Well, first off the Nunchaku are my primary, Number-one weapon of choice, but lately I've been wondering about the Sai. And last night after watching Daredevil, I saw Elektra use the Sai and thought, "Man I need to get some of those" I did a bit of research and found out that the Sai are compatible with even the most basic Karate stances and techniques, so I got a bit tickled at that. I don't know if the dojo I will soon be going to teaches use of the Sai, but I know for certain they teach use of the Bo because many years ago when they went there I explicitly remember they had Bo staves, so I would not be surprised if they had Sai. But anyways, I have some questions. 1. Are Sai a legit Karate weapon? 2. How practical are they in Combat? 3. Do you think a Dojo that teaches the art of the Bo would also teach Sai? 4. Would a Nunchaku guy like me be able to adapt to the Sai? 5. What are the laws regarding Sai, specifically in N.C.? 6. Are the tips of sai usually sharpened? That's about all the questions I have. I'm not going to ask where to get good sai or how to use them, that's the kind of thing that will come with time when I start taking Karate.
I suggest getting to a class and starting your martial journey. Weapons are not to be played with and poor training is worse than no training. To everyone else, please remember the rules in regard to how we treat newcomers to MAP.
NotaMA-since you're not a MA (yet) I'm going to reveal a secret of the Martial Arts to you. Excepting for the joy of practicing and learning, nunchaku are usually WAY down the list as a practical weapon of choice for most folks involved in systems which contain such weapons. There are good reasons for this. I'll also do what I can to answer your questions 1-Aye,matey!Well,sorta.Kobudo/jutsu may be considered a distinctive entity. 2-Plan on facing one of MAP's sword wielding koryu members? 3-maybe,or not. 4-You're a nunchaku guy? Hitting a lot of things like tires and trees/poles I hope. At any rate,I wouldn't worry about trouble "adapting". See * following #6. 5-You'll have to look up your state and municipality laws as to ownership/transport of weaponry. Weapons confiscation of things which may not be illegal (example-knives) is often left to officer's discretion in certain instances. 6-not usually these days.Unless one is expecting a sword wielding koryu practitioner. Wouldn't try 'em against a claymore wielding Scot,tho'. *You most likely,at least if it's a somewhat "traditional" school, won't be learning much of any weaponry other than perhaps staff for at least 2 years.Possible exception if dojo competes in weapon forms in tourneys. OK,in spite of us face palming ourselves into derangement over some of the things in your post you remember to just keep asking questions. As you gain experience/education in MAs you'll find Hannibal won't be testing his "Iron Palm in 100 Days" course on himself-at least with the same frequency.
It's worth bearing in mind that the vast, vast majority of karate clubs don't use weapons. Karate = "empty hand", remember! You might find the odd one that does a bit of weapons work, but if you're taking karate, expect to spend a lot of time punching and kicking and very very little time stabbing or bludgeoning!
some karate schools around me do cover some okinawan kobudo stuff. I've been told our second sai kata is basically the same as one of the kata that my sandan wado ryu friend does, the only real difference being some of the punches are other forms of sai strike. I'm not familiar with the second sai kata yet though so can't go inot much more detail on it =/ I'm inclined to agree with the others, weapons shouldn't be taken lightly, and you should only be "playing" with them if its under the supervision of a trained instructor of some sort.
Lol, thank you for that first paragraph, it had me laughing so hard and spilling coffee all over my keyboard. (Not saying this in a bad way, but just to state the truth). But in answer to the rest of your question, one of my friends, she does ****o Ryu Karate, and AFAIK is the only major style of Karate that has quite a comprehensive look at weapons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/****%C5%8D-ry%C5%AB (i'm trying to paste you the link but it keeps coming up with % symbols) google ****o Ryu Wikipedia, helped me. For more info on the style.
Get good at Karate first , then find someone who teaches sai properly , from experience I'd suggest a good Kobudo school. But really , start your Karate and concentrate on that. PS Nunchucks are pretty much the most over rated and pointless weapons in martial arts , at least how the majority of people assume they're used.
I my view, Sai are just like long knives that are limited to stabbing and blunt angular impact strikes, but very slightly enhanced by their weapon (or limb) trapping ability. To me, their slight trapping advantage over a knife is so rarely useable that in the majority of occasions a sai is just a short stick that can stab, or a long knife that can't cut. Nevertheless, Sai presents an interesting combination of weapon characteristics. You could try using a Sai as a back up weapon (i.e. In combination with a longer, single handed weapon), maybe in reverse grip as a shield... Still a bit far fetched but good for attribute development!
Raphael definitely drew the short straw in the ninja turtles. At least the others got weapons with some reach.
Lol, I don't see why everybody's dissing the chucks. It's easily concealable, it has reach, it can disarm a long weapon like a staff, you can preform submissions with it, you can choke with it, you can strike with the bottoms, you can swing them like a flail and hit someone, you can parry another weapon out of the way, they're very distracting and leave your opponent off guard, and they hurt. (I know from experience) Heck, some schools even teach you to throw them. As for the Sai, from what I've seen I think their use is similar to the use of Butterfly swords in Wing Chun. Stabbing at sensetive areas with the points, disarming with the crossguard, using the pommels as a punch enhancer kinda like a brass knuckle, and sometimes even throwing the Sai into a target. Plus, there's the intimidation factor that goes along with something like that. I also imagine being lopped in the head with the shaft wouldn't be too funny either. But like you all said, I'm going to learn empty-handed combat well before I go too far into weapons training. P.S. I used to do lots of weapons sparring with actual people. So when it comes to weaponry I have a small bit of realistic insight, but not as much as you all obviously. I claim to know nothing, as I've said before. I'm a no-belt, I know nothing.
You could be a bit more specific on what exactly makes me appear as an idiot, so that I can prevent myself from looking like an idiot in the future. Lol.
Try not to take this as an insult, but everyone disses nunchaku because they are stupid. They are difficult to control, have limited reach when compared to a cub, sword, or a bó. Have less power than most weapons, and will most likely end up hurting you as much as your opponent. As for the sai, it's a weapon included in kubodo. Many dojos do practice kubodo (okinawan weapons) along side karate, but not all. Sai are an advanced weapon in kubodo though. You can expect to learn bó first, then chuks, then comma, then sai. Although comma and sai might be switched depending on your sensei. If the dojo you want to train at does bó, they probably do sai. But that is years down the road. I practice kubodo along with my karate, and I can say I only really like the bó. It's simple, has reach, has huge power, and it's almost impossible to block as its incredibly quick. Sparring with padded Bo's is incredibly fun too!
Surely you mean kama and not the semicolon's abbreviated cousin. How often do you punctuate your karate training with kobudo?
The thing is, watching Daredevil and then the Elektra movies made me want to get Sai too... but I didn't. During the film Elektra, Jennifer Gardner got her knuckles sliced by Will Yun Lee. No problem some sewing/patching up and ready to go... just to get cut in the same exact spot again. So, one has to be careful with weapons.
