Wax Wood
Encyclopedia
White Wax Wood is the wood of Ligustrum lucidum
Ligustrum lucidum
Ligustrum lucidum is a species of privet native to the southern half of China.-Growth:It is the largest species in the genus, growing as a tree up to 25 m tall...

 (Glossy Privet, Chinese Privet or Broad-leaf Privet), which has been prized in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 for thousands of years. It is considered one of the best materials from which to fashion staff
Gun (staff)
The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...

s, spear
Qiang (spear)
Qiang is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield...

 shafts, and walking sticks, because it is tough, hard and flexible
Flexible
Flexible may refer to:* Flexible electrical cable, also known as a power cord* Flexible electronics* Flexible response* Flexible mold* Flextime* Flexible-fuel vehicle* Flexible rake receiver* Flexible spending account, a tax-advantaged savings account...

 and can absorb shock without breaking. However, a disadvantage of white waxwood is that it is very vulnerable to wood worm. This can be treated if found early enough with various powders and oils.

A white waxwood staff, shaft, or walking stick is made from a sapling. Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n martial artists will typically choose a piece of waxwood cut to be 6" - 9" (15 - 23 cms) above their own height, and which will have a pointed end (toward the top of the wax wood stalk) and a thicker base. The size and weight of the Bō staff
Bo
-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...

 is determined by how near or far the staff is cut from the tip of the waxwood stalk.

Chinese Wushu styles use white waxwood for long weapons including staff, spear, and three section staff. Wushu regulations are for the staff and spears not to be shorter than the height of the weilder. Kung Fu stylists also use waxwood weapons although some prefer rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...

.
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