Bō staves being used at a bōjutsu demonstration.
A staff is a weapon, consisting of nothing more than a (usually) wooden pole. Due to their simplicity they are among the oldest weapons in existence, yet they can still be very effective in the right hands. They are typically wielded with two hands due to their large size and weight (compared to a stick, for example). Some common types include the bō (Japanese and Okinawan), jō (Japanese), hanbō (Japanese), and gun (Chinese). Many martial arts include staff techniques, such as taekwondo, karate, hapkido, and wushu, while some deal exclusively with staff techniques, such as bōjutsu.