What with all the many different and often romanticized fighting styles, staff fighting is a discipline that isn't getting much attention.
Just turning on the TV and flipping through the channels will give you a taste of just about any other weapons-based martial art. Most people know about karate or sword fighting, but very little people can tell you much about staff fighting techniques. If more people knew just how effective and devastating this weapon can be, it would certainly get a lot more attention.
Still, staff fighting is slowly getting more attention lately. There was a recent feature on a popular TV program that described the different weapons wielded in martial arts that showed just how powerful a simple piece of wood can be when wielded in the hands of an expert.
You don't want to mess with someone who is trained in staff fighting techniques: A properly wielded staff can deliver strikes that sweep, glide, jab, and crush skulls. If you have little or nothing with which to block a twirling staff, the outcome of the battle is almost decidedly in the staff fighter's favor.
Although the staff is an impressive weapon for offense techniques, it also makes an extremely useful defensive weapon.
Whether your opponent throws a punch or a kick at you, you can use the staff to block or parry virtually any strike. If you're unfortunate enough to get caught in a hold, you can even use the staff to break out of it.
Many different cultures have used staffs as weapons, and each culture has developed its own unique rules and methods for staff fighting techniques.
For example, China developed lots of methods and techniques for staff fighting. The staff is an integral part of China's wushu or war arts style.
The Japanese fight with staffs of different lengths. There's the han-bo, which is a 3 foot long half-staff, and then there's the jo, a 4 foot long staff.
The East Indians, Koreans, and Filipinos have all used the staff as a fighting tool. Even the English have their own version of the staff, a quarterstaff that's essential an eight foot long piece of wood.
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Source: www.articlealley.com
