November 14, 2008

A Little Motivation

When I bought my first set of sai a couple years ago, I got them from a catalog figuring all sai were the same. I quickly learned, while trying to do various kata and bunkai, that all sai are not the same. My sai didn't have a flat place to place your thumb. They small prongs/spikes/whatever you call them were the wrong angle which made gripping an incoming bo next to impossible. And, when you hold the sai, the longest blade should rest against the gap between your thumb and forefinger, but the weight was off on mine and the sai naturally moved so that the weight was placed closer to the smaller blades instead. It made doing kata tricky and I swore I'd find a way to make them better.

One of my fellow karate-ka made his own weapons and was good with both metal-working and wood-working. So, I asked him if he'd take a look at my sai for me. He spent a week working on them and they were better, still not great, but better.

When I tried to return to karate a few weeks ago, I left my weapons bag at home. I had to borrow a pair of Hanshi's sai. They are Shureido sai and they are sweet. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to use them. I couldn't believe how good they felt in my hands. I told Hanshi I wanted a pair. At their price though, it was going to have to count as Christmas and birthday presents. I figured it would take a long time to get them too. There's a waiting list apparently.

Last night, Hanshi handed me a brand new pair of Shuriedo sai. Their handles are wrapped beautifully. They are the perfect length for my arms and the grip is phenomenal. Although the price is a bit steep, I'm able to subtract it from the credit I'm owed from being on hiatus all this time.

If ever there was a motivating factor to return. . .

Newsai 

Now I just need my other friend to make me a cool bag for them. 

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Posted by on November 14, 2008 in Tales from the dojo | 14 Comments

Comments

14 Comments on A Little Motivation

  1. Perpetual Beginner on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 11:55 am

    2. Sweet! I have a pair of Shuriedo sais on my Christmas wish list myself. Maybe this year I’ll actually get them?

  2. Zyaga on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 2:04 pm

    3. Those look really nice!
    I bet that’s plenty of motivation for you. =P
    I’ll have to get me a nice pair sometime.

  3. Martial Arts Mom on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 4:00 pm

    4. I have never seen these weapons before. Purdy! How are they used?

  4. Perpetual Beginner on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 8:21 pm

    5. Martial Arts Mom – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B24xKs31ips&feature=related
    A video of Kusanku Sai, which is the kata I’m currently learning with sai.

  5. Marguerite on Fri, 14th Nov 2008 10:13 pm

    6. We don’t do anything with weapons in my new school, but those are a sweet pair of sai!!! VERY nice!! I’d almost be tempted to put them on my wish list if I thought it would be beneficial!

  6. delmer on Sat, 15th Nov 2008 12:09 am

    7. They look a little long to fit in the overhead bin of an airplane. They might be hard to travel with.

  7. John on Sat, 15th Nov 2008 12:48 am

    8. Very nice. I never got the bag for my sai. I just use the case from my old cheapo pair, this way nobody knows what they are until it’s too late! I like to travel with stealth weapons. Enjoy them.

  8. Renovation Girl on Sat, 15th Nov 2008 9:00 pm

    9. Okay, so I don’t do martials arts, but those look like some cool kabob sticks…

  9. karrie on Sat, 15th Nov 2008 9:53 pm

    10. Kabob sticks! That’s so funny! I’ve longed to do sai for a while, but we do nothing beyond bo and a little sword in my system. I do not think there are actually any kobudo teachers in VT, but I haven’t done much digging around that yet. Those are some mighty purty sai, though. I’m way jealous.

  10. Papa Bradstein on Sat, 15th Nov 2008 11:27 pm

    11. If you’d skewered that rat in your class with one of those, I bet you’d never get pranked again.

  11. Rebecca on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 10:28 am

    12. My Shureido sai made all the difference in the world. I wouldn’t be without them. They were well worth the money I spent, and the time I spent waiting for them to arrive. I can’t say enough about them.

  12. Mathieu on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 11:10 pm

    13. Good for you bbm.
    keep up training!

  13. Hack Shaft on Thu, 20th Nov 2008 3:32 pm

    14. <<>>

  14. Hack Shaft on Thu, 20th Nov 2008 3:33 pm

    15. (DROOL!!!!)

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