Bo

The bo is thought to be derived from the tenbib, a wooden staff that was slung across the shoulders to carry a bucket of water at each end. The most popular/common type of bo is the rokushaku, which measures six feet in length, with a central diameter of 1¼" tapering to ¾" at the ends. Other types can range from 4' to 9', and can be round (maru-bo), four-sided (kaku-bo), six-sided (rokkaku-bo), or eight-sided (Hakkakubo). In some styles the bo is untapered.

For tournament use the bo is typically thinner, with a central diameter of 1 to 11/8" tapering to ½" at the ends. Similar weapons include the hanbo (3' staff), jo (4' stick), and tetsubo (Iron Staff). The differentiation may also be made that the untapered bo was used primarily for crushing blows, while the tapered end could be used for piercing both smaller targets and light armour.

One of the advantages of the stick weapons is that they are, after all, sticks. Hiking sticks, walking sticks, canes - they are relatively easy to find and make and are not invariably, inherently deadly. This degree of flexibility in use, from self-defense without permanent damage to your opponent, to disabling, to lethal effect is a nice set of choices. The range of possible actions are striking, thrusting, blocking, parrying, covering, pushing, holding, locking, throwing, and pinning. Thus the bo is the central weapon is many kobudo systems.

As an aside, the bo or staff, is a fairly common weapon just about everywhere. Bodhidharma carried one with him from India. The English used the quarterstaff. In the resources section, I've included a bo kata from the Chinese tradition. The Koreans use the three sizes of sticks, from the short (dan bong) to the long staff (jang bong) and date their use back to the Koguryo Kingdom (37 BCE - 688 A.D.) with a variety of styles. I've included as resource an article on the Indian art of Selambam. After all, since it's accepted that the martial arts came from India, surely some of this tradition is found in modern kobudo. It's interesting.