Amazing Staff Fighting Techniques

It's unfortunate that staff fighting isn't as popular as some of the more well known and romanticized fighting styles.

While almost every other weapons-based martial art has received the lion's share of attention over the years from TV, movies and the various media, relatively little is known about staff fighting techniques. If more people were aware of how effective and devastating this weapon is however, it would surely receive far more attention than it does now.

Still, staff fighting is slowly getting more attention lately. There was a recent feature on a popular TV program that described the different weapons wielded in martial arts that showed just how powerful a simple piece of wood can be when wielded in the hands of an expert.

Anyone who is an expert in staff fighting techniques is someone you'd want to think twice about fighting. A staff is a versatile weapon that's capable of a wide variety of sweeping, gliding, and jabbing moves that can effectively crush a skull. When you're facing a twirling staff that you can't block or intercept, the odds are usually in favor of the staff fighter.

Not only is the staff a powerful weapon for offensive combat techniques, it can also be an excellent tool for defense.

The staff can be used to block and parry just about any strike your opponent throws at you, whether it's a kick or a punch. You can even use your staff to break out of your opponent's grip if he catches you in a hold.

Many different cultures have used staffs as weapons, and each culture has developed its own unique rules and methods for staff fighting techniques.

China in particular has developed many techniques and methods for staff fighting, and they are an integral part of the country's wushu or war arts style.

The Japanese fight with staffs of different lengths. There's the han-bo, which is a 3 foot long half-staff, and then there's the jo, a 4 foot long staff.

Everyone from the Koreans, East Indians, and the Filipinos have used staffs as weapons. Even the English once used eight foot long pieces of wood as weapons called quarterstaffs.