Bōjutsu vs Fencing
Bōjutsu and Fencing side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Bōjutsu | Fencing | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Ryukyu Kingdom | — |
| Type | budō and jutsu | combat sport and Olympic sport |
| Competition at the Olympics | — | Yes – 108 Olympic events recorded |
| Notable practitioners here | 1 | 3202 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Japan | France, Italy and United States |
| Equipment and weapons | — | foil, épée and saber |
| Energy use (MET) | — | 6.0 MET (Fencing, general) |
Bōjutsu
Bōjutsu (Japanese: 棒術, lit. 'staff technique') is the martial art of stick fighting using a bō, which is the Japanese word for staff. Staffs have been in use for thousands of years in Asian martial arts like Silambam. Some techniques involve slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the staff. Others involve using the staff as a vaulting pole or as a prop for hand-to-hand strikes.
From the Wikipedia article Bōjutsu (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre (also spelled saber), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one of these disciplines. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century, evolving from historical European swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with the opponent with one's sword.
From the Wikipedia article Fencing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q961126, Q12100. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.