Top Quality Sai (Set of 2).
Color Chrome. With leather wrap on the handle. Set of 2.

Sai (weapon)

The sai's utility as a weapon is reflected in its distinctive shape. With skill, it can be used effectively against a long sword by trapping the sword's blade in the sai's tsuba. It has been alleged that skilled users were able to snap a caught blade with a twist of the hand. There are several different ways of wielding the sai in the hands, which give it the versatility to be used both lethally and non-lethally.

Traditionally, sai were carried in threes, two at the side, as primary weapons, and a third tucked behind, in case one was disarmed or to pin an enemy's foot to the sandy Okinawan ground. As a thrown weapon, the sai have a lethal range of about 20-30 feet. Throwing the sai was typically used against an opponent with a sword, bo or other long range weapon. The heavy iron (or in contemporary versions, steel ) sai concentrate enough force to punch through armor.

One way to hold it is by gripping the handle with all of your fingers and hooking your thumbs into the area between the tsuba and the main shaft. This allows you to change effortlessly between the long projection and the back, blunt side. The change is made by putting pressure on your thumbs and rotating the sai around until it is facing backwards and your index finger is aligned with the handle. The sai is generally easier to handle in this position. The knuckle end is good for concentrating the force of a punch and the long shaft can be wielded to thrust at enemies, to serve as a protection for a blow to the forearm or to stab as one would use a common dagger .

Some keep the index finger extended in alignment with the center shaft regardless of whether the knuckle end or the middle prong is exposed. The finger may be straight or slightly curled. They keep the other fingers on the main shaft and the thumb supports the tsuba.

The above grips leverage the versatility of this implement as both an offensive and defensive weapon. Both grips facilitate flipping between the point and the knuckle being exposed while the sais is held in strong grip positions.

In Hollywood, however, the sais are portrayed as a much more offensive weapon. They are used like a combination of a sword , dagger and a throwing dart often on the big screen. Little play is given to striking with the knuckle. Thus, the normally unsharpened weapon is portrayed as a sharpened one. E.g., Jennifer Garner who played Elektra Natchios in Daredevil and its spin-off Elektra uses the sai as an offensive weapon. She can be seen holding her sais in a very offensive way (with the index and middle finger straddling the middle prong inside the tsubas). A grip with 2 or 3 fingers inside between the tsuba and the middle shaft facilitates a slightly more flashy array of finger twirls. However, it eliminates certain defensive possibilities and knuckle strikes.

In truth, a practitioner moves his fingers and alters his grip instinctively to execute different techniques as needed. It is unlikely that one would truly use a particular grip uniformly.

The jitte is the one-pronged Japanese equivalent to the (Okinawan) sai, and was used predominantly by the Japanese police during the Edo period . It is a featured weapon in the curriculum of several Japanese Jujutsu and koryu schools.

An interesting footnote is that the Sai looks strikingly similar to the Greek letter Psi (pronounced identically). Whether or not this is an amazing coincidence is unknown.