striderteen
New member
Are there any schools in the U.S. that teach fighting with sai daggers, and are there any places that sell combat-quality sais? Shouldn't be THAT difficult to make, since they're not sharp...
Sai Fighting
- Thread starter striderteen
- Start date
Rakekniven
New member
Sai is one of the traditional Okinawan weapons. Any karate dojo that also teaches kubudo (Okinawan weapons) will probably teach Sai. Note however, that most dojo's require that you have picked up several karate belts before they let you train with weapons.
As to where to get Sai's, once you find a place that will teach you, they should have a source for getting Sai.
On another note, what is your reason for wanting to learn Sai? While it is a beautiful art that requires a lot of time to master, and is a personal challenge to learn, Sai's are not that usefull for self defense IMHO. If self defense is your goal, I would suggest taking a good practical knife self-defense class.
As to where to get Sai's, once you find a place that will teach you, they should have a source for getting Sai.
On another note, what is your reason for wanting to learn Sai? While it is a beautiful art that requires a lot of time to master, and is a personal challenge to learn, Sai's are not that usefull for self defense IMHO. If self defense is your goal, I would suggest taking a good practical knife self-defense class.
A sai can be a very effective self defense weapon if taught by a competent instructor. I've been whapped a few times during training and I can tell you they are very unpleasant to be on the receiving end of.
While any melee weapon is at a disadvantage against a firearm, used properly, sai, nunchaku and tonfa and be very effective and lethal.
If I had a choice of non-firearms weapons, I would choose in this order:
Bo
Knife
nunchaku
tonfa
sai
The key element has already been stated though, any one of the melee weapons listed above takes a good deal of training and practice in order to make them effective in a combat situation.
While any melee weapon is at a disadvantage against a firearm, used properly, sai, nunchaku and tonfa and be very effective and lethal.
If I had a choice of non-firearms weapons, I would choose in this order:
Bo
Knife
nunchaku
tonfa
sai
The key element has already been stated though, any one of the melee weapons listed above takes a good deal of training and practice in order to make them effective in a combat situation.
Agree
I agree with Rakekniven,
Sai are a part of the Okinawan martial arts, but if you are not proficient in its uses, you could receive serious injuries just in practice unless under the guidance of a qualified instructor.
It also takes years of learning the unarmed techniques of your style. Your progress depends on your proving to your instructor that you are worthy by showing your dedication to learning by practice, practice, and more practice.
Many years back I thought I had learned the sai techniques pretty well without my instructor having watched me. We had to do a demonstration for a boy's club and he paired me off with another student who had a control problem with his bo (staff)...Yuup! two broken thumbs because I had "learned" to twirl the sai a "different" way.
That kind of sets you back in your practice. When it gets cold, it also hurts a lot.
I agree with Rakekniven,
Sai are a part of the Okinawan martial arts, but if you are not proficient in its uses, you could receive serious injuries just in practice unless under the guidance of a qualified instructor.
It also takes years of learning the unarmed techniques of your style. Your progress depends on your proving to your instructor that you are worthy by showing your dedication to learning by practice, practice, and more practice.
Many years back I thought I had learned the sai techniques pretty well without my instructor having watched me. We had to do a demonstration for a boy's club and he paired me off with another student who had a control problem with his bo (staff)...Yuup! two broken thumbs because I had "learned" to twirl the sai a "different" way.
That kind of sets you back in your practice. When it gets cold, it also hurts a lot.
striderteen
New member
I wouldn't be using the sai "properly" -- the blade style is close enough to allow me to use it as a parry dagger for fencing. Mostly for playing around, frankly.
Matt Wallis
New member
Striderteen,
Why not just get an actual main gauche or parrying dagger then? For that, even a CASI would probably be fine and not that expensive. Or if you have the money, get a Del Tin. You could even try a used one. Several sword sites have classifieds. Or, there are even specially made daggers for fencing made with flexi blades or shortened epee blades and stuff like that.
Regards,
Matt
Why not just get an actual main gauche or parrying dagger then? For that, even a CASI would probably be fine and not that expensive. Or if you have the money, get a Del Tin. You could even try a used one. Several sword sites have classifieds. Or, there are even specially made daggers for fencing made with flexi blades or shortened epee blades and stuff like that.
Regards,
Matt
striderteen
New member
Simply because I think sai look cooler, and because it's Asian and the latter are not. I like to be inconsistent (European epee + Asian sai = one happy camper).
Matt Wallis
New member
Hey, "cross training" (as some call it) can be very cool. Just don't fool yourself that you're actually practicing rapier and dagger when you're using an epee and sai. Also, don't expect a sai to behave like a main gauche either. Rough similarity in shape does not always equate to similarity in handling.
Keep have fun, though!
Matt
Keep have fun, though!
Matt
striderteen
New member
We don't use main gauche in NCAA fencing, so I won't have to unlearn anything.
You can buy sais on any number of online martial arts supply houses, or pick one up at your local MA dealer where you'll have a chance to examine the quality first.
They're usually sold in pairs, so you may want to find a Jitte if you can, they're sold singly and look much cooler IMO.
They're usually sold in pairs, so you may want to find a Jitte if you can, they're sold singly and look much cooler IMO.