Sai (Weapon)

The sai is a traditional melee weapons used in rare parts of the Great Shinobi Country. The basic form of the weapon is that of a blunted, prong shaped metal baton, with two curved prongs (yoku) projecting from the handle (tsuka). There are many different types of sai with varying prongs for trapping and blocking.

Most of these weapons are commonly known in Inazumagakure and the Land of Iron. Some of these shinobi's use the sai's for close quarter combat to keep the opponents from striking or advancing at all, they can also be used to pin a enemy down.


 * Monouchi, the shaft of the sai, this can be round or faceted.


 * Yoku, the prong like side guards which are usually symmetrical but the manji design developed by Taira Shinken employs oppositely-facing yoku resembling the swastika (manji) from which it takes its name.

Parts of the Sai

 * Tsume, the tip of the side guard (yoku).


 * Moto, the actual center point between the two side guards.


 * Tsuka, the handle of the sai. The tsuka can be wrapped with different materials such as cord or ray skin (same) to provide a grip. This tsuka is 5 inches (13 cm) long.


 * Tsukagashira, the butt end of the handle (tsuka).


 * Saki, the tip or point of the sai which is usually blunt and not pointed.

Trivia
Before its arrival in Okinawa, the sai was already being used in other Asian countries including India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.[1] It may have been brought to Okinawa from one or several of these places simultaneously.[1] Silat practitioners typically refer to the sai either as chabang in Indonesian[1] or tekpi in Malay. Based on the Indian trisula, early evidence in the form of Japanese art shows that the chabang predates[when?] the sai's use in Okinawa and China.