Aikido Weapons - Bokken (aiki-ken) and Jo (aiki-jo)

Bokken (wooden sword) and Jo (wooden staff) are the two primary training weapons in aikido - known as aiki-ken and aiki-jo training.

O Sensei trained extensively in both of these weapons (and others as well) and incorporated them into his development and explanation of aikido.

In his later years O Sensei was known to admonish students for practicing with bokken and jo saying essentially "I have already been through that for you". However many teachers still study these weapons in order to strive for some of the insights into O Sensei's aikido.

Although not mandatory for advancement in aikido they nevertheless offer many benefits to those who incorporate them into their aikido training.

Many aikido movements, foot work, hand gripping, strategies are drawn from training with bokken and jo especially when done under the guidance of a knowledgeable aikido instructor who is familiar with bokken and jo.

Both bokken and jo can be practiced individually with exercises and drills known as suburi. They can also be practiced with one or more partners in partner practices such as kumi-tachi (two-person bokken forms) and kumi-jo (two-person jo forms) as well as a wide and varied range of drills.