The length of a sai is based on the length of your

forearm. When you hang the sai from the V of your

thumb (by one of the prongs), it should extend about a

half and inch to an inch beyond your elbow. If you're

able to try a pair of sai at a martial arts supply store,

that's how you tell if they fit. If you really want to try

before you buy, honbu might have a very limited

selection of sai for sale. Call them, explain that you're a

Kosho Pantano student, and ask them what they have.

There are four consideration when choosing a pair of

sai: size, shape, finish, and weight.

Size

If you want to order online, you need to measure the

length of your forearm, "A" in the picture below.

Custom-made weapons

* Crane Mountain--custom weapons

* Howard's Feed and Wax-- the

   best thing out there for waxing bos

   and other barewood weapons.

* Superfoot's

* Asian World of Martial Arts

A plus 1" is the size of your sai.

In other words, J is the "size" of your sai.  

A + 1" = J.  

B + 1" = K.

If you can't get sai that are exactly A + 1",

try to avoid going shorter than A. But if your

only choice is >A + 2", go ahead and go

shorter than A. (Children, especially should

avoid going too longer than A+1" or 2", as

length means weight, and heavy sai get a bit

much for them to handle.) A general principle

for people of average or better strength is

that if a sai is a little too short it's actually

harder to handle than one that's a little too

long. I don't know why that it, but I've found

it true and so have a few other people I've

talked to.

For off-the-rack tonfa, the size you want is roughly A plus or

minus one inch. My custom tonfa are A+1".