Kama vs. Sai

[cherub2]

I am a Tang Soo Do student, and I am at the point where I want to choose a weapon form to specialize in. I have narrowed it down to two weapons, being the sai and kama.

 

please describe the pro's and con's of the sai and kama, so that I may make a more informed decision.

 

thanks....

[monkeygirl]

I don't really know much about the Sai...you may want to ask SaiFightMS!

 

However, I am particularly partial to the kama/kusarigama. (kusarigama have chains/cord to swing with, kama do not)

 

Kamas are pretty nice weapons. They're shiny for tournaments, get some good speed, and (in my opinion) are pretty intuitive to learn. In my style the kamas don't have a lot of straight-in strikes, rather they are parries, cross-strikes, spins, etc.

 

Disadvantage: kamas can be pretty heavy when compared to the lighter weight nunchaku and even bo staffs.

 

And of course, if you get sharp ones, there's always that whole "stabbing yourself" thing...

[AndrewGreen]

For what purpose? putting on a show or actually learning to use them correctly?

[SaiFightsMS]

I let this one go for a bit to think about it. The best answer I can give at this point taking into consideration that I am not proficient with kama is do you prefer to work with the slashing and spinning moves of the kama. Or do you like the basic blocking, hooking and striking movements used with the sai.

 

Actually we have a joke in my club that the first move you learn with the sai is to jump and get your feet out of the way when you drop one.