Actually, in RL they really aren't all that hard to get moving. Maybe I should just make it a little easier to get this feat by shifting the BAB requirement to +3, so that it becomes more useful to characters who haven't yet got the cash to invest in merciful weaponry. That way, it should be perfectly accessible to any monk, or high Int other combatant, who wanted to specialise in the quarterstaff. Of course, it isn't all that useful for monks, because their unarmed strikes give them plenty of non-lethal damage. Drat, homebrew is harder than I thought.

Also, wizards and druids often use quarterstaffs, but don't often take Improved Trip. Maybe that would be the best requirement to nix. Any thoughts?