page_title: Bokken
section_title: Usage
hierarchical_section_title: Bokken / Usage
caption_attribution_description: English: Bokken - japanese wooden weapon for training purpose. Several examples: red oak, ebony, straight bokken, bokken with tsuba and katana-style handle. Relative size not accurate. Français&#160;: arme japonaise en bois pour l'entraînement
context_page_description: A bokken is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō. Some ornamental bokken are decorated with mother-of-pearl work and elaborate carvings. Sometimes it is spelled "boken" in English.
  Bokken are traditionally composed of red oak or white oak, although any hard wood can be used. In comparison, practice swords made of flexible, soft wood such as bamboo are referred to as a shinai.
context_section_description: The bokken is used as an inexpensive and relatively safe substitute for a real sword in several martial arts such as aikido, kendo,  iaido, kenjutsu and jodo. Its simple wooden construction demands less care and maintenance than a katana. In addition, training with a bokken does not carry the same mortal risk associated with that of a sharp metal sword, both for the user and other practitioners nearby. While its use has several advantages over use of a live edged weapon, it can still be deadly, and any training with a bokken should be done with due care. Injuries occurring from bokken are very similar to those caused by clubs and similar battering weapons and include compound fractures, ruptured organs, and other such blunt force injuries. In some ways, a bokken can be more dangerous as the injuries caused are often unseen and inexperienced practitioners may underestimate the risk of harm. It is not a sparring weapon, but is intended to be used in kata and to acclimate the student to the feel of a real sword. For sparring, a bamboo shinai is typically used instead for obvious safety reasons.
  In 2003, the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) introduced a set of basic exercises using a bokuto called Bokuto Ni Yoru Kendo Kihon-waza Keiko-ho. This form of practice is intended primarily for kendo practitioners up to Nidan ranking, but can be beneficial for all kendo students.
  Suburito are bokken designed for use in suburi. Suburi, literally "bare swinging," are solo cutting exercises. Suburito are thicker and heavier than normal bokken and users of suburito must therefore develop both strength and technique. Their weight makes them unsuitable for paired practice and solo forms.  Miyamoto Musashi's bokken made of an oar in his legendary duel with Sasaki Kojiro was presumably a suburi-sized bokken.
  As late as 2015, bokken were issued to the Los Angeles Police Mounted Unit for use as batons.
caption: Various styles of bokken
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