Bo: Karate Weapon of Self-Defense

Sensei Fumio Demura’s books are absolute classics, covering the basics and beyond of kobudo in a clear and detailed manner, this book on the bo staff is no different. Sensei establishes the basics for this weapon and provides plenty of detail to in order to develop technique. The instructions are very clear and very descriptive. Although the photos are black and white, they are detailed and show all the main points. Obviously it is a book, and learning from a book is difficult – and you don’t get the necessary feedback from mere pages, however it is a great refresher in between kobudo classes or seminars, and will also add to your understanding of the general techniques and history.

The pictures may be a bit old and black and white but they show the proper flow of the movments which is quite rare. When an unusual hand position is needed there is an inset close up of the hand to show it. This just makes it so much easier to understand whats going on. There are still some parts you will have to think about but it is all shown, its just that some parts are not easy.The selection of movements shown was exactly what I was looking for with a good mix of strikes, blocks and twirls/transitions. Personally I would have prefered it if they had dropped the long kata at the end and filled the space with more instruction but it appears you have to have a kata in a book like this.

Exactly what I wanted. I am a beginner in Bo training and application. So, this is just perfect information recourse for me as a beginner. Simple basic exercises in striking, poking etc. If there is a need to advance the methods of training just use your imagination and common sense. Once again, as I said this is perfect basic information recourse for beginners.

Good simple instructions for handling a Bo

Fumio Femura. What else do you want to know?

This book is a great place to start in the study of the Bo. Trying to learn any martial art from a book alone is very difficult, but anyone who already has a background in martial arts, especially karate, will soon pick things up.Most of the pictures are clear, unfortunately the kata pictures at the end of the book are a little dark & this sometimes makes working out exactly what is going on a little difficult.Get yourself a Bo and have a go.

Although this book is a good introduction to the Bo staff, it could have been so much better. The explanations and excercised given here are all very well thought out and clearly designed to be used by a Bo staff novice. However, one area in which the book is not as good as it could have been is the lack of kata. Many people using kobudo weapons are interested in kata with these weapons and Demura hardly touches upon their use, both in this book and in his other books about traditional karate weapons. Another area in which the book could have been imporoved is the use of colour rather than black and white photographs. Colour photographs would enable the reader to see much more clearly the techniques and statnces; as it is, because of the black and white tones it is sometimes hard to make out hand positions etc. Overall, this book IS very good and a worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in using traditional karate weapons, however it is also slightly disappointing, because one or two changes to the book could have made it excellent rather than merely very good.

Initially I was dubious picking this book up until I tripped over and my face landed in close proximity to my training bag. I am now totally convinced that B.O. can be a devestating tool of self-defence.Since reading this book I have completely forgone the washing of my gi and armpits and NO ONE has tried to mug me for my wallet. Coincidence? I think not.