04-08-2009, 05:21 PM
Throwing javelins, i.e. the Olympics and such, are the thin, pointed sticks you are describing. [html]They are not fighting weapons; those things will splinter and break unless you're making a very thick one... Actual fighting javelins are very similar to spears, as seen here[/html]. Spears are still very long and hazardous to use in fashions other than pointing and stabbing because you could pluck your own eye out. >_> I can't say for sure, but I believe bo staves are made of generally thicker wood or something harder to splinter and break than spears or javelins (since those are stabby weapons and bo staves are made to be smacked around powerfully) but I couldn't confirm that for sure. If you wanted a pointed-edge bo staff, it would not only be uncommon but extremely dangerous to use in the same way that spears are--you could really hurt yourself, but I suppose you could learn how to control that. You can also see [html]how much shorter bo staves are here[/html]. A spear minus the spearhead at the top makes a staff and a difference in length, so.
At least in fiction, javelins and spears were commonly used by horseback riders to stab things as they went by. -shrug-
At least in fiction, javelins and spears were commonly used by horseback riders to stab things as they went by. -shrug-