A bokken (, bok ( u ), " wood ", and ken, " sword ") ( or commonly as bokutō in Japan ), is a Japanese wooden sword used for training.

The bokken is used as an inexpensive and relatively safe substitute for a real sword in several martial arts such as kendo, aikido and kenjutsu.

One famous user of the suburi-sized bokken is Miyamoto Musashi who used one in his duel against Sasaki Kojiro.

Additionally, various koryu ( traditional Japanese martial arts ) have their own distinct styles of bokken which can vary slightly in length, tip shape, or in whether or not a tsuba ( hilt guard ) is added.

Furthermore, the wood is often so porous, that if the varnish is stripped off the inexpensive bokken, one can see the use of wood fillers to fill the holes.

The use of exotic hardwoods is not unusual when constructing more expensive bokken.

* In anime Bleach is an example, Ikkaku Madarame carries a bokken when in his Gigai as he wasn't allowed to carry a real sword in public.

* Date Masamune is often portrayed as using a bokken as his main weapon in several media he has appeared in, such as Samurai Deeper Kyo and the original Samurai Warriors.

In this connection it is belief that kenjutsu, which deals with the art of swordsmanship as it is performed with a wooden sword ( bokken ) that has already been brought into unsheathed position, is the senior form to iaijutsu.

For modern kenjutsu type training most practice is done in suburi style with bokken.

One of the more common training weapons is the wooden sword ( bokuto or bokken ).

White oak is used extensively in Japanese martial arts for some weapons, such as the bokken and jo.

Note that in this rendering, Musashi is using two bokken.

Her primary weapon is a wooden bokken.

Aiki-ken is practiced using bokken ( a wooden katana ) and has a wide variety of techniques.

In SMR the katana is the weapon used, but for training purposes a wooden sword ( bokken ) is used to minimize risk of injuries.

A is a type of bokken, a wooden practice sword originating in Japan.

The suburitō is much thicker at the blade than the handle which makes the suburitō much heavier than a normal bokken.

Some of the hallmarks of Hiroo ’ s Yoseikan Budo is the use of atemi ( using feet, fists, elbows and knees ), projections ( essentially techniques from judo ), sacrifice techniques ( sutemi ), self-defense including dangerous techniques ( various joint locks, elbow hits ), groundwork ( ne waza ) with hold-ons and joint locks, and work with weapons ( bokken, wood stick, knife ).

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.

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.

These bokken may be easily broken when used in even light to medium contact drills and are best left for non contact work, such as in kata.

While most species of North American red oak are unsuitable for construction of bokken, there are some Asian species of red oak that have a significantly tighter grain and will be able to withstand repeated impacts.

Skills gained from them he managed to smoothly include into his own specific aikido style where all techniques can be performed with the wooden sword bokken in hand as well as without weapons, and his weapon systems has few similarities to the more common system that derives from Morihiro Saito.

The All Japan Kendo Federation specify the dimensions of bokken for use in the modern kendo kata, called Nippon kendo kata.

Historically practiced with wooden katana ( bokken ), this most often consists of pre-determined forms, called kata, or sometimes called kumitachi, and similar to the partner drills practiced in kendo.

Often a shinai ( for kendo ), bokken, suburitō, or even tanren bō are used.

Many exotic woods are suitable for suburi ( solo practice ), but not for paired practice where they would come into contact with other bokken.

Multiple person kata exist within some schools of iaido, when iaidoka will usually use bokken for such kata practice.

During the Edo period the use of real swords for training purposes was discouraged due to injuries, wooden practice swords in the form of bokken / bokuto and shinai were used instead, and to further reduce injuries practice armour based on traditional samurai armor was developed, this practice armour was the basis for the modern bōgu.

Some dojo also practice jiyu-waza armed with bokken ( freestyle technique, without a predetermined form of attack and response ).

In its early days, Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo practice featured heavy use of a variety of Okinawan weapons, including the Bo ( 6 ft staff ), jo ( 4 ft staff ) and sai ( iron truncheon ) as the primary weapons, with other weapons including the yari ( spear ), kai ( oar ), bokken ( wooden sword ), tanbo ( stick ) and occasionally the katana ( Japanese sword ) also being practiced.

Some Japanese martial arts involving swordsmanship, such as kenjutsu and iaido, use bokken or shinai as practice weapons.

Before Nobutsuna, practice was carried out with either a very hard wooden sword ( a bokken ) or one with a dulled steel blade.

While new students of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword ( bokken ) depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, many of those who study iaido use a blunt edged sword ( iaitō ).

Miyamoto Musashi, a kenjutsu master, was renowned for fighting fully armed foes with only one or two bokken.

In a famous legend, he defeated Sasaki Kojiro with a bokken he had carved from an oar while traveling on a boat to the predetermined island for the duel.

In addition, training with a bokken does not carry the same mortal risk associated with that of a live sword, both for the user and other practitioners near by.

Suburito are bokken designed for use in suburi.

He practiced there for six days and six nights, wielding a bokken ( wooden sword ) two shaku and four sun in length ( about 2 ft. 4 in.

Musashi supposedly fashioned the long bokken, a type called a suburitō due to its above-average length, by shaving down the spare oar of the boat in which he arrived at the duel with his wakizashi ( the wood was very hard ).