance bo staff is decorated with various carvings or painted in flashy colors( if the metal itself isn’t flashy enough) to make the bo staff look cool during spinning or rotating.
These were the three different types of bo staff available today! Hope you found this article informative and engaging.
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