One Size Fits All

It has come to my attention over the years that far too many people buy weapons that are just mass produced, which has led to generations of people just picking up weapons 'off the shelf' that were made for average people.  Well, very few of us are just average in height, weight, hand size, etc.  Now the various forms of Te have been practiced in mass since probably just after WWII landed a mass of U.S. serviceman on the islands.  So over those decades, even new basement/garage weapons makers have fallen into the pattern of One Size Fits All.

This came to my attention recently as a long time training friend had been training with her Jo forever and a day and noticed that mine was shorter than her 'standard' four foot Jo.  Technically the 'standard' that has been out there for years was four shaku, which is slightly smaller than four feet, but that is a matter for calculators that care.  I explained that I was originally taught that a Jo should be about the height of the practitioners Xiphoid process, not a set number.  (That's that little triangle below your sternum.)  Now she is 2" shorter than me in overall height and started swinging my Jo around and was amazed at how much better it felt, and overall how much better she could control it.  She had never heard of this measuring philosophy, but a week later was convinced enough she had me cut her Jo to the appropriate length and now loves it.

So recently I was getting ready to teach Tan bo kihon to two of my students, a couple from another dojo in town, and review with some of our local ronin.  Again, the general perception is that a Tan bo is 24" long.  You will also have some people swear they are 1" in diameter, or 3/4" or something else.  Here is how I was originally told to measure a Tan bo.

	The beautiful thing about Tan bo is it is one of the cheaper weapons you can get, if you are not wanting anything too exotic.  Simply go to the local hardware store and find their dowel rod section. I was taught to measure the stick from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow and then add one fist width.  Maybe ad another inch or two if you do a lot of pinky side grappling like Oyata did. To me, this gives a good overall balance of the weapon.  Of course you will want to play with the weight of the weapon.  Lowes or Home Depot will have varying diameters as well as heavy and light woods.  Pick one that feels good in your hand.  You won't want to train with it if the overall feel is not good.  You can also order heavier and exotic dowels online.
As far as the diameter is concerned, I was originally told and have found that this feels the best, that the stick should be of a diameter that your middle and ring fingers can touch your palm as shown in the far right picture.  Again, this should be personal preference, not mandated by weaponsareus.com.  Even if you are ordering something online, go to the hardware store and feel the different size dowels to find the diameter that works best for you.  The far right is about 7/8" and fits my hand nicely.  I have small hands and feel comfortable anywhere between 7/8" to 1".  It would be like a toothpick for someone like Andre the Giant.
This one is TOO big		This one is pretty close	This one is just right

To Finish or Not to Finish - That is the Question

I can't stand a finish on my wood weapons.  Any time I have bought a weapon with one, it has been sanded off.  Again, this is personal preference.  Staining is OK, for it actually is down deep in the weapon and doesn't make the weapon feel sticky.  Pretty much any finish I have touched on a weapon felt 'funny' to me after training with the weapon a while.  Just sanded is nice and smooth.  I will then take my sanded weapon, and apply a light coating of RAW Linseed Oil.  RAW is the key.  The Boiled Linseed (the more common variant at the hardware store) will not usually be your friend, it is more sticky.  I wipe on the RAW Linseed Oil with a rag, let it soak in a bit, then wipe it off.  It may feel a little sticky or tacky initially, but in 30 minutes wipe it down again with a clean rag.  I treat all my wood weapons at least once a year with RAW Linseed Oil, the ones I train with more often, every 3 months or so.  This keeps the finish nice and clean.

The bottom line is that any weapon should fit your body, you shouldn't make your body fit a weapon.