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History of the Bo
by P. E. Katzer

Funakoshi The staff commonly refers to a long wooden staff, one of the oldest martial weapons. In Okinawa, the Bo, like many other martial weapons, was based on tools used by commoners. The Bo may be disguised as a tenbin, used to carry buckets of food or water balanced across the shoulder. The Bo was also disguised as a walking stick. The fact that the staff is a long stick made it an easily acquired weapon and one of the first weapons to develop into various combat arts around the world. Early man has used the staff worldwide in stick fighting or self-defense against better-equipped armies. It was used by peasants in Europe during the middle ages and developed in Africa, China, Japan, and Okinawa. A Buddhist priest, Daishi Darum, leader of the Shorin Temple helped spread the use of the Bo. He ordered his disciples to master bo-jitsu, the art of the Bo, along with other martial arts to protect their temple during China�s volatile years, circa 517 A.D. This helped to influence a position for the Bo as one of five weapons systemized in Okinawa during the development of te, the founding martial arts style that eventually led to karate. Bo katas date back to the time of Matsu Higa, 1790-1870 A.D. in Okinawa The staff can come in a variety of lengths and styles. Different lengths of the staff are shown in Table 1:

Table 1

Weapon	Martial Art	Name	Length
Bo	Bo-jitsu	Roku Shaka*	6 feet
Jo	Jo-jitsu	--	4 feet
Hanbo	Hanbo-jitsu	"Half Bo"	3 feet
Tenbo	--	--	1.5 feet

*Shaka is a unit of measure approximately 1 foot long

The Bo is typically made out of a hardwood such as oak or waxwood, or bamboo depending on what was available locally. A modern Bo can also be made of other materials such as aluminum. The Bo needs to be strong yet flexible and the weight must not be too heavy or too light for the student. If the Bo is too heavy, the Bo is difficult for the student to maneuver. If too light, the Bo�s mass limits the force produced by the student�s movements. A traditional Bo is 1-1/4" in diameter in the middle and tapered down to 3/4" at the ends. It is sanded to a smooth finish with a circular cross-section. The tapering provides flexibility and strength as well as allowing the user to find the middle easier by its feel. For combat, the Bo was modified to incorporate edges such as hexagonal or octagonal to make the weapon deadlier.

The staff remains an integral part of martial arts including non-Asian, western fighting disciplines. Its simplicity of being a stick helped make it one of the first weapons in use world-wide.

References:
1. http://www.etp.phys.tue.nl/bertus/schermen/types.htm, Non-Asian Weapons, Fencing And Fighting Methods by Maurice Donners

2. http://www.fightingarts.com/learning/maworld/ma_a_z.shtml#bojitsu, Fighting Disciplines A-Z, Fighting Arts.com

3. http://www.seito.co.uk/kobudo/bo.html, Weapons of Kobudo, Bo (Kon), United States Kobudo Kai International

4. http://www.cfxs.com/Weapons.htm, History of the Bo Staff, from The Weapons of Xena and Gabriella, History of the Xena

5. http://www.ste-m.clara.net/martial/jitsu/staff.html, Staffs, The Unofficial University of York Jiu Jitsu Club World Wide Web Site

6. http://www.geocities.com/cbfisher2000/shihan8/goju37.html, Six Karate Weapons, Sakana-Dan Ryu Goju-Kenpo Karate-Jutsu

7. http://www.grandmaster.cc/bo.php3, Bo Staff, www.GrandMaster.cc

8. http://www.loyola.edu/maru/weapons.html, Weapons Choices, Loyola Ju-Jitsu Club

9. http://www.mastersage.com/bo.htm, Bo, Master Sage.com

Revised 1 Jan 2009

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