— SAIJUTSU —
TRADITIONAL OKINAWAN WEAPON ART
SAIJUTSU
TRADITIONAL OKINAWAN WEAPON ART
Katsumi Murakami
Tuttle Publishing
Boston — Rutland, Vermont — Tokyo
This edition published in 2000 by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A.
Copyright © 2000 Katsumi Murakami
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from Tuttle Publishing.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data in Process
ISBN: 0-8048-3244-7
ISBN 978-1-4629-1695-5 (ebook)
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Printed in the United States of America
— CONTENTS —
INTRODUCTION:
About Saijutsu
The Relationship Between Sai and Karate, and Its Value
ONE:
TWO:
THREE:
FOUR:
FIVE:
SIX:
SEVEN:
EIGHT:
— FOREWORD —
Karatedo originated in Okinawa, but has become a cosmopolitan sport that has spread to all areas of the world. Nevertheless, Ryukyu kobudo, karatedoís sister martial art from the same Okinawa, is still only known by a small number of people. Even within Japan, it has not become widespread. Of course, it is almost unknown outside of Japan. From old times in Okinawa, the masters of karatedo were also masters of Ryukyu kobudo. Karatedo and Ryukyu kobudo are like two wheels that belong to the same cart. If you study Ryukyu kobudo, you can understand karatedo, too. Karate is not just for sports. I hope that you look for the way of karate, which is essentially budo. At the same time, followers of karatedo should also study Ryukyu kobudo. In this book, I am going to focus upon Ryukyu kobudoís Saijutsu and its basic kata, the practice forms. I hope that this book can help those who love karatedo, as well as those who follow other martial arts. Finally, I want to express my deepest thanks to my student Mr. Bruce Vail and his colleague Mr. Kifuji Hiroyuki, for good-heartedly translating this book into English; to Mr. Joe Swift for his assistance in the publication of this book; and to Mr. George Donahue of Tuttle Publishing for agreeing to publish my work.
Saijutsu, the art of the sai, is one of the martial arts that make up Ryukyu Kobudo. Ryukyu Kobudo is the collective term for the ancient martial arts of Okinawa that make use of old-style weapons. The roots and time of origin of saijutsu are about the same as those of karatedo and the other martial arts among Ryukyu
