We use the sai to train several dimensions of practical self-defense.
We do not practice with the sai primarily to maintain a tradition. Practicing with catapult and or arquebus might be very interesting to some people. But that is not the way we approach our sai training. Although we don’t carry them around with us, using them trains a set of skills we can access if we need them.
The sai is a blunt instrument.
It is not a sword or a knife, and it is used differently. It was introduced as a law enforcement weapon in the 17th century on Okinawa. It was carried by police at the belt, used for crowd control and to subdue and arrest individuals, armed or unarmed.
Expandable Baton
Many sai techniques, as trained in our kata match the techniques of the expandable baton, as used in law enforcement now. I taught expandable baton as a law enforcement defensive tactics instructor. Many techniques matched. These techniques include the diagonal cross-body strikes, thrusts, punches, elbow strikes, parries and in some cases, pinning, compliance and trapping techniques. These appear in kata including Tsukenshitahaku no sai and Kishaba no sai.
The sai provide skills that transfer naturally to the expandable baton. These skills include body dynamics, range of motion and targeting. In modern law enforcement there are other tools immediately available – firearms, taser, pepper spray, and others in addition to the expandable baton – there are some differences between the deployment of the baton and the sai. But their use is similar.
The Hooks
The hooks on the sai, the yoko, extend the range of techniques beyond those of the straight baton. During the 250 years when the sai was the primary law enforcement tool on Okinawa, the yoko were used to trap a sword, club or arm. By using a distinctive trap and twist technique, which appears in our kata, we can 1. deflect or parry, and 2. trap a weapon or limb. In the case of the weapon, we follow up with a disarming technique. In the case of an empty hand arrestee, we follow up with an immobilizing technique. This three-part movement sequence appears in our kata.
Anti-Sword
A pair of sai, designed with yoko, was perfectly suited to stop a sword attack. Although firearms were present in those days, they were heavy, slow to load and rarely encountered by law enforcement with a civil-order mission.
Sai Phased Out
Firearms were introduced throughout Japanese law enforcement after World War II. By 1950 Okinawan police officers carried pistols. The sai were phased out of their traditional role as a law enforcement weapon. But the police baton – and sai skill – continued to be practiced and valued.
Improvised Weapons
Sai technique and skill transfers easily to many improvised weapons we might need to pick up – a short stick, tool, and object like a lamp or similar. Distances, timing, body dynamics, maneuver ranges and targets are all the same or close.
Hand Conditioning
The sai gives excellent hand and forearm condition, especially if you are using solid, full-weight sai, not the light weight ones that are good for demonstrations but not as good for training or contact with a resistant target.
Flourish of Arms
One point that has come up in doing the sai bunkai is the first move of the kata. These have been interpreted as strikes. Maybe a better understanding of these moves is a “flourish of arms.” They occur at the beginning of the katas, before the encounter. In edged weapon combat, east and west, a flourish or arms was typically used before a match or a duel, to intimidate an opponent with a demonstration of speed, power, skill, determination and freedom from fear.
Practical Sai Training
The composers of our kata were looking back as well as to the future when they devised these sai kata, for skill training and for public demonstration.
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Post copyright © 2025 Jeffrey Brooks, MountainKarateNC.com, Yamabayashi Ryu, Mountain Karate Dojo, in the mountains of western NC.
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