I often thought that.. .... but also that he can show the feeling behind it regardless of the object..
It makes more sense to me to just put on some protective gear and use real weapons. I'm so used to the real thing that a "fake" weapon would require a lot of practice to learn. If you're good enough for free sparring, you should be safe. If not, stick with the basic "fixed" sparring exercises (like kumae bo and such) until you get it. I've seen my shihan and sensei doing it with no protection whatsoever (except the tsuba on the bokken, of course)
I was going to say AC foam, but it was mentioned. Swimming noodles can also work. But I would go with what the teacher would recommend, as he may desire a certain type or consistency
For what it's worth when we studied jo with Soke he had us bring both wooden and padded weapons Similarly for sword (padded, wooden and metal), bo and hanbo He would typically have us train a technique with each tool in turn. This allowed for the form to be developed with the correct weapon (wooden/metal), then for us to go for it using the padded weapons. Repeating this cycle worked well - for me at least
I have fukuro shinai from Tim Bathurst. They are very nice. But based on my many bruises, they still deliver quite a punch. certainly nicer than getting whacked with wood though.
