Saijutsu, or the art of the sai, is based on the use of short metallic weapons with a long single primary blade and 2 small side blades or hooks. A sai looks like a combination between a trident and a truncheon.

Within Shorinjiryu Karatedo, the sai was the primary short range weapon, and is often practiced against longer weapons, primarily the bo or sword. Along with the rokushaku bo (6 ft staff), the sai is one of the 2 primary weapons practiced in our style.

According to Kaiso Kori Hisataka, the sai was originally developed as a weapon to defend against a long weapon, particularly the Chinese seiryuto. Not having heard of the seiryuto (literally blue/green dragon sword), it took me a while to find out more about this weapon. One day I found a reference in John Sells’ book Unante, which referred to this seiryuto as also being known as the bisento in Japanese, and the Quan-do (or Kwan-tao) in Chinese.

This weapon is essentially a Chinese broadsword atop a staff, making it a long range weapon with a sharp and strong blade. Certainly something to defend against.

In Okinawan history, the sai holds a special place, being the weapon of choice of the Police and Palace Guards. Only people of Peichin class (a medium level of aristocrat) and higher were permitted to hold such positions, so it was a weapon handed down with the aristocratic families – like that of Kaiso Kori Hisataka. This certainly flies in the face of the more common place and somewhat romantic stories that Okinawan weapons were developed by common people defending against the oppressive forces of the aristocracy. In fact, most historical records would indicate that Okinawa was a peaceful place, and the people were hardly oppressed.

Kaiso Kori Hisataka learnt the family arts of Shishiryu bojutsu and saijutsu from an uncle, but went on to learn sai from “Ufuchiku” Sanda Kanagusuku, longtime Police Commissioner of the Okinawan capital of Shuri.

In Shorinjiryu Karate, there is one main sai form, most commonly known as Sai no Kata. However, its correct name is Nijushiho no Sai, as it was based on the standard kata of the same name. Some branches of Shorinjiryu refer to the kata as Kudaka no Sai, a name given as a sign of respect for the founder of Shorinjiryu.

Hanshi Masayuki Kukan Hisataka also referred to a kata he has developed called Goho no Sai, but to my knowledge, he has not yet taught this form to anyone, and I don’t know anyone who claims to know it.

The other sai exercise is the Sai Bo no Kumite (also called Sai Bo no Randori), a two-person form with sai against bo. An interesting fact about this form is that there are 2 finishes – one where the bo holder wins, and the other where the sai is victorious. Most people don’t know this, and practice only the former. However, neither the sai nor the bo is “better” than the other, so both should be able to win. In practice, the determination of which should win should be based on the relative seniority of the 2 practitioners.

The sai is an excellent means of practising with a short range weapon, and teaches to get inside and jam the attack of a longer weapon like the bo (or seiryuto). This is why the sai kata contains kicks – the wielder is close enough to deliver them whilst simultaneously negating the bo’s efficacity by locking it in place. Thus the practice of sai is important in developing a rounded-out Shorinjiryu practitioner.

It is for reasons such as these that Kaiso Kori Hisataka emphasised the sai as a short range weapon, to complement the bo (long range) and jo (medium range).