[Fábio Contreva]

Hello people!

I need a staff for training but I cannot find one in my city according to right european historical materials for it (ash, oak).
There are some places here where they have kung-fu/ wushu staves, but they are from white wax wood.

Does anybody know if these chinese staff woods have similar properties (weight, hardness, etc) to the european ones?
Can they be a good substitute for them?

Thanks in advance

[J. Nicolaysen]

I don't know that this will answer your specific question, but it is a fascinating website about the use of various types of woods for martial arts. And if you discover something new, I know the author will appreciate any new information.

http://www.zaimoku.org/

About wooden weapons for Japanese martial arts, but it has a great comparison of many common woods. I hope it helps. It talks a lot about relative hardness and density of woods for example. Perhaps you will find some information here.

[Craig Peters]

I use Chinese wood staves and spears for my practice because getting European ones is impractical. I think the key thing is that the wood needs to have sufficient mass; otherwise, it will distort your technique. I have not used white wax wood staves before, but the other darker wood used in Chinese martial arts seem fine.

The reality is that a staff anywhere needs to be built from wood that has sufficient mass and durability to allow you to fight with it. So Chinese staves should work reasonably well, since they should be made from kinds of wood appropriate for a staff.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

Maybe this (and the rest of the site) could help: http://www.zaimoku.org/home/excellent-woods-f...tial-arts/

[X Zhang]

common:
Mulberry wood
Pagoda wood
Jujube wood

rare:
Abelia biflora Turcz