There are 6 sai kata in the system. Each one developing upon the last (not a collection of various Sai); each of the first five being named by levels of Ryukyu police officers (Chiku [think like Fukyugata kata], Saji, Chikusaji, Wakichiku, and Ufuchiku). Over time Chikusaji and Wakichiku had other various names. From what is passed down in our tradition, Kanagusuku Sanda Ufuchiku did not have kata, just waza. One of his senior students, Tokashiki Saburo, developed the Ufuchiku and Wakichiku kata from the most commonly used of Kanagusuku waza. His student was Kaishu Isa, my teacher, and Tokashiki and Isa developed Chikusaji (Kiichi Nakamoto learned it from Isa Sensei in the 1980’s and calls it by the old name, Tokashiki no Sai). Isa later made two more “stepping kata” Chiku and Saji Sai. There is another advanced kata that uses more relaxed Ti based movements with a single sai called Tiichi (Okinawan for “1”) Sai. Although we have always trained partner drills from the kata, lately Isa Senseo has focused more on heavily combination and partner work from Tiichi Sai.
I just wrote a huge FB post on this very subject. Kina Shosei trained saijutsu with Kanagusuku Sensei but had previous training with family and neighbors (and maybe even Yabu Kentsu and Hanashiro Chomo) and he developed Sai I, which later was called Ufuchiku no Sai or Hanagusuku no Sai by others in Matsubayashi as Kyan Shinyei was Kina’s student and taught those kata. Kyan taught those directly to the Shima-ha Matsubayashi group like Oshiro and Nishime Sensei so they call it Kyan no Sai. This kata contains a few Kanagusuku Sai waza but a lot from his previous Sai training (Kina that is). The second Sai kata; known as Sai II by Kyan and Kina, became known as Kyan no Sai by others because Kyan often performed it in demos while Kina performed his Sai I. However, not sure why, Nishime Sensei refers to this as Nakandakari no Sai.
Looking more into that second Sai kata, it is an adaptation of Nakamura Shigeru’s Nakamura no Sai which was adapted from the first Sai kata of the Nakaima family of Ryuei-ryu which Nakamura’s teacher Sakiyama or Nakamura himself learned from the Nakaima family. Not sure how or why Kyan Shinyei used that kata, but Fusei Kise of Matsumura Seito also had an adaptation of the same kata. Of note, Toma Shian of Seidokan must have learned the kata from Kyan Shinyei because his version is almost identical to Kyan’s and Kyan is older and was already training/performing that version. It is known as Toma no Sai in Seidokan.
Neither the Sai I or Sai II of Kina and Kyan Shinyei are trained or taught in Isa Kaishu’s Ufuchiku-Den kobudo as they are not from Tokashiki Sensei and use different shouts methods.
Both, mostly armed but we also use in our karamiti (Ryukyu Ti) against unarmed to apply locks and joint manipulation.
Now, I want to point out that there are 4 distinct groups using the term Ufuchiku kobudo.
1. Kyan Shinyei to Matsubayashi. Kyan Sensei knew saijutsu from Kina Shosei but his Bojutsu was Yamanni-Ryu from Oshiro Chojo, a student of Chinen Sanda, and Izumikawa Kankoof Yamanni-Ryu so his kobudo is from various lines.
2. Kina Masanobu, Kina Shosei’s nephew, and head of Reigokan dojo. Robert Teller’s teacher. He also trained karate and sai with Kina, and he trained Yamanni-ryu Bojutsu with Izumikawa, Kama with Irei Sensei, and nunchaku from men in his village (Shimabuku village of kitanagusuku). So his kobudo is a mixture of lineages with only saijutsu from Kina.
3. Nakamoto Kiichi of the OkinawaKan. He was a direct student of Kina Shosei and later in 1980’s also trained done with Isa Sensei. He would later be VP of Kyan Shinyei’d kobudo group and took it over after Kyan’s death. It also has Taira-ha Ryukyu Kobudo and Matayoshi Kobudo kata in their curriculum. A mixture of Kobudo lineages.
4. Isa Kaishu, karate student of Kina Shosei in Shorin-Ryu and successor to Tokashiki Saburo, a senior student of Kanagusuku Sanda who learned multiple weapons over many years from Kanagusuku as well as a form of Ti, we call karamiti. He is the actual Sandai (3rd) Soke of Ufuchiku-Den Ryukyu Kobujutsu awarded in a public ceremony in the 1970’s and awarded Menkyo Kaiden listing all the weapons mastered.
All the teacher listed above are/were excellent karate and kobudo masters with a strong tradition and effective techniques. I am simply trying to point out facts that are often overlooked.
