Why does everyone appear to suck at sai??

Question

I'm trying to get ideas off online vids for a creative/musical sai kata that I want to create.

Why does every video I look at the person in it is hopeless? This includes proclaimed black belts and higher. They have no form and technique, little skill and show practically no effort at all.

The moves are just placed and if there is effort applied, they loose control and usually drop their wrists. If it's not technique, then it's just repeated attempts at spinning.

Is it that sai is a hard weapon to learn or is it that these people are plain and simple hopeless?

Because although I will not say that I am perfect at using sai as I've only been learning for a short while, I will say that I have more (technical) skill then at least half or more of those people online.

If anyone has any decent sites that I can look at, please let me know.

Answer 1

Not a great weapon pretty flawed if you ask me.

Answer 2

One of the main reasons is that the sai was never intended to show off with. It was originally a tool that the Okinawins developed into a weapon because they were forbidden from having weapons. Sai were trained to kill with, not wave around and look pretty.

Another reasons is that many of the people doing extreme forms or creative with them never learned the basics properly. They went right to the flashy stuff, and didn't realize that in order to learn any weapon, be it knife, gun, bo, sword, sai etc. you need to master the basic motions first.

Another reason is that creative forms generally are not realistic fighting motions. i garuntee you that you would never see a Okinawin karate-ka spin a bo around on the palm of their hand 15 times above their head, and the same goes with sai.

That is not to say that sai cannot be impressive, but I am most impressed by a good practitioner doing a techniquly sound traditional sai kata, with focus and power and intent, rather then a teenager throwing them around all directions, with there eyes closed half the time, screeming at the top of their lungs (generally when they are standing there posing, acting like they own the world with a really mean expression, in stances that most yellow belts would be ashamed of.

Edit- I do not beleive that anyone on Team Paul Mitchell uses the sai.

Answer 3

Hi there

The problem here is that you are trying to find examples of a traditional Okinawan weapon done by XMA practitioners. The common weapons for show is the BO and then nunchaku.

I wouldn't say the SAI is a difficult weapon to learn but its short by nature so its not a common choice for showmanship martial artists.

I think what you will have to do is draw on your experience and look at either the traditional kata for Okinawan kobudo plus other weapons forms such as the karma or tonfa and take what you can from them. Maybe take a look at the two handed weapons from other arts such as the wing chun butterfly blades.

Personally being a traditionalist i feel the sai should be used as intended. But this is the modern world so each to their own. Horses for courses.

As for demos on youtube etc your wasting your time. Most of whats on youtube is complete and utter garbage.

Best wishes

idai

Answer 4

There are many reasons why many people are not good at using the sai.  The first problem is that 99% of the sai available are really poor examples of the true weapon. The weight and design is all wrong. That makes it much harder to control them. The sai are hard enough to use correctly even when you have correctly designed ones. Second most people are doing the techniques all wrong. Few people that I've seen hold or apply the weapon correctly. To many people get stuck in the mind set that the weapon is spun, flipped, twirled. and lose sight of it practical use.

Unfortunately it is not only the sai that are used incorrectly. The bo, tonfa, and nunchaku are also taught and practiced wrong a lot of the time.

Answer 5

Look up Team Paul Mitchell

Seriously in the exhibition/kata weapon forms world, those guys are pretty top notch.

Answer 6

The sai is a hard weapon to learn, and many do not wish to train with them. Not to mention you can't really go around carrying sai in your belt.

The sai are my favorite weapon and I can work wonders with them, though I don't do anything musical, or tons of twirling, or any throwing..  

I know there's a video on youtube somewhere of a TMA working the sai. He's really good and you can probably learn a thing or two from watching the video. You just have to look harder. Sorry I can't remember his name.