Hello, I've had ankle injury and I'm slowly starting to train again. I'm afraid of wearing hakama, cuz i don't want to stumble over it and fall.

Are there any alternative traditional pants i can use instead?

Edit: I had pretty bad ankle injury and can't move that foot properly. I'm making improvements but it's slow, it's long term run.

I discussed my participation on training with my senseis, doctors and physiotherapist.

Other reasont I want not so loose pants is to have better control over my movement, so i can rehab sooner.

So, I've been training kendo for some time now (I've trained 2 years, then stopped for 6 months and came back beginning of this year) and all this time I've been using my dojo's shinais. Which is all great and all, but sometimes the 39 size is missing, the shinai lacks the tsuba etc. And so I wanted to buy a shinai of my own. The thing is that, Even after checking some old posts about it, I wasn't able to decide which places should I buy from. I'm not looking for premium shinais, just something that's good quality and if maintained right will last at least a year. I'm thinking about AllJapanBudogu, but I wasn't able to find any new reviews of their site. Are they still making quality equipment, or if not, where can also find some good and not expensive shinais?

I know this question has been asked pretty often and I apologize if this is the umpteenth time that it comes out, but even after having had a look at previous threads, I'm still confused!

I am looking to get a kendogi + hakama set. My budget is not so high so I have eyed this one: https://www.kendo24.com/hakama-and-gi/sets/hakama-and-gi-for-beginner?number=HG-01.175

I previously did judo and a 180 judogi worked fine with my size (179cm x 74kg). However, my sensei was mentioning how sometimes in kendo it is better to get a smaller size (that would be 175): he's 1.81 and I think that's the case with him.

The point is that I am worried a 175 would shrink too much after being washed, and that I have a somewhat specific physique (very long arms and broad shoulders, but thin torso: usually I have an issue with sleeve length even when the size is right), which makes me fear that would be too small (same applies to hakama, I watched one of Andy Fisher's videos where he explains how the ankle shouldn't be left uncovered if I am not mistaken).

What should I do? Thanks a lot as always for your help!

Edit: thanks for the nice responses! I will aim at 180 then. Also, TIL that Gi is not a standalone term (despite being used as such even in that link I have shared). Will go for Kendogi from now on :)

Yoroi armour as depicted on the Tozando website. This blew me away. Is there any modern budo that trains in such armour, or in armour that is closer to the samurai than our kendo/iaido etc armour, or would people buy it for show? Is it ever worn on ceremonial occasions in Japan?

I am interested if there are any reenactments of traditional battles of fighting styles. Does anyone know if kendoka ever buy this or partake? I know precious little of Japanese culture but I gather that samurai culture is still highly regarded.

[Please note, like most other kendoka here I am not interested in dress-ups. Doing stuff to look cool without learning any of the etiquette would seem very disrespectful IMO.]

Background: Kendo for 15 months, in bogu for a bit more than 6 months, 3rd kyu, testing for nikkyu next month, with 2 practices/week (sometimes less because of work/family obligations), no competition yet and not planning on anything intense in that field. My first set is great, very protective and still in perfect shape (obviously)

I have the opportunity of getting a second pair of kote, custom made, with some upgrades and better materials, for a nice discounted price. It wouldn't be the high-end, but a clear upgrade. Obviously would be nice, but do I need it?

Money is a bit tight, but it's possible, and it would be mostly to take advantage of the nice deal and get to experience something of quality custom-made. At the same time, I don't want to spend just for the sake of spending, and in theory, I guess I could continue for quite a while with my single pair and upgrade to something even nicer when it's really needed, full price.

TL:DR - take advantage of a good discount and get good 2nd pair of custom kote now, or save money and splurge to top quality when 2nd pair is really needed?

Made from waterproof x-pac material.

Open up -> pull the black tap to pull out flags -> judge the fate of the mortals.

Why? Why not!

Good day, champs <3

My friend bought something similar to this and in practice fighting I broke one of the 4 reeds in his sword. We really like these swords as they're lightweight and fun. It seems like you could easily take it apart, so is there cheap bamboo reeds we could get for them? I haven't been able to find anything close enough. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

I have a couple of extra Men, and looking for the best way to recolor the red inside the mengane to black. Has anyone “painted” the “red” of your mengane? I’m wondering if finger nail polish would work? Any help would be appreciated!

Chiburi

I have been told that under 1 minute should be your goal for a beginner, but I have no idea about the limit as to how fast you can tie your men. What is your personal PB (personal best) or other's PB if you ever time it?

I carry mine in an old pillow slip that I don't mind getting bit dyed. I do this even though my bogu bag has a separate section for my hakama and kendogi.

I see some kendoka wrap theirs up in a large cloth and tie it up with the ends of the cloth and it looks a lot cooler than my daggy pillow slip.

A cloth can also provide a clean surface to fold the hahaha of you're outside the dojo, so it seems a better idea than a pillow slip. So do people just use old sheets or what?

Or do you place your uniform directly into your bagu bag?

Thanks.

Hi, this is my shinai after just about 1 year of weekly practice, ive noticed a splitting at the edge of the bottom / primary striking slat. Is this repairable or do I need a new shinai?

Dear all,

I’ve recently started Kendo (for about 2 years) and slowly but surely looking to get me some serious equipment.

I’ve inherited some money from my grandpa a while back who was a passionate Kendoka and I believe it would do him great honor if I had bought some top notch equipment from that.

Now my question: what is the absolute best for a somewhat ‘amateur’ to get in terms of Bugo and custom made Shinai?

