I'm interested in carving a staff, but I'm a city boy who knows absolutely nothing about trees, wood or carving. Where do I start?

What kind of knives do I buy, and tools to sharpen them with? And what type of wood would be suitable for a staff? It's for martial arts training, so it needs to be sturdy enough to not break when I hit someone with it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Bo staffs are rarely carved as cutting into the grain of the staff weakens it. While this is not a major problem with walking sticks, hiking staffs, etc. it would be bad for a staff that will be used to block and deflect blows from other weapons.

Also the fact that the best bo staffs are made from ash, maple, or other very hard woods makes carving one difficult at best.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

there are sites that sell those staffs and if that is all you plan to carve, would be cheaper to just buy one than to get a lot of equipment to carve, sharpen etc.