Brendan Lai’s Martial Arts Supply Company

chuck norris i am not.
but i am a practitioner of southern yau kung and northern silum.
this place has been in business for decades, why? honesty, true value, respected among the MA world, and knowledgeable persons keeps repeat customers and attracts new ones from word of mouth advertising. the store is run by al, and mrs esther lai, widow of sifu lai.
I’ve been coming to this family run and owned business since the mid-​80s. if u dont see what you’re lookin for, ask. plain and simple. they usually receive 1−2x shipments, so again, ask em they can special order an item that u are looking.
Note: per Mrs Lai, due to china’s economic growth, construction has been sapping up steel. so the weapons manufacturing is taking a hit. Prices for steel have skyrocketed. i am so glad i was able to purchase my combat steel kwan-​do prior to the price increases.
I needed a snake tongue spear. couldnt find one anywhere. so as a last resort, i called the store. i was in luck. Mrs Lai and Al came through and i got it by my deadline
today’s news:
they have OFFICIALLY CLOSED their doors. i just got off the phone with Al
current as of 1.14.14
i am now sad. ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END.
but this was b4 its time.

Go to Brendan Lai’s to buy your martial arts supplies. They are respectful, courteous, knowledgeable, and want to offer you a good deal. I just needed a carrying case for my tai chi swords and he showed me the least expensive first. He didn’t even show me the $ 36 dollar ones. Maybe he should have and I could have been seduced to buy it.
Another reason to buy at Brendan Lai’s: support local, family run business, especially one that has been such a cornerstone to the martial arts community in the Bay Area. It’s not easy these days to keep such a niche business running. Add a field trip to your martial arts practice and visit Brendan Lai’s.

This place is great for traditional weapons and expertise on the knowledge. The owners and employees are fantastic! Love this place

Great staff, and very knowledgable about their products.
I highly recommend if you’re looking to buy Chinese/​Wushu weapons.

They seem to have a good inventory of stuff, so hope you know exactly what you need. Ask questions like a newbie and you won’t get helpful service, just general rudeness. Short curt answers, not being particularly helpful.

Mr. Al Lai recently did a super job in customizing a specialized qiang (spear) for me. Their staff selection was perfectly sturdy. My classmates and I have been doing business with the Lai family since the 80’s and their service has always been excellent. Al and his mom are super nice people.
They are usually well-​stocked. If you need good training gear,. I highly recommend this store. You can also asked them to order specialized gear for you. (Depending on the supply, there could be a wait cycle.)
* * * Reminder: It is quite important to support your local and regional businesses.

Impressed with the level of knowledge and care the owners /​employees have. I couldn’t decide on which sword to buy and the person who helped me (I assume she is one of the owners) gave me good pieces of information to help my decision. She was patient with my indecision and didn’t pressure me either way. Nicely stocked, decent prices, good service. Will definitely return.

A great spot to get kung fu weapons. They are very knowledgable, helpful and friendly. I was there early one day (i knew what time they opened but the muni drops you off when it drops you off) and they even let me come in a little early… Picked up a spear, gim and a fan and they were very helpful in shipping it home.

Great service and very competitive pricing! Hard to find a genuine brick and mortar martial arts supply store as the trend is to order online. Happy i found my way to Brendan Lai’s… They had everything i needed and the lady who helped me was very friendly. The quality of the kung fu uniform i purchased is superb and the price was cheaper than i expected. They carry all types of traditional Chinese weapons also for a fair price. I will be visiting again very soon!

One of the coolest, most-​awesome, stores any man or boy could ever dream of visiting. They sell, mainly, martial arts weapons, books, gear, and associated training supplies. And they have very fair prices – cheap, even I would daresay. What is more, they’re as old-​school as it can get: they have a website, but you can’t order from it. Instead, you can write for a catalog. Even the website’s design looks like something out of a ninja magazine’s back pages from around 1985 (during the big 80s ninja craze in the USA, that is). I bought a great pair of sai here and as other reviewers have noted, their prices run quite a bit lower than most online or other suppliers. Plus, the ability to walk in and look at everything is a huge bonus not to mention a world of giddy fun!

I have been to weapons shops all over China and the US and Brendan Lai’s is by far the best. They have the greatest selection with great prices. I read some complaints about this store being pricey. They are the MOST AFFORDABLE store in the U.S. Why? They buy in bulk from the major factories in China which ship directly to the port in Oakland. If you buy anywhere else, you’re paying layers of middlemen. Case in point, I just bought a spectacular Bagua Saber for under $ 150 from BL’s. Online, I found less than 5 sources for Bagua Dao, and all are well over $ 250. Some things you could find cheaper online, but after shipping and not being able to test out the weapon first, you’ll find that a visit here will get you exactly what you want, typically at the best or one of the best prices.
Those whiners complaining about the service… I never experienced any of that. And to play the devil’s advocate, I have never really had a proactive, loving interaction at a martial arts supply store. Hell, up the street in China town I feel blessed just to get ignored! There are some really harsh shop owners over there. My Thai mother in law reminds of of Mrs. Lai, stern and upfront!
I agree with the user below about the Zombie Apocalypse. If you’re not packin’ heat, during the ZA, you better make it over to BL’s!

