A bō (棒) (pong (Korean); pang (Cantonese); bang (Mandarin); kun (Okinawan)) is a staff weapon used in Okinawa. Rokushakubō are typically around 1.8 m (71 in) long and used in Okinawan martial arts and Japanese arts such as bōjutsu. Other staff-related weapons are the jō, which does not have a standard length, and the hanbō (half bō), which is 90 cm (35 in) long.
Stick-fighting, stickfighting, or stick fighting, is a variety of martial arts which use blunt, hand-held "sticks" for fighting, most typically a simple, non-lethal, wooden staff or baton. Schools of stick-fighting exist for a variety of weapons, including gun staffs, bō, jō, bastons,Naboot, and arnis sticks, among others. Cane-fighting is the use of walking sticks as improvised weapons. Some techniques can also be used with a sturdy umbrella or even with a sword or dagger still in its scabbard.
Thicker and/or heavier blunt weapons such as clubs or the mace are outside the scope of stick-fighting (since they cannot be wielded with the necessary precision, relying on the sheer force of impact for stopping power instead), as are more distinctly-shaped weapons such as the taiaha used by the Māori people of New Zealand, and the macuahuitl used by the Aztec people of Mesoamerica in warfare.
The ken (Japanese: 間) is a traditional Japanese unit of length, equal to six shaku ('Japanese feet'). The exact value has varied over time and location but has generally been a little shorter than 2 meters (6 ft 7 in). It is now standardized as 1.82 m.
Although mostly supplanted by the metric system, this unit is a common measurement in Japanese architecture, where it is used as a proportion for the intervals between the pillars of traditional-style buildings. In this context, it is commonly translated as "bay". The length also appears in other contexts, such as the standard length of the bō staff in Japanese martial arts and the standard dimensions of the tatami mats. As these are used to cover the floors of most Japanese houses, floor surfaces are still commonly measured not in square meters but in "tatami" which are equivalent to half of a square ken.
Hapkido employs both long-range and close-range fighting techniques, utilizing jumping kicks and percussive hand strikes at longer ranges, and pressure point strikes, joint locks, and throws at closer fighting distances. Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, redirection of force, and control of the opponent. Practitioners seek to gain advantage over their opponents through footwork and body positioning to incorporate the use of leverage, avoiding the use of brute strength against brute strength.