Karate-Do in the Art of Staff making

 The following is an article I recently wrote for the magazine "Hakutsuru" which is a Polish magazine edited by a friend and Customer. The magazine is still being published and I will provide a link once that is done. Thank you. -Adam

Karate-Do in the Art of Staff making

  It surprises me sometimes, after having made thousands of staffs, that just about every time I put a staff on the shelf, having oiled and hand sanded the staff, I feel the staff in my hands, look it over, nod to myself and say out loud, “This is a good staff”. There is a feeling of satisfaction I have at that moment. knowing that the person receiving it will feel something special too, and develop their own very personal relationship with this tool.    

   I believe karate-do (meaning way of life) is something that is not just about when doing karate training. The principles that we learn through training are principles that we take and make real in every aspect of our lives. Being a Martial Artist goes far beyond our Martial Arts training. It informs all aspects of our lives and relationships. Martial Arts of course is firstly an art. Through the Martial Way, we hone ourselves, and our work. I will try to share my personal version of this for you, here, through my life and work as a staff maker.

    I started karate when I was 13, in my home town in a dojo that was two blocks away, in walking distance. And thankfully… this dojo put as much care in us as in our training. It taught us how to apply that discipline into all aspects of our lives. I consider that the karate-do I learned from my dojo, is still growing and evolving in me as I make these weapons. My personal karate-do  is still alive, has never stopped expanding since that time, and continues in one branch of my life in the art of karate weapon making. Specifically  in my life Staff making. 

    I must admit, sometimes I joke, being a staff maker, that I really just make fancy sticks. And actually… This is absolutely true. :) But anyone who has handled an object that has been cared for and made with energy and intention knows that there is a difference with something that has been made without any of those things. 

     When I became a blue belt it was time to pick up a weapon, and for me it was the staff. I felt a natural affinity and love for this object. It was my first love and remains that way to me. I had always loved characters with staffs in shows when I was little. My father had his woodworking shop in our garage. Being a woodworker all his life, it was unthinkable to have me use a bo staff from a store.  He made me my first staff. I don’t remember this staff actually. It broke shortly after. He made me a second one. It was a huge thick thing. But beautiful! It was made of Zebra Wood. A terrible wood for bo staffs. lol. Every time it was hit it dented with a sharp edge to where the entire staff felt like it was some modern work of tactile art. But the third staff was and still is my greatest love, and the staff that still stands proudly and inspires my work to this day. 

     My dad came across a special piece of Purpleheart wood. I remember him telling me it was ordered from the other side of the world. And at one point it got stuck on a barge in a jungle and was a few months late. But the wood was unlike any other. It barely dented. It's never splintered. It has taken thousands and thousands of full contact hits, and it is still perfectly smooth. It was the best staff in the dojo. 

     When I trained with this staff, the feeling of confidence I had was overwhelming. There was a feeling of pride, not only that my father made it, but that the staff felt magical and alive to me. Going up against someone stronger or bigger or with a thicker bo, I was never nervous. I was never intimidated. I was always proud. I loved and still love training with this staff, although of course now I have others. But this staff planted a seed in me that would not germinate until many years later. 

   Later in my life I got into woodworking. One day I decided to make a jo staff for myself, and I had so much fun taking hours and hours and turning staffs by hand making it perfectly round. When I was done with that I wanted another… and another… and then I started selling them. 

     My business name, by the way, Scrapwood Martial Arts, came organically to me because at the beginning I was using only reclaimed scrap wood from my father’s woodworking business to make staffs. And the name stuck. 

     When I made a staff, because handmade staffs were all I ever knew, I want the staffs to have the same feeling to their user that my father’s special Purpleheart staff had and still has to me.

     In my dojo, three things were emphasized during testing for a belt. Spirit, attitude, and technique, in that order. And I am constantly refining mine. I hope in this article you can feel these three things. Especially the spirit which is what I am mostly talking about here. 

     My Spirit is my intention, and it is what it is my heart that goes into these weapons. Firstly, A stick in itself is the most peaceful weapon. Just holding a staff can make one feel different. It is not a weapon per-se anymore than a rock is a weapon. To me it is a bridge for people to feel more confident. It is a natural extension of the self. And of the Earth. And when people are more confident, and proud of themselves, they are kinder people. My intention with these natural objects is that they are natural tools to inspire one’s self growth and discipline. These are tools to help people become more than they are. And in that I am honored to supply these objects. The people I deal with are courteous and polite, and I appreciate my customer base more than I can explain. My training dictates that if I can do something better, I do it. If I can improve the staff, I do it. If I see something, even the slightest bit off, or the slightest blemish, I fix it. Just like dojo training. I do my best. That is my spirit. 

     Attitude: I never work on these staffs when I am overly tired or not in the right mood. I feel like one’s attitude is infused into the objects that one is making. And I would not want to do the disservice to someone, to work on their staff in an attitude that is not meditative, caring and calm. I feel like the person would be able to feel it. I would not want to do that to them. 

     Lastly, technique. Every day I find things to do better. I have been doing this for many years now and it astounds me how much there is to learn. I refine my techniques over and over the same way a swordsman would refine their sword cuts. It is not dissimilar. Technique requires knowledge, and skil and the refining of that skill, but it also requires choosing and using the finest of materials. 

     I am truly honored to be such a part of people’s lives and Martial Arts training. That in a simple piece of wood they can be transformed. That is my goal with every staff. That these staffs will elevate people’s lives and spirit. And I hope they do for you as well. 

     “Onegaishimasu” (Please teach me) These staffs are my teachers, and our staffs are all our teachers in training. May your training be productive. 

     For more information on my business and to read other writings, thoughts and products, please check out my website www.scrapwoodmartialarts.com 

-Adam

The above picture is a picture that was taken for the magazine. Of me (Center) My Father and my Shop Manager Brenda.