Beggining Weapon Fighting

[Sensei Shellie]

Bo staff is a really good beginners weapon in my opinion. First off, how tall are you? You should have a bo staff that is almost 1 foot taller than you are to make it effective. Start off practicing just grabbing it so that way you have perfect thirds with the staff. That's a good way to start.

 

[Hand Sword]

May I give some friendly advice? Train with the Bo staff, when training.
I say this 'cause I learned a bo staff form in class. While there, I always used the Bo, obviously. At home, when practicing, no bo, and the ceiling/house too small, if I did have one. So, I started using a broom stick. Well, I got the form down, and was moving pretty well, while fighting with it (padded up). Then class comes again, I grab the Bo staff, and had to start all over again. Everything was different! I got so used to the broomstick, it ruined the bo skills.

 

[Robert Lee]

A weapon is an extened form of your arm and hand. As you improve your hand skills your weapon skills can follow. Your instructor was wise enough to expect you to demonstrate further skill training prior to starting you even with the bo staff.

 

[BigKiai]

I've started off with the bo staff, and I'm going to do the fan next.

I have a video of an instructor doing the Ki Hon bo staff form on my website. Let me know how you enjoy the weapon. The first I ever heard of the bo staff was in Napoleon Dynamite, so the weapon always made me smile.

Regards,

Mike

 

[xTNVx NirVana]

"One gang kept wanting me to join because im pretty good with a Bo Staff"
- Napoleon Dynamite

Haha, best movie ever!

 

[BigKiai]

Yeah Napoleon pretty much ruined any serious expectations I had of myself of the weapon. As soon as I get good at any technique, I just think of all the new gangs that will want me to join.

 

[tradrockrat]

wow.

This thread is all over the place. lol

The Bo staff and it's derivitives are favorite weapons of mine. Personally I am proficient with only Bando long staff forms, though I have always wanted to learn shaolin forms I have seen performed. But I am a lover of all stick weapons and longstaff is a great place to start.

The staff (as are all weapons) is an extension of your body. Don't fight to control the weapon, learn to let the weapon and your body move in unison and together to develop speed and power. Keep a solid grip and realize that the staff is an excellent weapon to train. I must with great humility disagree with a former post stating that you should stick to the actual staff. At first - by all means get proficient with a specific staff, but if you learn how to make it work with a broom handle, or a a crooked branch from a tree than you have a very valuable skill set for practical use.

Also, make sure you know what the moves are for and how they actually work. Trust our instructor and learn all you can from them - ask questions! Commit to the staff - you won't regret it.