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Weapons Guide for New Members
or
"Sharp pieces of wood flying through the air are not conducive to a good training environment."
When purchasing your first bokken or jo, the tendency may be to purchase a cheap one. This is understandable, especially considering the other initial financial out-lays necessary when beginning practice (uniform, dues, ASU membership, etc). However, the best thing to do before purchasing a new bokken or jo is to ask Sensei or myself if what you are looking at buying is of acceptable quality for practice. Red oak or pine wood weapons are not good choices to use for practice. In fact they can be dangerous to you and other members. These woods will crack, splinter, and break under heavy contact.
A few things to keep in mind:
*Red oak or pine weapons are not good for paired practice (the majority of what we do). They will not hold up to the heavy impact that occurs.
*Bokken and jo are tools for practice, the primary consideration should not be cosmetics (looks). Instead how the weapon holds up in practice is more important. Other things to think about are the thickness, length, and balance of the weapon.
*It is not acceptable to use a weapon that has a finish on it (i.e. stain or paint) that rubs off or leaves colored marks on other member's weapons.
*A sharp tip on a bokken is not acceptable, particularly for a beginner. It takes a while to develop proper control with a bokken, and a sharp tip increases the chance of injury to your partner. A sharp tip will also be more susceptible to damage and splintering if struck.
*Woods such as Japanese white oak and hickory are good choices for weapons, these woods are dense and tend to dent instead of crack or splinter when impacted.
*Generally Japanese white oak bokken are less expensive than hickory. Though a good choice (even more durable than white oak) and highly recommended if you can afford it, hickory can be more than twice the cost of white oak.
*Japanese white oak bokken and jo will generally last you for several years of practice. My first white oak bokken lasted me through 7 years of practice before I finally retired it (I actually cut it down and made a tanto out of it, so techinically I'm still getting use from it). It cost me approximately $40 new.
*Weapons under $20 are usually made of soft woods such as red oak or, worse yet, pine.
*Buying too cheap initially means more money spent later. The weapon won't last, and you won't be able to use it for paired practice with impacts. The need to buy a better quality one will be necessary in the future.
*Very expensive weapons made of heavy ebony, ironwood, and diamondwood are actually not acceptable for paired practice either. These woods, besides being harder on the practioner due to their weight, are too heavy to use against regular practice weapons. They will tend to unnecessarily damage your partner's weapons. These woods, though very heavy, also tend to splinter instead of dent if impacted too hard due to their short grains. Certain ebony types and other woods (paduk and jotoba for example) can be used as their grains are similar to hickory, but are usually cost prohibitive.
I am currently striving to find some affordable (under $40) good quality bokken and jo that we can keep in stock and provide to our members as good starter weapons.
In short, before you buy...ask! We'll be happy to give input and advice and steer you away from a bad choice.
-Mike Young