Proper use of the word Bo
Proper use of the word Bo
The use of the bo is common to many martial arts. The use of the word bo is mis-used by many martial artists. Even many high ranked martial artists mis-use the word. Most likely it is because most martial artists have never been taught the correct use of the word themselves. First the word bo simply means wooden stick or staff. The word bo can be used to describe a wooden staff of different lengths. It is common to use the word bo to mean the six foot long staff. Although that is ok in practice the most descriptive name of the six foot bo is Rokushaku-bo. This indicates a staff of six shaku in length. The Japanese shaku is close to 12 inches. The shaku in fact is 11.93 inches long. Therefore the rokushaku-bo is for all practical purposes six feet in length.
The mis-use is seen when a martial artists calls the staff a bo-staff. Since the word bo means staff in the first place calling the bo a bo-staff is like saying stick-stick.
Another point of confusion comes when using the word to indicate more than one bo. For instance I have heard others say I have several bo’s. The word bo does not require an ‘s’ on the end to indicate more than one bo. Many Japanese words follow this too. To tell if the word refers to more than one item you must pay attention to how it is used in a sentence. And by the way, I own many bo.
The use of the bo is common to many martial arts. The use of the word bo is mis-used by many martial artists. Even many high ranked martial artists mis-use the word. Most likely it is because most martial artists have never been taught the correct use of the word themselves. First the word bo simply means wooden stick or staff. The word bo can be used to describe a wooden staff of different lengths. It is common to use the word bo to mean the six foot long staff. Although that is ok in practice the most descriptive name of the six foot bo is Rokushaku-bo. This indicates a staff of six shaku in length. The Japanese shaku is close to 12 inches. The shaku in fact is 11.93 inches long. Therefore the rokushaku-bo is for all practical purposes six feet in length.
The mis-use is seen when a martial artists calls the staff a bo-staff. Since the word bo means staff in the first place calling the bo a bo-staff is like saying stick-stick.
Another point of confusion comes when using the word to indicate more than one bo. For instance I have heard others say I have several bo’s. The word bo does not require an ‘s’ on the end to indicate more than one bo. Many Japanese words follow this too. To tell if the word refers to more than one item you must pay attention to how it is used in a sentence. And by the way, I own many bo.
posted by Charles B. Stanley at 10:14 AM
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