Saijutsu

     Saijutsu 釵術 – is the art of using the sword catcher. The art of saijutsu teaches how to use the fork of Sai (cross blade / Trident) in order to block, trap and disarm weapons with and without sharp blades. The Sai is oftentimes mistakenly believed to be a variation on a tool used to create furrows in the ground to plant rice. This is highly unlikely as metal on Okinawa was in short supply at this time and a stick would have served this purpose more satisfactorily for a poor commoner, or Heimin. The sai appears similar to a short sword and is found in other cultures dating even back to ancient Egypt.

     Then begins to appear in Southeast Asia and then in the 17th century from China to Japan and Okinawa. In Japan, the mitsu dōgu have been used as cross lances of the ashigaru and palace guards. Later, this changed into a police weapon (jutte).