| Listed below are method and technique of warming up & conditioning exercise useing the staff (bo). These may be done independantly of training martial arts, as a purely exercise program. Staff exercise (Bo Taiso) is common to many styles & countries, though some may have different exercises or versions that others do not. Many of these exercises are seemingly universal. Many, I or my teachers made up, only to find similarly done elsewhere but there are some still that I've yet to see elsewhere. If anyone has any other useful bo-exercise not already listed or described here, please submit it to Bojutsu@yahoo.com if you would please. As with any exercise, consult a doctor if any uncertainty of health to be able to do the exercises, before beginning. Don't do too much at once, progress gradually. Usually, due to time, most dojo will only have maybe 15 minutes for just a few warmups IF they even take the time. The whielding of the staff is, in it's self, good exercise as is; thus many never bother with further exercises such as these. Terminology varies from school, style & instructor. Listed here is by the terminology used in our Dojo. This section alone, when completed, will represent the result of "over 30 years" of study, research and intense training of staff martial arts. For reference & organizing, I may eventually group the exercises by method-categories. A staff can 1. be used as mass resistence (weight) that also includs extention. 2. be used as a lever for isometric type exercises. 3. as a balance aid. 4. Balancing the staff it's self. Some exercises are hard to categorize so I may eventually redo this grouping, maybe dividing into different levels of difficulty, from beginner to most advanced. (Still under construction; eventually each exercise to be linked to a description page of that respective exercise). |
