The bo is a six-foot staff, and may be tapered at either end. It was
developed from a farming tool called a tenbin: a stick placed across the
shoulders with baskets or sacks hanging from either end. The bo, along
with shorter variations such as the jo and hanbo could also have been developed
from walking sticks used by travellers, especially monks. The bo is considered
the 'king' of the Okinawa weapons, as all others exploit its weaknesses
in fighting it, whereas when it is fighting them it is using its strengths
against them. The bo is the earliest of all okinawa weapons (and effectively
one of the earliest of all weapons in the form of a basic staff), and is
traditionally made from red or white oak.
