Jo Staff...

[zerohour]

I was just wondering how long a Jo Staff is meant to be. I've been wanting to learn some bo/jo staff from instructional videos at home, but twirling a 170cm Bo staff in the house is going to be a problem. At least if I use a Jo I might not end up smacking the ceiling fans

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Where's my metric converter when I need it? Anyway, the jo is generally around 4' long, as opposed to a bo that is generally 6' long. somebody want to translate that to "cm" for me please?

[doubletwist]

Where's my metric converter when I need it? Anyway, the jo is generally around 4' long, as opposed to a bo that is generally 6' long. somebody want to translate that to "cm" for me please?

 

Well 1in =approx 2.54 cm, so a 4' staff would be around 122cm...

 

DT

[zerohour]

Should it differ from person to person though? I heard that a Bo staff was meant to be the same height as you are - which mine is, and i'm a fair way off 6'. So is there a general rule as to where a Jo staff should reach if you stand it beside you?

[Shorinryu Sensei]

You're correct on the bo, but I'm not aware of a specific height on the jo. As far as I know, it's around 4' tall. I see no problem with shorter if you want to, but would recommend staying arounbd the 4' range.

[Shorin Ryuu]

I've heard that in order for a jo to be customized to your height, it had reach from the ground to your armpit. I've heard this from my Iaido instructor and not from any of my Okinawan karate instructors in the past (I never asked though).

 

But yes, traditional height is 4 feet long for it.

 

I'll have to ask him why it would reach to the armpit. I can't imagine that it would be used to support the body weight as that's dangerous (underneath the armpit are a multitude of vulnerable areas you don't want to press...they are covered by your arms for a reason).

 

As far as the bo height goes, I've heard two theories. One is that it should be about a fist length above your head, the other is that it should be 6 ft long. Both theories might be true. The first probably derives from personal staffs that people might carry (maybe more of the commoners? The bo is one of those weapons that commoners were able to have and mask it as other things as opposed to things like the sai, which commoners did not have) while the second I believe comes from the fact that when guards were no longer allowed to carry blades, their spears and halberds were cut at the six feet height. This seems perhaps verifiable because you see short Okinawan masters use 6 foot bo all the time, which are well above their head.

Edited September 17, 2004 by Shorin Ryuu

[Shorinryu Sensei]

That's a good point on the short Okinawan Masters using a 6' bo...I hadn't thought of that. I'd always heard a rule of thumb was head height, which would be 6'6" (198cm) for me...but I use a standard 6 footer. If I used a jo measured brom my armpit, it woudl be around 5'6" or so...dang near a full bo for most people! lol

 

I need to cut some height off my legs...just to darn tall for my own good!

[Sauzin]

In regards to jo length I've also been told that it should reach from the ground to the armpit. This length is not for the sake of supporting one's self, but so that as a general rule you can reach both ends of the jo at once. This ability allows for the jo to be quickly used from either end and the length is conducive to many techniques and hand changes that move from either end of the jo. Having it too short doesn't allow for the correct amount of hand spacing on certain blocks and hand changes. Having it two long prevents proper strikes and makes hand changing slower. A common technique wit the jo is to slide one hand to the very end of it and move over the end to the other side of the jo to change grips. This is difficult to accomplish correctly without the correct length.