During your first few belts, you may consider purchasing your own training weapons. The club keeps several spare bokken and jo which you can usually use while training, as long as there are enough to go around, otherwise you will have to take turns. Having your own training weapons allows you to become much more familiar with the 'feel' and weight of your paticular bokken or jo, and frees up the club weapons for novices. Also, if you visit other clubs (such as the recent Monmouth visits) they sometimes do not have the resources to have several spare weapons, so it is polite to bring your own weapons if you have them.
There are quite an array of bokken shapes, different woods and many martial arts supply shops sell them. I have tried to summarise the difference between the typical options below:
The two most common woods used for bokken in the UK are Japanese red oak and white oak. In other countries, particularly America, many other woods such as ash, beech and hickory have been used, but almost all bokken readily available in the UK are red or white oak (for more information on suitable woods see this article).
Japanese Red Oak is the most common of the two. It has good strength, is reasonably dent-resistant and is very suitable for bokken. Japanese White oak is harder, stronger and more dent resistant, but it is also more expensive. White oak is the traditional material used for bokken and will last longer than the equivalent red oak version.
Wood is a natural material: the grain, quality of the wood, warp resistance and therefore the quality and life of the bokken will vary even between those in the same shop. Ideally, you should visit a specialist store and take time to examine several carefully, looking at the grain, trying them out and choosing the best one: however, in practice that is not always possible. If you order over the internet, remember that you get what you pay for: if a particular store is significantly cheaper than the others, then don't expect a top-quality piece of wood. I recommend www.ninecircles.co.uk which does a good selection of white oak bokken. I have bought from them in the past and they have provided a very nice bokken and jo.
Bokken come in several different types for different martial arts. Aikido is fairly flexible: you do not need a specialist type or shape - most standard shapes should be fine. The list below is taken from those at www.ninecircles.co.uk: other stores may provide a different range.
This is the normal, standard bokken: average weight, shaped like a Katana with a gentle curve to the blade section. This is the most common shape and normally comes with a tsuba (hilt guard).
This is a bokken that is designed for Iaido: the grooves make a 'swooshing' sound if the bokken is swung correctly. The grooves also make it slightly (5%) lighter than standard.
Although this is an 'Aikido' bokken it is not explicitly required for our branch of Aikido. It is much rounder in shape than a standard bokken and does not come to a point. It does not come with a tsuba (hilt guard) which is not used in Aikido. The 4cm extra length and shape mean that it is noticeably heavier and more tip-heavy than the standard bokken.
Slightly different variations on the standard bokken, used for Itto Ryu and Niten Ichi Ryu.
Suburi are paticularly wide and heavy bokken used for solo work to build arm strength. They are based on the shape of an oar and are not suitable for normal Aikido practice.
The saya (scabbard) can be used to hold the bokken in arts such as Iaido, but saya are not used in Aikido.
If you are looking for a bokken for our Aikido club, you are probably best off with the standard bokken.
Buying a Jo is quite a lot easier: Jo typically only come in one standard shape and length, so your only choice is the wood. The same comments on wood selection apply; white oak will produce the strongest, longest-lasting weapon. It may seem strange to spend a lot of money on what looks like a simple stick, when a broom handle, curtain pole or piece of dowel looks like it should be just as good. The difference lies in the properties of the wood. If softer woods are used, you will find they will quickly dent badly, and will become rough and start to splinter. Softwood Jo have also been known to break, really not desirable during a bokken defence!
If you get the chance to choose between several jo in a shop, you can see how straight they are by rolling them along a long flat surface (for example the floor). Any which are warped or bend will be easy to spot, as they will not roll easily. You can also check the grain as with bokken, look for nice tight grain and no knots or repairs where knots have been removed.
Carrying weapons of any kind, including jo and bokken, is restricted in the UK: there are several offences concerning carrying weapons. Some advice for martial arts is available from several places (such as here) , but is mostly common-sense:
Cared for properly, wooden weapons will last many years. The life of wooden weapons can be enhanced by several factors.
The life of your weapons may also be extended by oiling them. Most shop-bought weapons will come with a varnish or waxed shiny surface. With sandpaper, your can carefully remove the original surface finish down to the bare wood. When sanding, sand along the length of the weapon (with the grain) and use different grades of paper to get a nice surface finish. Wipe down the weapon to remove all the dust, and carefully rub in a few coats of wood oil, allowing it to penetrate deep into the wood and dry fully between coats. You can use boiled linseed oil, or I have used tung oil (chinese wood oil), but I have seen many different wood oils mentioned elsewhere (including a 50:50 mix of linseed and tung, with some molten beeswax thrown in too). Note: do not over-oil the handle of your bokken - you want to be able to hold it securely! Follow the directions carefully on the oil product you get.
Oiling the weapon helps temper it and it will react better to impacts, causing less dents and splinters, and it changes the 'feel' of the weapon, allowing it to slide through your hands easily (important for jo katas). I personally prefer the feel of the oiled weapons to the shop finish. An oiled weapon will require periodic light applications to keep it in top condition.
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