Tapered Bo

The tapered bo is a traditional staff associated with Okinawan kobudō. Like other legendary Okinawan weapons which arose from everyday farming and travel tools (and therefore hidden in plain sight) the Bo staff originated from the tenbin (a shoulder yoke used to carry baskets). It measures two shaku (six feet) in length with center diameter 1 1/8" and end diameters 7/8" with tolerances +-1/32". Like all of our products, this is made in our Vermont workshop with methods developed from over 40 years in the business of making wooden weapons for martial artists. We use our flagship air dried Appalachian hickory, grade L7, an indigenous American hardwood, unsurpassed in shock strength and durability. The tapers are cut on a custom double sided lathe, giving the Bo practitioner a feeling of superb balance and maneuverability—this combined with substantial but not unmanageable weight. And like our other wooden weapons, the finish is not a sticky lacquer, but a combination of penetrating oils designed to maximize the slip/grip characteristics needed for control and fast hand positioning.