Ok, Bunkai

Upward strike, yes, not much chance of hitting a chin. Range has to be way to perfect.

Downward strike stopping at the waist? Yup, if you're going for power or a finishing type of strike follow through is important.

But lets go more basic. The way most people swing a bo will either break there bo, injure there wrist or simply loose there grip. Anyone that cares about bo work needs to get a bo, and a heavy bag and put the two together.

Next is that different types of Bo's need to be used in different ways. If you have a light bo about your height the "In thirds" method of holding it is stupid. Use the reach and the speed. This is the type of Bo most people have.

Most often once you start sparring with staffs it slide up to having the lead hand around the middle of it. Back end still gets used mind you, but the advantage to a big stick is reach, use it.

3rd's makes more sense if you have a staff that is taller then you, and has a lot of weight to it, and when you are fighting a similar weapon.

I agree makiwara work with your weapons is a must to insure you know how you and your weapon will respond on impact.I do not see a use for a light bo,I want a bo that will have some authority on contact. I practice a weapons style that handles the bo in thirds,but the bo has three thirds and we practice using all of them.We also have several kihon we practice that involve the hands sliding together(from one of those thirds usualy),but in general terms we handle the bo in thirds. And I believe that by moving to the forward end of my bo during an upward strike(uriken uchi)with the rear end there is a pretty good shot at the chin area,but it depends on the weapon held by the opponent,how its held, at what point of timing etc.I will keep practicing my up and down strikes, you never know what will come in handy.

Hello Ironfoot:

If the chin were a viable target, I'd rather hit their throat.

Are we looking at the strikes CORRECTLY? Is up truly an "arc" or is it an angle with a thrust embedded in the solo presentation... and being very small movement/difference consequently gets glossed over or assumed to be an alternative it was not intended?

J

We kumite with the ratan bo's - lighter than hardwood. They are more foregiving. We use them so much, I sometimes wonder which is the "real" bo, the ratan which I know intimately, or hardwood which I use now and then for kata.

Anyhow, Wednesday evening I totally missed blocking a horizontal slash at the height of the bridge of my nose. My partner was not using full power by any means. But it caught me pretty solid right on the bony part.

It hurt. It slammed my eyes shut. It rocked my head. I saw lights for a few seconds. Honestly, I doubt I would have been able to defend myself for half a minute or so.

The end result, though was just a 1/4" cut, a sore spot and a bit of a black eye. If it had been a hardwood it probably would have broken my nose... and maybe removed some of it.

And I guess the point is that the real weapon should be what you train with. Either would have put me down.

a. The back of the bo is where the action is. Consider it as a lever; the back hand is what gives the weapon its force. Ya want proof? Divide the bo with your hands by thirds. Now remove one of them. Isn't the bo (diminished as it is) better used with the "back" hand? That's what I meant, though people cutting techniques short so that BOTH ends can't come into play is not uncommon, either.

b. Ronin, you're right. The arc happens when you stay still. If you lean in (not generally recommended) or step in (fine by me!) with perfect timing, you could hit the chin.

c. AndrewGreen says "The way most people swing a bo will either break there bo, injure there wrist or simply loose there grip." No argument here. If you're fighting with a very light bo it can break. Learn jo techniques - quick!
Losing your grip or injuring your wrist comes from a bad grip in the first place; their THUMB is behind the strike (eg. on the top on the bo on a downstrike) as opposed to the HAND being behind the strike.