Brendan Lai’s Martial Arts Supply has excellent prices and an awesome selection. As for customer service, they seem a bit wary of new customers with whom they are not acquainted, and this is probably for good reason given the location of the store and the nature of the merchandise. However, once they have identified you as a calm and sensible customer, they are friendly and helpful, and even patient. As a new customer, I appreciated that they allowed me to try out 10 or 12 T’ai Chi swords before finding the ideal one to purchase. These are powerful weapons and I do not fault the staff at Brendan Lai’s for being a little reticent about strangers who come in the store asking to handle such deadly items. In the end, I respect their way of doing business and am grateful for their good service and good prices.

I’ve been in a couple of times to pick up dogi, nothing fancy. But I drive up from Palo Alto to do it. Why? Excellent prices, excellent quality, excellent service — what more do you need?
I honestly don’t understand those reviews complaining about attitude. Every time I’ve been in here, they’ve been totally friendly and helpful — I suspect that the attitude in those reviews is really on the customer side rather than the store.

I wandered in here looking for a ninja weapon as a gift for someone. I decided on a set of numchuks. I was confused as to why they weren’t as deadly as the other items in the store, when I noticed a sign that said something like:
«DO NOT ASK US FOR REAL NUNCHAKU: They are banned in the state of California.»
Well this got my blood boiling!
So I asked the guy, «How come I can buy a bunch of spears but I can’t buy numchuks?»
He goes, «They banned them.»
«How come?» I pressed.
He shook his head.
Not satisfied, I demanded, «How long has this been going on?»
He assured me the law was established before I was born and added, «The older a law is, the more irrelevant it is.»
I assume, at this point, he also had issues with the law that prevented him from physically tossing me out of his store.
As I was leaving with the «practice» numchuks, he advised me to conceal them in my bag. This confused me further so I questioned, «These are legal, right?»
«They look real. It’s just common sense,» were his parting words.
On my way home I envisioned myself in a standoff with police, assuring them they would have to pry my numchuks from my cold, dead hands. The last thing I hear before I die in a hail of bullets would be, «Have it your way Chuck Norris!»

Service is good. This is like the place to go to when you need some on the go martial arts performance wears. Though its a bit pricey since its in San Francisco, the owner was helpful for helping me get what I needed in a short amount of time.
This place is good for buying some affordable Chinese medicine called Dit Dahh Joe. It smells like some kind of animal died in it but its good for you. DON’T DRINK IT (unless you want to die). Use it for them black bruises you get in sparring or when you bang your knee into something stupid. =]

I was very dissapointed with their customer service, I was initially excited to find a local MA store in San Francisco but I was initially ignored and then when I finally got the 2 employees attention treated very rudely, so rudely that I left and decided to make my purchases from an online vendor instead.
Personally I would suggest you choose another source rather than deal with them.

I give this store 5 stars on the strength of one thing:
Their dit da jow.
What?
Dit da jow is a fragrant fluid that you rub onto injured body parts. It’s like magic. It makes swelling go down, heals bruises, it’s amazing.
Really incredible stuff. And although it smells like chinese food DO NOT EAT IT. Really.
Also don’t apply to broken skin or mucous membranes.
But if you have a twisted ankle or a bad bruise, or a pulled muscle, this stuff is what you need.
Massage it in and don’t worry about smelling like sauce.

This store is awesome. It is a completely traditional old-​school experience going in here in that you are not treated all warm and fuzzy. Get over it, you are a warrior, right? Just be patient and very polite. Ask questions with utmost respect. If you show the proper respect, you will be helped with what you need.
Their broadswords here are superior to any sword you can get on-​line because they re-​engineer each sword by hand in their back room. When I was looking for a new broadsword to replace the one I had that had a seriously wobbly grip after just a year of use, I was shown to the back room where they take all their swords and re-​mount the handles in solid resin epoxy. Beautiful! The sword I bought from them has lasted for many years of hard use.
This is a very very good place — best in the Bay Area, possibly in California. I live in Texas now and I miss them.

I had a really positive experience here: Went in to buy my kung fu suit, found the one I liked, was politely informed that there was an even better version of it (with black buttons instead of white), tried it on in the changing room (perfect fit!), and after paying they even folded it back up nicely and put it in a convenient carrying bag. Now I know kung fu.
But seriously, a nice no-​frills shopping experience. I can see how someone who didn’t come in with a specific shopping agenda in mind (kung fu rookies) might find this place off-​putting, which is why I’m deducting one star. But otherwise, a highly recommended store for all martial arts accouterments.

Although I do not partake in martial arts, in fear that I will hurt myself beyond repair… my friend loves it and covets this store like no other in SF.
Apparently, they’ve been around forever, and with good reason. We walked around a bit and I was amazed at how well stocked they are in pretty much everything you could possibly need to become a killing machine Ninja. Really quite amazing.
As far as Martial Arts supplies go, I was reassured that they were the most reasonable within a 20 mile radius, and I’m inclined to agree. We walked out with all the supplies needed for the takeover of a small, unarmed nation.
I’m checking into Martial Arts classes immediately. To be cool enough to shop here is something I must achieve before I’m too old to try.