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The quarterstaff may be made from many kinds of wood, commonly ash, oak, hazel, or hawthorn. It may have metal spikes or caps at one or both ends; these are depicted or referred to in some Elizabethan and Jacobean sources. The length of the staff varies, typically ranging from 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 metres); in addition, long staves of 12 to as much as 18 feet (3.6 to 5.4 metres) were employed in Early Modern times. The weapon seems to have become shorter and lighter later in its history, though nine-foot staves were still sometimes employed in Victorian England. In this period, the staff was often made from bamboo for safety, since it was mostly used for sport (though self-defence use continued to some extent); quarterstaff fencers wore protective body armour derived from other sports including sabre fencing, boxing and cricket.

The quarterstaff is effectively a long two-handed club, although its weight distribution is generally even throughout its entire length (some forms did have weighted tips, however). It was used both to deliver crushing blows, and to thrust like a spear. The art of using the staff was closely related to that of other polearms, and it was often employed as a training weapon for the latter. Moves include many different forms of blocks, thrusts, strikes, and sweeps.
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History

The staff being a very simple weapon to manufacture, it has a long history of use, and a wide cultural dispersion. The staff is a traditional weapon of many Asian martial arts. The quarterstaff proper was historically a common weapon in England, where it features in the Robin Hood legend as the favorite weapon of Little John. There are also many tools that can easily be used as or quickly converted to a staff.




http://alliancemartialarts.com/quarterstaff.htm

http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2001/jwmaart_docherty_0501.htm

http://www.quarterstaff.org/

http://www.members.aol.com/dargolyt/TheForge/1-4staff.htm