The Sai

[DeeLovesKarate]

Can anyone tell me how to learn this beautiful and mysterious weapon. I have chosen it for a free style musical form, and need to learn it. I prob have about 1 1/2 to 2 years to learn. Where can I purchase a set?

[SD]

martialartsmart.com has them for sale. they're not much at all either, you can actually get a weapon masters kit that inludes a pair of sais and an instructional book that could help you out with what your instructor is teaching you.

[SD]

34.19 for 20 inch octagon sai it depends how long your arms are though, you may wanna get teh 18 inch, they're.....one sec..33.24. Thats in US dollars.

[omnifinite]

Make sure they're high-quality and balanced properly. It'll make life much easier.

[Tobias_Reece]

Generally, most zai that you buy nowadays are not balanced very well. You have to pay for a more expensive pair for balancing (but to be fair, anything over £30 is expensive to me)

 

The length should be able 1 - 1 1/2 inches past your elbow. Nowadays zai come in 19.5 and 21.5 inches.

[Pacificshore]

Most commercially sold sais are not that great. But what are you gonna do, other than have them custom made and those can get expensive. If you search the net, I know that Shureido(like the gi) makes weapons, only problem is it cost $$$. They tend to be fairly balanced and have that authentic look to them. I have a pair somewhere around. My only problem with them are the side prongs, they are too narrow. It apparently was made for smaller hands. And although my hands aren't that large, they are a bit snug on certain holds.

 

The proper way to measure a pair of sais is to hold one in the web of your hand between your thumb and index finger. The point should be past your elbow at least a 1/2". However, if you are going to use it for competition in a musical form, then I suggest that you get one that is easy for your to manipulate w/o getting it caught up in your gi.

 

A good resource for the sais would be Fumio Demura's book. It covers all the basic moves and strikes. I'm sure there are others out there, but this is a book that is easily found.

 

Oh, one last thing in the difference between sais sold commercially and authentic sais. In the commercial ones, where the main prong meets the 2 side prong/hooks, you'll notice a ball or raised area. In most authentic ones that area is flat. It'll allow for better control of the sais during manipulation. Well that's just my bit of info on the sais.

[Tobias_Reece]

Yup, I agree with PacificShore - Fumio does have a very good book.

 

Oh, and the plural of sai is zai, not sais. (I like pointing that out - it makes me feel big )

[Jade_Lotus]

FYI, there are no plural in distinctions in Japanese. Just thought you might want to know that. If you ask me how I know..well...I speak Japanese.

[Tobias_Reece]

Guess I'll just have to go and tell Mikio Nishiuchi that he is wrong then. He'll probably have to remake all his videos, recall his teachings and disregard his Okinawan birthplace.

 

But on a friendlier note - I was under the understanding that it is all translated from Kanji. Therefore, spelling is only an account of pronunciation.

 

But like I said, I'm only passing on what I have been told by hundreds (ok, many not that many) of people.

 

But using your logic, sais is also wrong as well. (therefore zai is how it is pronounced - incorrect?)[/url]

[Pacificshore]

See I learn something new everyday