A bō is usually around six feet long and wielded with both hands due to its weight and size.

A bō (棒:ぼう) or kon, is a long staff, usually made of wood or bamboo, but sometimes it is made of metal or plated with metal for extra strength; also, a full-size bō is sometimes called a rokushakubō (六尺棒:ろくしゃくぼう). This name derives from the Japanese words roku (六:ろく), meaning "six"; shaku (尺:しゃく); a Japanese measurement equivalent to 30.3 centimeters, or just under 1 foot; and bō. Thus, rokushakubō refers to a staff about 6 shaku (181.8 cm, about 6 ft.) long. Other types of bō range from heavy to light, from rigid to highly flexible, and from simply a piece of wood picked up off the side of the road to ornately decorated works of art. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 63 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 63 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... // A staff is a large, thick stick or stick-shaped object used to help with walking or as a status symbol or a weapon. ... This article is about the plant. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Japanese unit. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

The martial art of wielding the bō is bōjutsu. The basic purpose of the bō is increasing the force delivered in a strike, through leverage, and to benefit the wielder from the extra distance this weapon affords. The user's relatively slight motion, effected at the point of handling the bō, results in a faster, more forceful motion by the tip of the bō against the object or subject of the blow; thus enabling long-range crushing and sweeping strikes. The bō may also be thrust at an opponent, allowing one to hit from a distance. It also is used for joint-locks, thrustings of the bō that immobilize a target joint, which are used to non-fatally subdue an opponent. The bō is a weapon mainly used for self-defense, and can be used to execute several blocks and parries. Martial arts techniques, such as kicks and blocks, can also be combined with weapon techniques when practicing this martial art to enhance its effectiveness.^{[citation needed]} Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Bojutsu (棒術) is the martial art of using a staff weapon called bo (abbreviation of roku-shaku-bo (six-shaku-staff), a shaku being close to one foot long). ...

Although the bō is now used as a weapon, its use is believed by some to have evolved from non-combative uses^{[citation needed]}. The bō staff is thought to have been used to balance buckets or baskets. Typically, one would carry baskets of harvested crops or buckets of water or milk or fish, one at each end of the bō, that is balanced across the middle of the back at the shoulder blades. In poorer agrarian economies, the bō remains a traditional farm work implement.^{[citation needed]} In styles such as Yamani-ryū or Kenshin-ryū, many of the strikes are the same as those used for yari (spear) or naginata (glaive).^{[citation needed]} There are stick fighting techniques native to just about every country on every continent.^{[citation needed]} The word "bō" is merely the Japanese word for wooden staff weapons. several yari, including one hafted with a simple crossbar straight yari head with saya Jumonji yari head use of yari in mock combat Yari (槍) is the Japanese term for spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. ... A samurai wielding a naginata Naginata (なぎなた, 長刀 or 薙刀) is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. ...

In popular culture

See also Quarterstaff in popular culture

• In X-Men and its spin-offs, Gambit (Remy LeBeau) fights with an extendible bō.
• Donatello, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, uses the bō as his weapon of choice.
• The Tim Drake incarnation of Robin, Batman's partner, uses a bō. While the identity of Robin in the Teen Titans animated series is disputed, he uses a bō as well; a telescopic bō made of metal instead of wood, but when he extends it you can't see the lines where it telescoped at.
• Jade fights with a metal bō. In Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the bō had a spearhead, which enabled it to be utilized like a javelin and that could immobilize opponents. Raiden also fights with a wooden staff.
• It is the first weapon used by Gabrielle in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
• The character Kia from Chris Wooding's Broken Sky novels characteristically utilizes a bō.
• Son Goku of Dragon Ball and Saiyuki manga and animé wields an extendible bō, at times.
• Nami of the manga and animé One Piece uses a bō in fighting.
• An alien bounty hunter in the series Megas XLR also wielded a bō capable of collapsing to the size of a coin.
• A bō called the "Lunar" is an available weapon for the ninja Ryu Hayabusa in the Hurricane Pack and Black Edition versions of the popular Xbox video game, Ninja Gaiden.
• In Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novel, Hell and Back, the assassin Mariah wields a bō staff.
• In the Predator film series, the Predator race use a technologically advanced, telescoping, sharpened bō staffs.
• In the animated series Thundercats Cheetara fights with a bō.
• Pom Pom, a ficional character from the Homestar Runner Universe can be seen wielding a bō on occasion.
• Seven of the Super Sentai/PR characters: Kiranger from Himitsu Sentai Goranger, Black Bison from Choujuu Sentai Liveman, Shishiranger from Gosei Sentai Dairanger, MegaBlack/Space Black Ranger from Denji Sentai Megaranger/Power Rangers in Space, AbaRed/Dino Thunder Red from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger/Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, BoukenRed/Mack from Gougou Sentai Boukenger/Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive, and GekiYellow from Juuken Sentai Gekiranger wield bō weapons.
• Billy Kane a character in Fatal Fury and King of Fighters game series are using bō.
• In the first game of the Suikoden RPG series, the main character Tir McDohl uses a bō as his weapon choice.
• In the Japanese television Series, Monkey Magic, King Monkey wields a bō which can change size.
• The Marvel Comics character Moon Knight uses a bō made of adamantium.
• On rare occasions, the DC character Nightwing can be seen using a bō.
• In the games Guild Wars: Factions and World of Warcraft, bō staves are a commonly dropped item.
• In Napoleon Dynamite, Napoleon states "This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bo-staff"
• In Soul Calibur, Kilik wields a bo staff.

