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. . .