I’m talking quality wise and maybe with a sense of tradition. Technically I wouldn’t have a problem shipping it from Japan (or have someone pick that up for me there, my father is somewhat half yearly in Japan) but obviously if something were to deliver to Europe anyway, I’d be all for that.

I’ve already heard about Moribudo in Nihonbashi for Bugo but does the community know of any others?

Thank you in Advance!

Edit: thanks for all the great help so far! This is very valuable and helps me a lot

Hey guys, I need some help. I don't know anything about kendo. I work for a small business that buys out storage units, and we got a big kendo set we're trying to list online, and I have no idea how to price it. Google lens says the text on the lower armor says "Chiriho" and it says the same thing for the tags on the helmets and gloves, but, I can't find anything about Chiriho gear. I'm getting price ranges with hundreds of dollars of difference between similar pieces. Does anybody know the make/model/suggested second hand price for this manufacturer? There's 2 helmets, a piece of torso armor, gloves, a piece of lower body armor, and a scabbard with 3 practice swords in it.

Hello! I just started kendo a month ago. Up until now I've been using the dojo's shinai but the skin on my hand has had some bad reactions to the used shinai which led me to buy a new shinai for myself.

I bought the shinai from the All Japan Budogu website. Size 39 for women.

https://alljapanbudogu.world/products/shinai-houou-size-39

It just arrived this morning and I was wondering what's the next thing I should do? Do I have to prep the shinai before I can start using it at practice? I was searching online and found this pdf (https://www.kendoniagara.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ShinaiMaintenance101.pdf) saying that I can't use the shinai right away. I have to take apart the shinai, sand it and oil it according to the pdf.

Any tips would very much be appreciated! Thank you!

https://preview.redd.it/cb7o1vj1juxd1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2fdcfcb022e0c6c85e5d8c86fa16b3df10139777

I need to know quick if synthetic cotton gi are any good. I’m looking for a lightweight gi that doesn’t absorb much sweat

Hey There

Some wanted pictures, i took pictures. If you need more, let me know. It‘s my first bogu, so i can‘t compare too much. I have another pair of kote, and another men - which seem to have more protection, but they‘re not jissengata, so it‘s obvious.

What seemed special to me, are those gaps/spaces in that red material, since i have no clue, feel free to comment.

At the point where our club is starting to recommend to us to look at purchasing our own set of bogu. Someone said it is worthwhile to pay extra for a custom set, however I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were here.

I was having a look at the tozando sets and wondering if they are of good quality even if they don't do specific measurements, or would it be better to purchase something from say Aoi Budogu for a similar price for a custom fit?

Those were what I had in mind to the lower end of the budget, however I was also looking at kendostar but that would be the very far end of my budget.

Just wondering if anyone here has had positive experiences with Tozando made sets or if I should go for custom made bogu.

As the title suggests, I noticed some pretty severe splintering on my Shinai during my Keiko today and was planning on doing some splinter removal and tried looking for sandpaper only to find that I don’t have any, nor do I have a dedicated tool for said maintenance, and if any other Kendokas have had prior experience with using other tools for that purpose, I’d genuinely love to know as I really don’t want to have my Shinai end up injuring someone’s foot. Any advice is appreciated

So, I want to go back to kendo and opened my bogu bag after nearly 20 years. Everything still looks fine except there are a lot of black dust. They are all over on the bottom of the bag and on the bogu too. Especially the men and tare.

The bag is zipped up and there are no rubber parts that are flaking. I wiped the bogu and don't see anything falling apart either. I specifically checked out the painted part around the grills of the men but that looks ok too.

This is just a mystery I am curious about. Anyone have any idea what could become "flaky" after 20 years?

I was told by someone last year with whom I took my 2nd Dan grading, that in future, I'd need to have a set of bokuto and kodachi that matched in colour. I currently have a black painted bokuto and a dark brown painted kodachi, neither of which have their original tsuba+dome anymore due to my shinai bag getting stolen in Beauvais last year :(

My question to everyone is is this true? Will I need to replace what I have by my 3rd Dan grading? Or is this a problem for higher grades?

Thanks

Hey all,

I have recently started wearing full bogu during training, men included. The men is club gear, and as such is not going to be a perfect fit but it is decent, however I feel as though I must be wearing it incorrectly given how painful it proves to wear once the hour mark has passed. For context, I have TMJ issues from clenching so I am prone to experiencing jaw and related facial pains.

The first few times I wore it I found it uncomfortable, but I think most of this discomfort was to do with the new sensation which is quite bizarre. However, I am now at the point where the sides of my head where the Himo lay become intolerably painful after an hour or so, and my jaw begins to feel as though it is cramping/shooting pain from my jaw up the sides of my face/head. It really feels like my head is in a vice after a while to the point where I cannot concentrate.

I understand there is going to be a level of discomfort that one must get used to with wearing men, however the fact that the pain begins to distract me seems abnormal, especially given no one else who has also recently gotten into men seems to experience it. I am someone who has a relatively high pain threshold, but I just feel like I have to be wearing it incorrectly or the size must be off. If I have it tight enough that it doesn't slip around, I feel that very pressurised pain where the Himo straps are and my jaw begins to ache badly.

Another thing perhaps of note is that multiple people in my dojo have commented that I have quite a 'small' western head/narrow face, which I have been told can make sizing for a men trickier given that they are designed for typically wider Asian faces. I don't know if this is a real factor, it is just what a fair few of my senpai have told me when asking them about fitting for men.

I was just hoping you guys might have some advice as to how I should try wearing this men, if it sounds to be the wrong size and if I likely need to get a custom one sooner rather than later in order to feel comfortable wearing it for extended periods of time.

Cheers