sai history

[fireka]

i love sai's, even though im not training in them yet, its the first weapon ill probably get to learn (if not it will likely be bo, but i hpe its sai) i seek a history lesson if someone has it, on were the sai actually comes from, how it was used ect. (I know in okinawa it was like, anti-sword combat, which is really cool) thanks.

[AndrewGreen]

Ecerybody has a differbt version of sai history. In Okinawa it was a policing weapon, not a samurai fighting one.

 

Most likely it came through China from Indonesia where it is called a tjabang

[fireka]

i dont know what its use truely was in okinawa all i know is in isshinryu we are taught on how to use it to be anti-sword, which i guess could be converted to be anti knife as well. i also read that you would actually carry three, not two. the third was sharper at the high point and would be used as a throwing knife.

[SaiFightsMS]

The Sai theories

 

Much has been written about what the sai is. (Sai being the singular, zai the plural.) In fact statements can be read that the sai is/was this or that. I would like to explain the theories of origin as told to me by Shihan Nishiuchi and Sensei Bolz, both of the International Okinawa Kobudo Association. As they explained these theories, the proverbial "penny dropped" and made the other theories I had heard or read less creditable.

 

Before being educated by Shihan and Sensei I had been told or read that the sai was originally a tool for shifting hay. Now in Okinawa there is not too much in the way of hay farming as the main crop is rice (the penny drops). Another theory was the sai was used as a digging tool to plant seeds with by the Okinawan peasants. In Okinawa there are insufficient minerals to produce steel in vast quantities. Steel would have to have been imported, thus making it expensive and probably unobtainable to the peasants of Okinawa (the penny drops again). The four theories of origin.

 

1. The Manji sai is thought to have been developed by studying the Buddhist symbol, Manji. The Buddhist symbol resembles a reverse swastika and represents the philosophy of yin-yang. It is uncertain whether Chinese or Okinawans invented the sai.

 

2. Some think that the sai was devised by the inspiration of the kanji of the Japanese writing for "right" and "left".

 

3. Another theory is that the shape of the sai resembles the human form, which Okinawans believe to represent authority. Okinawan police would display the sai as a badge of office, much the same way that Western sheriffs and U.S. marshals wore the "tin star". Because of the expense of owning sai, only higher ranked (higher paid) police officers could afford sai.

 

4. The fourth theory comes from the sai being based on the design of the Okinawan ladies' hairpin, kanzashi.

 

These are the theories that Shihan and Sensei explained to me. They made a great deal of sense to me, as did their other theories of the Okinawan Kobudo weapons. Because of the lack of documentation we have to rely on these theories, but the theories must contain an element of support to make them more substantive.

 

There are two-sai kata practiced within the syllabus of the International Okinawa Kobudo Association. These are Ni cho sai kata (two-sai form) and San cho sai kata (three-sai form). In Okinawa it is usually considered that a set of sai/zai consists of three. A sai is held in each hand while the third is kept in the belt behind the back. Should a sai have to be thrown, the third sai can then be drawn and be available for use.

 

One technique of throwing is called nusuru guhu (thief’s’ foot). This technique is used to pin the opponents' foot to the floor thus making it difficult to escape and make capture easier. Home Secretary please take note and consider the sai as police issue.

 

This information is from

 

For further details or information regarding Okinawan Kobudo, please contact me, Sensei O'Connor, by 'phone on 01375 640609, or by writing to the International Okinawa Kobudo Association (UK). 33 St. James Ave. West, Stanford - le - Hope, Essex. SS17 7BB.

[fireka]

wow, thanks saifights! i guess really then, the sai is kinda enveloped in mystery, imean we dont REALLY know were it came from do we? ive been wondering since i came here, you must be huge advocate of the sai, since your name and everything. Id really like to discuss it more with you, its lack of documantation of orgiing actuall makes it that much more attractive. ive started to see a pattern though in martial arts weapons; do all the weapons, with the exception of sword, have some prior use before they were used as a weapon? thats what it seems like. thanks again.

 

(P.S. how did i know, when ki asked a question about zai, that you would be the one to come to the rescue? guess the name gives it away.)

[SaiFightsMS]

I am really no great expert. My choice of screen name came from my enjoyment of working with the sai. And I coupled that with what all of my martial arts training has done help me fight the effects of MS - multiple sclerosis.

 

That was from the information Nishiuchi passes on. From the the traditional school of Matayoshi kobudo.

 

Much of martial arts legend and lore is surrounded in myth and mystery. There is just no written history much before the time of Itosu.

[fireka]

oh wow, so its like "the sai fights MS" cool. im kinda doing the same thing with deslixia and falling arhes. not as big a deal as MS, but its still a battle i guess. My sensai let me hold the sais and stuff so i could mesure up for my own pair (one inch below the elbow when held in a blocking position right?) ive loved and respected the sai for so long, i kinda treated it like a nuclear weapon when i held it for the first time ever, i was really timid, i think sensai could tell because he laughed when i picked them up (slowly, with both hands as though i were holding an infant) this must seem silly to you. the mystery behind the martial arts is just another reason i love them though. I write a lot of sci-fi/fantasy and was thinking of making a story that took place in a mythic asia and basiclly said that the martial arts were created through a devine intervention. this fiction wouldnt be disrespectful would it?

[SaiFightsMS]

One of the first move to learn when using the sai is how to jump when you drop them. So they don't land on your feet.

[Tobias_Reece]

Just for the record, that was written by my instructor, Albie O'Connor. IOKA UK is my association.

 

Oh, and looks like you are all doing well.

[tommarker]

http://www.karate.org.yu/Matayoshi%20sai.htm