Hit people with one of the ends. Block with the middle bit. Swing it around to look impressive. Well, that sums up the whole of my training in the bo. Use it wisely young one.
If you can be more specific as to what you're looking for I can try and help you, but the question is just to vague....
Get a heavy bag and a good solid bo and go at it. Pull the strike through, don't push it, keep your wrist straight and lined up with the strike (If its wrong it will hurt, so if it hurts its wrong ) Blocking - give someone else a stick and have them try and wack you, if it hurts its wrong (might want to use foam covered ones for this part) start sparring (again - foam covered will hurt less) Fancy stuff - rent some kung fu movies and immitate (away from the TV) Weaponry is just as complex as hand fighting, without a specific question its hard to give you a good answer, apart from writing a textbook length post.
by bo techniques i presume you mean the 6' length. you can grip this at least 2 ways - 1) the "robin hood" grip aka "thirds" grip aka "double ended grip" - with this grip, you can use either end to block or strike 2) you could use the "single ended" grip, that is to use the bo as a spear and predominately thrust. also you can have both palms up, both palms down and one palm up and one palm down on the robin hood grip. if you know any FMA, more specifically, the basic sumbrada box pattern (or any pattern), you can drill it. basically play with the bo, feel how one end strikes and can flow to the other end striking. with this in mind, there are sweeps you can do. HTH
how are some links for the western use of the staff to get you started: http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyart_scouts_1102.htm boy scout manual from circa 1912 - 5 pix were off the net for awhile, but they are back up. --------- http://ejmas.com/jwma/jwmaart_docherty_0501.htm A Brief History of the Quarterstaff by Frank Docherty ------- http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyart_mccarthy_0901.htm "Quarter-staff: A Practical Manual": McCarthy (09/01) -------- http://ejmas.com/jmanly/jmanlyart_a-wp-w_0901.htm The Quarterstaff by Allanson-Winn, R.G. and C. Phillipps-Wolley, London : George Bell & Sons. 1st edition, 1898. -------- for 5' staff http://www.savateaustralia.com/Weaponry Essays/the great stick1.htm The Great Stick A chapter on the great stick based on the French 'Le Baton" and the Italian "Baston" from “Cold Steel” – by Alfred Hutton 1889 HTH p.s. i've not come across any good japanese bojutsu sites :-( there are not much FMA sites focusing on the staff either. hopefully some MAPers could post some.
A good "attitude" or "feeling" to hold when using the bo (jo, hanbo, cane etc and so on) is to treat the bo as if it were flexible. As if you had a chain in your hands instead of a piece of wood. Don't grip too tightly, one good parry and you'll get it knocked right out of your hands. And always remember that it is just an extension of your body. Pick a kata that you would normally do empty handed and see how you can incorporate the bo into it.
Hit something and spar, thats the two most important things you can do. Think about what you are doing and make adjustments as you go. Don't try to do a hand kata with a bo, if you want to do bo kata learn a bo kata. Trying to use a bo in a hand kata will create all sorts of bad habits. Where you grip the bo will vary depending on what you are doing, your hands will slide around on it. The bo is a long range weapon, stay in long range. In close it will get jammed up and dominated by shorter weapons. Lead hand guides it, rear hand does the strike, pull into it, don't push into it. Footwork is vital. Different weapons work differently in different ranges againstdifferent weapons, control the range and you can control the fight. Whenever your bo leaves center you are vulnerable Jam strikes, deflect, redirect or avoid. Try to avoid force on force blocking, it is not as reliable even if you do get your weapon to the right place you can still get hit. With a really solid blow you can also turn his bo into a somewhat shorter pointed stick. You can't learn bo from text, but you can learn a lot from sparring and hitting something. If you can find an instructor, do so.
If you need to find more help on bo staff techniques just go to a search engine and type in Jang Bong Hyung its a Korean bo staff form. Thats where I found out how to use the bo staff a little more effectively than before. Also...does anyone know of a form that uses the Chinese Broad Sword...I just can't seem to find an actual "school" or "sensai" who teaches that type of sword art.
See if there are any TSD schools in your area and ask for their advice/instruction. The WTSDA has several Bong forms/kata/hyung/patterns (call them what you will).
Bong? isn't that a short stick? - posted by Cougar_v203 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bong is the same as the Bo Staff
Hi Shadow_fox Look for a book called "Stick Fighting Techniques of self-defence" By Masaaki Hatsumi & Quintin Chambers. Publishers Kodansha. The book mainly focuses on the Hando (3foot) stick, but a lot of the techniques can be applied to the Jo and Bo Staff. Hatsumi demonstrates 51 Techniques and 7 immobilizations of the Kukishin Ryu with the help of Tetsuji Ishizuka. There are step by step explanations and over 300 photographs used. I find it a great help when used to refresh my mind before practising in the dojo with my instructors or when they are not available. You need the help of an instructor to show you all the subtle bits of the techniques that the book cannot show you. I bought this in Manchester about 8 years ago for about £13.50, and have seen it in Glasgow, a few years back. I hope this helps Solane
That's a great book! I got it about two months ago. It's easy to follow although some of the instructions are read right to left, you will know what I'm talking about when you get the book. Just make sure you have a partner.
The 3 ft staff is in fact the "hanbo" not "hando" as I miss spelt it. Some one kindly pointed out my error in another forum I had posted in. Solane