Quarterstaffs in use, from Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs, published 1891 A quarterstaff is a medieval English variant of the staff weapon, consisting of a long shaft of hardwood, sometimes with metal-reinforced tips. ... The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ... Gambit (Remy LeBeau) is a mutant comic book character in the fictional Marvel Universe. ... Donatello in the TMNT Movie Donatello (or Don or Donny or Donnie or Don-San), a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). ... The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this comics-related article or section may require cleanup. ... A classic image of Batman and Robin reinterpreted by painter Alex Ross. ... It has been suggested that Skills and abilities of Batman be merged into this article or section. ... Teen Titans was an American animated television series created by Sam Register and Glen Murakami and produced by Warner Bros. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. ... Jade is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) was directed by John R. Leonetti. ... A spearhead is the head of a spear. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Xena. ... Broken Sky is a novel series which draws on heavy anime influence. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that may be overly long, confusing, or ambiguous. ... For the microprocessor used in Palm Pilot PDAs, see Freescale DragonBall. ... SaiyÅ«ki, also known as Gensōmaden SaiyÅ«ki (幻想魔伝 最遊記) in Japan, a popular manga series created by Kazuya Minekura loosely based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West (XÄ«yóu Jì). Though adapted into an anime by Studio Pierrot, the storyline is not yet complete. ... Nami ) is a fictional character from the anime and manga series One Piece. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump Shonen Jump BANZAI! Original run August 4, 1997 – (ongoing) No. ... Megas XLR is an American animated television series that aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network and is produced by Cartoon Network Studios. ... This article refers to Japanese spies and assassins known as Ninja. For other uses, see Ninja (disambiguation) This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ryu Hayabusa is a fictional video game character who stars in the Ninja Gaiden series of video games, as well appearing in the Dead or Alive fighting game series, all developed by Team Ninja, a part of publisher Tecmo. ... Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... For information regarding the game Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox, see Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). ... Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957 in Olney, Maryland) is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. ... These are the individual stories, usually referred to as yarns, set in Frank Millers Sin City universe. ... This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... ThunderCats is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1983 based on the characters created by Tobin Ted Wolf. ... Pom Pom is a character in the Homestar Runner animated cartoon series. ... Costumes from Himitsu Sentai Goranger on display at the Bandai Museum in Matsudo, Chiba. ... Choujuu Sentai Liveman ), translated into English as Super Beast Squadron Liveman, was the 12th entry of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise. ... Gosei Sentai Dairanger ) translated into English as Five-Star Squadron Dairanger,[1] is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. ... Denji Sentai Megaranger ), translated into English as Electromagnetic Squadron Megaranger, was Toei Company Limiteds 21st production of the Super Sentai television series. ... Power Rangers in Space (often abbreviated as PRiS or referred to as simply In Space) was a television show, in the Power Rangers franchise. ... The title card for Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger ), translated into English as Blast Dragon Squadron Abaranger, was Toei Company Limiteds 27th production of the Super Sentai television series. ... Power Rangers: Dino Thunder are the twelfth generation of Power Rangers. ... GoGo Sentai Boukenger ), translated into English as Rumbling Squadron Boukenger [1], is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. ... Juuken Sentai Gekiranger ) translated into English as Beast-Fist Squadron Gekiranger 1 is TOEI Company Limiteds 31st entry into the Super Sentai franchise. ... Billy Kane (ビリー・カーン) is a video game character in both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series. ... Fatal Fury , lit. ... The King of Fighters ), or KOF for short, is a fighting game series by SNK that debuted in 1994. ... Suikoden ) is a Japanese RPG videogame series created by Konami. ... Official artwork of Tir McDohl from Suikoden II Tir McDohl is the main protagonist in Konamis role playing game Suikoden. ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ... Napoleon Dynamite is the feature film debut of director Jared Hess, based on his earlier short film, Peluca. ... Soul Calibur is the second game in the Soul series of fighting games developed and produced by Namco, consisting of Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the US), Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and Soul Calibur III. Originally an arcade game, Soul Calibur was ported and released for the Sega Dreamcast... Kilik (Chinese: 齊力克 Pinyin: Qílìkè, Japanese: キリク Kiriku) is a fictional Chinese character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. ...

See also

• Bojutsu
• Budo
• Eskrima
• Gun (staff)
• Hanbo
• Jo (weapon)
• Kumite-ryu Jujutsu
• List of martial arts weapons
• Ninjutsu
• Okinawan kobudo
• Okinawan weapon
• Quarterstaff
• Stick fighting
• Tambo
• Tanjo
• Tetsubo
• Yubi-bo