How to Select a Staff

Selecting a Staff
One of the most asked questions we get here at WLE is what's the best wood for a staff and what length should I order. Lets first start with types of wood.

Wax Wood
Wax Wood is an excellent choice for a staff. The wood is flexible and will not easily splinter. An excellent choice for performance. Due to its flexibility and resistance to splintering a wax wood staff is also an excellent choice for forms that have ground strikes with the staff in them Wax wood comes in two styles, Natural and Milled. Natural as the name implies is supplied without any sanding or smoothing but can be used "out of the box." Milled Wax wood has been machined and sanded.

Oak Wood
Oak is a heavy hardwood. Oak staffs are an excellent choice for those who want to do strength and conditioning training using a staff. Oak is subject to splintering, consequently striking the ground with an oak staff can cause it to splinter. Oak is considered to be the perfect material for those wanting a staff that is a combat weapon. Oak staffs often require additional sanding to achieve a specific "feel" Additionally just as in baseball an Oak Staff can be "boned" to make it even harder. The process involves staff along the bone.

Rattan
Rattan is a light and flexible material that is an excellent choice for sparring training, demonstrations, and tournaments. Rattan is splinter resistant and smooth

Tapering
In addition to types of wood there is staffs are also sorted by Taper.

Straight
A straight staff has a uniform diameter throughout the length of the staff. (i.e. No Taper)

Single Taper
As the name implies a single taper staff has one end that has a narrower diameter (taper) than the other non-tapered end. Most often used in sets where only one end (the tapered end) is used to strike.

Double Taper
A double taper staff has both ends milled to a narrower diameter than the center diameter of the staff. Traditionally both ends of this type of staff can be used for striking.

Length of Staff
The length of a staff is generally a personal choice. A standard staff is generally 6 feet long. In traditional Kung Fu the correct height for a short staff is generally considered to be the height of the practitioners eyebrow to the floor.