A bokken, also known as a bokuto or wooden sword, is a Japanese sword. These wooden swords are usually the approximate shape and size of a katana, however you can find them in wakizashi and tanto sizes as well.

Several martial arts use the bokken as an inexpensive and safer alternative to a real sword for training purposes. You see them used most often when a practitioner of iaido has recently entered training and it is not yet safe for an iaito to be used. Another common use for a bokken is when a veteran iaidoka engages in particular kata with another person and it safety needs to be taken into account. Some bokken are designed solely for sword drawing. These bokken usually come with a plastic or wooden saya and are not well suited for regular sword techniques as they are slimmer than regular bokken.

You will find use of a bokken in both kenjutsu and aikido training, although aikido is usually an empty handed discipline. When a bokken is used as part of an aikido dojo it is primarily a tool to enhance focus, not a weapon. A hand guard is usually not necessary with a bokken as there is a smooth transition between the blade and the handle. Some bokken, however, do have a clearly defined transition between the handle and blade and accept a hand guard, also known as a tsuba.

Using a bokken for training allows the practitioner to get familiar with the form of the blade and the technique for making proper strokes, as well as giving them an opportunity to practice the kata (form). Bokken are commonly used for the practice of kendo. The curved form of the blade and the presence of a hand guard or tsuba to block and opponents strike are integral parts of several kata. You could not get the same training with a shinai which uses a straight "blade".

There are several factors that come in to determining the quality of a bokken, including the type of wood used, the overall quality of the wood, and the expertise of the craftsman. All of these go into the production of a high quality bokken.

The selection of wood for a bokken is the most important element. Many inexpensive bokken are mass produced using a very porous wood from South East Asia that gives you a bokken that is likely to break with even moderate contact. The only real use for this type of bokken is for kata. The wood used for these low quality bokken is so porous that you can sometimes see the wood putty that is used to fill large holes when the varnish is removed.

Not all wood from Asia is bad for bokken production. There are some Asian species of red oak that will make longer lasting bokken as they
have a relatively tighter grain. North American species of red oak should not be used in the production of bokken.

Some of the best woods for the production of bokken that are still relatively inexpensive include Japanese white oak, known as Kashi, and
hickory. Kashi is nice because it has a tighter grain than any species of red oak. Hickory works well due to its hardness and ability to resist impact.

The more expensive bokken will be produced using exotic hardwoods such as Brazilian cherrywood (Jatoba) and purpleheart. Some of the costliest bokken are produced using Lignum Vitae. While many tropical woods have the heaviness that is desired for bokken production they are not often used because of their tendency to be brittle and therefore break easily. When a bokken is being used for paired practice that involves contact with other swords it is best to avoid exotic woods.

With all this being said it is important to note that each individual piece of wood has its own characteristics, such that two bokken make
from the same type of wood can be of quite different quality.

A bokken that has been designed for suburi, or solo cutting exercise, is called a suburito. Since suburito are heavier and thicker than
normal bokken good technique will need to be paired with strong muscles to wield one correctly. Suburito are usually not used for paired exercises as their weight tends to make them out of balance.

Bokken have as long a history as Japanese blades, and were often used for the training of warriors. There is a kenjutsu master named Miyamoto Musashi who is renowned for combating armed foes with just a bokken or two. He is said to have defeated many a master swordsman with this method, including slaying Sasaki Kojiro with a bokken which had been produced from a broken oar.