It is called a bo., not a bo staff.
No you do not throw the bo. I have seen a few tournaments when the person threw their bo in the air. Some catch it behind their backs. The crowd was pleased. Unfortunately sometimes the judges were too. In reality there is no reason to throw your weapon if it is a bo. It serves no purpose. It can no longer be used in self defense. It can be used against you if you lose your weapon. It is evident that you do not know how to use your weapon if you purposely allow it to leave your hands.
You must have seen some Bo Kata that is not commonly known. Perhaps someone made up their own? I have practiced many Bo kata and seen many others. Never have I seen anyone throw a Bo. If you had a gun and someone attacked you, would you throw your gun at them. The whole idea is stupid. And by the way Call it a Bo or call it a staff. But calling it a Bo staff is not correct. Bo means stick or staff. No one says stick stick.
I can't think of a situation where I would ever want to "throw" a bo at my opponent in a real life fight, especially if my opponent had a weapon himself. You want to "hold onto" a bo or other staff in a violent confrontation because it can help you keep a dangerous attacker at bay. Long stick weapons are used for striking, deflecting, and jabbing. If you throw a long stick, you risk your attacker or someone else getting a hold of it to use against you. You need to keep that weapon firmly in your hands.
There are just over 50 traditional Japanese and okinawan bo kata, I have seen most of them and know almost 20 from various styles.
There is not one of them where you let go of your weapon.
I had several instructors all drill into me that you never let go of your weapon particularly non throwing weapons like the staff
I train in Yamane Ryu, one of the traditional okinawan bo styles and we never throw a bo. Now if you have a lead spearhead on it and have a sword next to you side like the Greeks would then I can understand that. most of what passes as "Advanced" bo work is not bo but batton twirling
No, there is no application for throwing your weapon in combat. A lot of this stuff is meant to show coordination and prowess of the practitioner rather than technique. There is a huge difference between actual combat techniques and exhibition martial arts which tournaments is.
No, and you don't twirl them in your fingers or on an open palm, or ring them through your legs, or toss them in the air. It is a weapon meant to protect you; therefore, treating it like a toy is liable to get yourself killed.
A Bo is a formidable weapon when used properly. But using it in a disposable manner in which it can be turned against you is dangerous. Even in the military, when we are done with single-use weapons, or weapons that must be left behind and cannot be recharged or refilled - for example, a LAW - we are required to break them so that they cannot be used against us.
Never give the enemy your weapon. Doing so gives away a lot of information you should not give away. Throwing a weapon at him indicates your inexperience with it, that you have one less weapon to use, and even gives away the quality of your experience using it. If you need to ditch it because you are encumbered with it, then render it useless, throw it in a place that makes it difficult to retrieve, or give it to (friendly) combatants so that they can use or dispose of it properly.
And yes, it is a "bo", not a "bo staff".
You can throw if you really know what you're doing.The only reason i can think of to throw your weapon at your opponent is to bluff/distract your opponent and then follow up with whatever technique you want.You might inflict some pain if you're lucky.But this only applies if you have more than 1 weapon at your disposal and there is no one who would pick it up and use it against you by helping your opponent.
But if you only have 1 staff,hold on to it and never let go.You're pretty much screwed if you have 1 staff and you failed to distract him by throwing that staff.
They're just for show. In stave combat, you never let go of your weapon. Not unless it's broken or not needed in a situation.
I seen different bo staff kata and alot of the more advanced ones have bo staff throws, I just wanted to know if the throws had any real life applications or are they just for show.
