buying a Bo Staff

[Type_0]

hello, i am looking into buying a Bo Staff and i was wondering if any of you have any suggestions on where to buy one(online) and what kind.

 

i have been loking at a Century Graphite Bo Staff(http://store.yahoo.com/superfoot/cengrapbosta.html)

 

this is the cheapest i could find it for.

[harleyt26]

for the serious http://www.crane-mountain.com/

[Shorin Ryuu]

I second that nomination. I have weapons from Crane Mountain that are simply excellent works of craftmanship by people that know what they are doing.

[Sho-ju]

Make your own for under $10 bucks, be picky with the wood and use a good finish. It's a bo, use it and use it hard, do contact drills with it along with kata.

 

peace

[tommarker]

what are you planning to use it for? a competition toothpick is a very different breed of bo from one used for traditional training or bo/bo contact.

 

Do you want heavy or light? tapered or not? chinese or japanese style? hardwood, rattan, or waxwood?

[c-prime]

Personally I use a 6 foot long tapered hardwood bo. It's made of Oak I believe. I have never been a fan of competition bo's. Sure they are light, but if you actually hit anything with it, it will shatter into a million peices. If you are looking for something that is just for tournaments, then get a ultra light weight toothpick or graphite bo. If you want something that you can train with, get a heavier bo.

[Ken Morgan]

Try http://www.sdksupplies.com/

[Sauzin]

Here's a link list I put together:

 

I’ll go down the list starting from the cheapest going to the highest quality:

 

1.)http://www.karatesupply.com/bo_staves.htm - This has about the cheapest weapons bo’s you can find anywhere. $16.19 for a good red oak bo. $13.19 for a jo. And the most amazing thing is only $44.99 for a red oak Eku!

 

2.)http://www.challengermartialarts.com/redoakbostaff.htm - Good quality red oak bo for only a few cents more $16.95.

 

3.)http://www.ambersports.com/marartraineq.html - These guys sell hickory bo’s for $48.00 and hickory jo’s for just $25.00. That’s a hell of a deal since hickory is basically the toughest wood out there. Bare none.

 

4.)http://www.okiadventures.com/html/weapons.html - High quality hand made red oak and hickory weapons. $40.00 for bo and $18.00 for a jo.

 

5.)http://www.bujindesign.com/weapons_brazilian.html - These guys make a great Brazilian Cherry jo that is just beautiful. Seen it in person. $75.00

 

6.)http://www.bostaff.com - $85-$100 for just about any wood you want: black cherry, walnut, poplar, white oak, red oak, ash, hickory, maple, birch, basswood and/or exotics – purpleheart, yellowheart, bloodwood, zebrawood, padauk, wenge, jatoba and bubinga. All kinds of customization options.

 

7.)http://www.murasakikobudo.com/pages/products.html - Beautiful and expertly made purple heart weapons, $80 for a bo and $60 for a jo. Worth every penny.

 

8.)http://arthagallery.com/index.shtml - These guys specialize in Macassar Ebony. $120 for a bo, $100 for a jo. I’m ordering from these guys.

 

9.)http://www.crane-mountain.com – Wepon makers of various woods with Sensie Dean’s personal recommendation. E-mail for pricing.

 

10.)http://sdksupplies.netfirms.com/catalog.htm - Weapons made by Kim Taylor a legend in woodworking. Absolutly the best you can buy. Works with a large variety of woods (you name it, he’s got it). E-mail for price quote. Usually between $100-200.

 

11.)http://mivasecure.abac.com/kingfisherwoodworks/merchant.mvc - These guys make legendary jo’s. They import highly tested and specially treated hickory, the highest grades of which barely float in water. They have impact resistance that is off the charts. They are recommended by the highest ranking Aiki-jo practictioners in the world. They don’t even use sand paper. They also made the jo’s used in “The Last Samurai”. Prices range between $56.00 and $116.00. I hope to get Sensei one of the $116 ones eventually.

 

A good site to learn about the properties of different varieties of wood in regards to their weapon performance is:http://www.aikiweb.com/weapons/goedkoop1.html

 

I hope this helps!

Edited October 19, 2004 by Sauzin

[tommarker]

that is an awesome list. thanks for sharing!

[aefibird]

Yes, thank you for the links list!