My weapons came in!

[Kicks]

Hey gang, after taking in all your suggestions I decided on the proper sai and bo for my son and I. Thanks for your input.

 

I was able to make contact with a man in Okinawa Japan who went directly to the Shureido factory and got me an 18" chrome octaganol sai with black wrappings. I paid $145.00 for his efforts. It's beautiful and handles wonderfully. If you 'eBay' he has an auction at

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36281&item=7105998962&rd=1

 

Like I said, I'm pleased with how it handles, BUT, There is a monor flaw I need help correcting. At the end of the wrapping, at the the 'butt end' of the handle, the wrapping seems to have a coating on it to keep it intact. The end of the wrapping sticks up a little, so when I'm handeling the sai it kind of scratches my wrist. I'm hopeing I can correct this without damaging the wrappings.

 

The BOs

 

I also ordered and received 2 Bo staff from Century. I got the 5'6" Ultra Light White Wood Lotus Bo and the 5'6" Competition Bo as seen at

 

http://www.centuryfitness.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10051&crumb=13501-13524&storeId=10051&categoryId=13653&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=13526

 

They just came in last night so I haven't played with them yet. I spent most of the evening getting the gum off the wood from the labels stuck on them. But my first impression was WOW, ARE THESE THING LIGHT!!!! It feels like they were going to go flying right out of my hand.

 

I can't wait till we get so good at doing all sorts of flashy tricks so we can post a video in honor of Shorinryu Sensei

 

(just givin' ya 'crap')

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I can't wait till we get so good at doing all sorts of flashy tricks so we can post a video in honor of Shorinryu Sensei

 

(just givin' ya 'crap')

 

Do you need help on which end does what?

 

I'm not sure what to tell you about the end of the sai you're talking about with the coating.

 

Question...18" is a pretty short sai (I use 21" myself). When you hold the sai in the web of your hand and the "blade" runs down your forearm...does the point of the sai extend past your elbow? It should by about 1/2-1".

 

The biggest suggestion I can give you kicks for proper use of the sai, is when you do a block, make sure that the blade of the sai is actually going to make contact with what you are blocking. I see that mistake all the time in tournament competition. Also, I don't know how you do your upward/high block, but you need to make sure that your arm is at a 45 degree angle to your body, not straight across and parallel to the gorund. Basically, if a baseball bat is coming straight down to your head, the sai will deflect it and channel the force of the weapon down and away from your head. You don't want to absord the entire force of the downward blow with the sai. It should be at an angle similar to this...."/" or ""....not --. Make sense?

 

Oh heck, why don't you just hop a plane and come up here for a weekend...I'll get you all fixed up! lol

 

On the bo's...personally, I don't care for lightweight bo's. Sure, you can whip them around real fast, but they don't have the knockdown power of a combat bo...meaning, heavyweight. Also, the heavier the bo is, the more it builds up your muscles until you get to the point you can move them just about as fast, but with much more striking power and authority, than a lightweight bo anyway. Personal preference.

 

In a tounament, I mark down competitors that use lightweight weapons before they even do a move. If there is any doubt when they present themselves to me, I ask to look at the weapon. Light gets a lower score than heavy.

[Kicks]

Shorinryu Sensei wrote:

 

basically, a book!

 

The sai I have comes to the elbow, but doesn't extend past unless I bend the wrist a little. I wanted it that way for what I'm doing. They do, however, extend past my son's elbow about an inch or so.

 

As far as overhead blocks....basic white belt stuff. Sorry, no trip to your dojang for that training.

 

And the Bo's, we already have the heavier ones that we've trained with for years. We can strike with those without worring about breaking them. I've only seen one break in the 12 years I've been there. The ones we got last night are lightweight and for flashy twirlie demostrations only. We do not compete in any tournaments that have weapons competitions. All our tournaments are USTU / WTF and only do forms and Olympic sparring.

 

So why the lightweight Bo's? Well, to start a new 'project' with my kids and keep their interest in the Martial Arts. They are having fun learning on our own to do something unique to our dojang. Also, in December we are having three 4th Dans take their final test for 5th Dan. Several Masters in the area and our Grand Master will be invited to attend. All black belts will be required to give a demostration. My kids and I are planning on doing some free-style weapons demo, something not normally done in our dojang but is encouraged.

 

But thanks for the invite. Wish you were here. Maybe if we get good enough we can make a believer out of you.

 

...or maybe not

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Shorinryu Sensei wrote:

 

basically, a book! [/quiote]

 

What can i SAY...I'M A BLABBERMOUTH!

The sai I have comes to the elbow, but doesn't extend past unless I bend the wrist a little. I wanted it that way for what I'm doing. They do, however, extend past my son's elbow about an inch or so.

 

Your sai will give you some problems possibly if someone tries to hit you on the noggin' with a bat or sword. It could clip the end of your elbow and even chip the bone. I've seen that happen. That's why it's supposed to extend just past your elbow.

As far as overhead blocks....basic white belt stuff. Sorry, no trip to your dojang for that training.

 

*ahem*...I have a dojo..not a dojang. The reason I asked on the high block is that most TKD that I've seen do their high/upward blocks with the forearm parallel to the gound and not at a 45 degree angle. There's hope for you yet!

But thanks for the invite. Wish you were here. Maybe if we get good enough we can make a believer out of you.

 

...or maybe not

 

Well hey, we landed men on the moon, so I guess ANYTHING's POSSIBLE!

[yamesu]

On the bo's...personally, I don't care for lightweight bo's. Sure, you can whip them around real fast, but they don't have the knockdown power of a combat bo...meaning, heavyweight. Also, the heavier the bo is, the more it builds up your muscles until you get to the point you can move them just about as fast, but with much more striking power and authority, than a lightweight bo anyway. Personal preference.

agreed, nothing beats a fast moving redoak bo, hehehe

 

graphite bos just dont amaze me like they do others..........

[SaiFightsMS]

I use an 18 inch set of sai and during bo sai techniques I have never been hit on the end of the elbow. Mine are long enough for me. When I used the longe pair they were a bit too long to me and my techniques were definately not as good.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

I use an 18 inch set of sai and during bo sai techniques I have never been hit on the end of the elbow. Mine are long enough for me. When I used the longe pair they were a bit too long to me and my techniques were definately not as good.

 

It all depends on how long your arm is. When you hold the sai and it runs down the outside of your arm, does it goe past your elbow...even by 1/2"? If so, that's OK. if it doesn't, you may experience a good what sometime on the tip of your elbow.

 

I have long arms (I'm 6'6" tall) so I need a longer sai. A shorter person can use a shorter sai.

[SaiFightsMS]

My 18 inch sai actually do extend beyone the tip of my elbow about an inch. When I got them my sai techniques went from just average to the best in the dojo.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

My 18 inch sai actually do extend beyone the tip of my elbow about an inch. When I got them my sai techniques went from just average to the best in the dojo.

 

1" is about the maximum that you want them to extend past your elbow...so they sound just right for you. Any longer, and they will be cumbersome and awkward to use.

 

Like any tool, having the right one can make all the difference.

[Kicks]

For now the 18" sai is suiting me just fine since I don't have any immediate plans to block swords with them. I'm just working on some kata and free style demo techniques.

 

And another thing Shorinryu Sensei, at least for this month, I'm always right. I'm member of the month!