Bojutsu
Encyclopedia
, translated from Japanese
as "staff technique", is the martial art of using a staff
weapon
called bō
which simply means "staff". Staffs are perhaps one of the earliest weapons used by humankind. They have been in use for thousands of years in Eastern Asia. Some techniques involve slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the staff. Others involve using the staff as a pole vault or prop for hand to hand strikes.
Bojutsu involves threatening the opponent by twirling the staff at high speeds. Once the opponent is off guard, the person who wields the staff may begin to use the momentum of the spins to strike.
Today bōjutsu is usually associated either with Okinawan kobudō
or with Japan
ese koryū
budō
. Japanese bōjutsu is one of the core elements of classical martial training.
Thrusting, swinging, and striking techniques often resemble empty-hand movements, following the philosophy that the bō is merely an "extension of one’s limbs". Consequently, bōjutsu is often incorporated into other styles of empty hand fighting, or karate
.
In the Okinawan context, the weapon is frequently referred to as the kon.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as "staff technique", is the martial art of using a staff
Stick fighting
Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....
weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
called bō
Bo
-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
which simply means "staff". Staffs are perhaps one of the earliest weapons used by humankind. They have been in use for thousands of years in Eastern Asia. Some techniques involve slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the staff. Others involve using the staff as a pole vault or prop for hand to hand strikes.
Bojutsu involves threatening the opponent by twirling the staff at high speeds. Once the opponent is off guard, the person who wields the staff may begin to use the momentum of the spins to strike.
Today bōjutsu is usually associated either with Okinawan kobudō
Okinawan kobudo
Okinawan kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "old martial way of Okinawa"...
or with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese koryū
Koryu
is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...
budō
Budo
is a Japanese term describing martial arts. In English, it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.-Etymology:Budō is a compound of the root bu , meaning war or martial; and dō , meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga...
. Japanese bōjutsu is one of the core elements of classical martial training.
Thrusting, swinging, and striking techniques often resemble empty-hand movements, following the philosophy that the bō is merely an "extension of one’s limbs". Consequently, bōjutsu is often incorporated into other styles of empty hand fighting, or karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
.
In the Okinawan context, the weapon is frequently referred to as the kon.
See also
- BudōBudois a Japanese term describing martial arts. In English, it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.-Etymology:Budō is a compound of the root bu , meaning war or martial; and dō , meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga...
- BōBo-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
- JōJoJO, Jo or jo may refer to:*Jō, a ~4-foot-long wooden staff used in some Japanese martial arts*Cho , , also spelled Jo, a common Korean family name*Jo , a 1971 French comedy...
- Jōjutsu
- HanbōHanboThe hanbō is a staff used in martial arts. Traditionally, the hanbō was approximately three shaku or about long, half the length of the usual staff, the rokushakubō . Diameter was...
- Kanabō
- QuarterstaffQuarterstaffA quarterstaff , also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon and a technique of stick fighting, especially as in use in England during the Early Modern period....
- Yamanni-ryūYamanni ryuYamanni-ryū is a form of Okinawan kobudō whose main weapon is the bo, a non-tapered, cylindrical staff...