A system of armed combat using the bo, a five to six foot long staff. Ranging in size from a simple club to a spearlike shaft, the bo is an ancient weapon. Gripping the staff with both hands, bojutsu techniques are executed by striking, thrusting, deflecting, sweeping, and holding. Gripping of the staff determines whether the technique is done from short or long range. Kata is the sole training method of bojutsu. Because the staff was a wooden, non-bladed weapon, it was favored among those social classes the forbid bloodshed. The bo was used by preists, monks, travelers and poets. In Okinawa, the bo became one of the five systemized weapons of karate. In Okinawa today, there are more then 10 varieties of bojutsu.