Fighting Fan's or Sai's

[striking_cobra]

i would think the sais would be a good start becuase they are said to be easyer but the fan would be cool but i have never heard of one ever being used as a weapon. has anyone?

 

indeed a fan can be used as a weapon. i'm not saying they are as dangerous as some weapons but just for a few examples, they can be utilized open or closed, closed it gives the user extra reach, it could be used to poke out an eye ect. an open fan can be used as a feign or foil.

 

as far as the quesiton i would pick something more practical, like the knife, to start with but that's just me.

[Ktulu]

The fans are actually called the Tessen. and yes they were used as weapons.

[parkerlineage]

IMHO, the sai would be the best weapon to begin with. It fits the Kenpo forms and system (I'm assuming we're talking about the same or similar Kenpo), as it is like having a third segment of your arm.

My instructor put it to Short Form 2, and I added a version for Long Form 2 in our dojo (which my instructor approved, so it's good). You can use them in all the forms, though the 1's are pretty lame.

Peace;

Parkerlineage

[Dark Shogun]

So your a Mortal Kombat fan eh? I never understood why they could keep throwing those weapons and still have them.

Enough about computer games, I would take sai over tessen anyday. IMO a pair of sai are one of the best weapons around. They are excelent for defence and traping and deliver more than enough damage.

[Lady Kitana]

thanks for the responses everyone !!

[sdargie]

The fan is more condusive to circular movements of kung fu and is definetly the more inconspicuous of the two in terms of carying it on the street.

The sai are more closely related to karate movements and are definetly what I would grab if I had to defend my apartment. Someone attempted to break into our apartment a few weeks ago so now my sai, tai chi sword, katana, wakizashi and tonto as well as my girlfriends katana are all within reaching distance of our bed in case it happens again.

[phi-long]

well since i use a fan i would have to say a fan. and a fan in history has been noted to overtake a lot of swords. only the highest and most respected instructors and military ranks carried fans. most of the time they were used to coordinate sections of a batalion. are they effective as a weapon? yes my fan(tessen) is the iron one and can break a bone easily, can fend off the sharp edge of a sword, and is not considerd a conseale, or even a weapon of sort where i live. im about to redo the webbing of my fan when i find the right color material. if u do go this route i would suggest starting out with a bamboo one as they are good for learning basic form.

[Zaine]

sai, cause, although fans are cool, sai is a basic weapon and you can use some of the movements from sais can be used with the fan

[Why_Worry]

I personally REALLY REALLY like the fan and i'm not really very old (14 years) so once i am out of middle school and high school i would like to find someone who could teach me the fan. Its moves are really graceful and flowing and are really cool. Sometimes peopel use metal fance that have sharpened edges so its like a big knife kinda but a iron or wood/bambo fan also word very well and trust me if you get hit with one of those its gonna hurt. But sais might be easier to start with if you already practice karate and its really yoru choice.