By Fumio Demura SHITO - RYU Series #2 Karate weapon of self-defense PE EAL AX ij PPRERTROA OKINAWA KOBUDO ALLIANCEDace ete cna Uencec oa pats spat pm Samay or me oi ta Sh Stes Soe ase Shahan pr a secre Lone corns Monts a ope man tastes Seon een an age cetera a pocorn rein Se ny eae SaaS ay see Soa fu eh wnitcen esis 5 Reta otal gt oi Soe ah Sek oe fat atten fete joss eopeies mmeaes Reape ics Seat a Ginaaoertpen DOMcne Se SD, Sheer tat sels hitanin Tamarevoueece rece eee ees Sothern! ‘ey cot statin nc weicmuatorcceas cere oni neces ay ata et tee See eta Tn erm Seat ee eearertemonry = ia ew ome ts att rt meow Foes sear maaloe rahe oat Sai History Of The Sai ‘employed by Japanese swor! sits when laratska (karate men) flashed ‘Approsimately' 100 years ago, Xt during kata form) competion a ‘mote pogresive means for making tumamens. They prompay ree sai was utllzed. A fnsbed Sai was ognized asa valuable instrument Ini inthe sand vo cast am indented Yor developing pose and poste, 50 lmpresson. When he sai as esenial o pod karst removed, molten lead was poured Rigid aiing and skill re Into the cavity. Aer the lead cooled roquled to manipulate the ss in tnd hardened, rough edges were techniques which parle the move (pound off and the Finished Ista ments of kart. Prectoners of the ‘eat was poised. Sa develop excellent flexibility in ‘When fist ingoducedt Japan, the the vse of thei ands and ean often sai wat called jute I bore single bande he isrument wit be dex ‘rong atthe hale. The Japanese tery of x majoet twig a baton, police found it quite efeive in Sklful ute of he sai requires spe Blocking the thst ofthe samurai. cial coordination execines tad “The sai was also used agaist pres- advanced proficiency in the at of sure poins when making arests. karate. For this reason, Mr Demura Japanese Karate paconets at thst recommends that a peron below te time. accorded the instumeat a tank of brown belt should aot, rather cool reception tempt to practice ery few found i ‘withthe interesting enough fo ty, but once they dd, they were fascinated with Americans became ineeasingly \Anatomy O¢ The Sai POINT The pot sometimes sharp, bot more often rounded. Occssc Slip or baton spaced onthe point raking the appearance of the st ‘milo fencing fi, BLADE The bide i either rounded or ewe ino six oe eight symmenical facets, The faceted type Bade is considered the mos practcl Some bles are fat like tat of wor. PRONGS ‘The prongs oe guard re wtully carved ike dent and wal for Inking the stoke of sword orb. (CENTER OF BALANCE LE. fs often wrapped with cotton tape or thik ting GUARD CENTER ‘The guard cemer is the hab where the prongs mest the ae UT ‘The butt designed in various shapes and canbe sed ia the sane ‘manner a karate punch, Tie sai is made of chrome plated steel and weighs one pound, 10 ounces. To give the user a better grip, a cotton rib- bon over a’string wrap- ping has been wound around the handle. To protect your arm from being struck, the length of the sai should be approxi- mately one inch past the length of your elbow. The butt of the handle is an inch beyond the tip of your index finger. = ceca