Bunching up

[Lone Kitten]

Just wondering, but have any of u come across a way of defeating the way that hakama, keikogi, obi etc bunch up really uncomfortable when you're *ahem* curvier?

I always find that no matter how carefully i tie everything it bunches up by the end of a hard practice, mainly because hakama and keikogi are not meant for hips that are 16 inches or so bigger than your waist!

someone mentioned about pulling a loop of the himo under your bum, but i'm not sure how to do that! any ideas guys?

[Newbie]

I just always find that it doesn't take long before the waist of my hakama has slipped below the himo. I think I must not be tying it properly or something.

[Lone Kitten]

hmm, think they might be tied wrong. sounds like it's too loose. have u tried tieing the himo a good 2 inches below the waist of the hakama and making sure it's nice and tight?

I find that wearing an obi helps a bit, straightens out the curves. Like having to wear padding when i wear kimono so that I can get that cylindrical shape and the kimono doesn't bunch up and look unsightly.

[Newbie]

Yeah, kinda. Just never seems to work. I'm fairly overweight which really doesn't help so much. My sempai's gonna show me how to tie the himo for jo properly (it's tied at the front rather differently) so I'll get him to check I'm actually tying the whole thing properly too. That was one thing I was never actually shown how to do.

[Lone Kitten]

don't worry about it, i'm fairly overweight too. i find it kinda helps in kendo. if u notice all the best kendoka are either skinny as hell or larger - the larger ones tend to get fewer bruises/injuries because they're better padded - the skinny ones are the ones who always get hurt! :silly:

Its definitely a good idea to get someone to check. another woman in your dojo might be a good one. if they say it looks ok and it feels comfortable yet firmly tied and you can do keiko without things slipping then you're good. I have a line that runs rond my middle where i've tied my hakama for so long.

[Newbie]

Hey, it's pricey but I just found this: http://www.bujindesign.com/whakama.html

unfortunately (or maybe fortunately...) it only comes in black and navy, not indigo.

[Lone Kitten]

hmm, see Bujin is more iai and aikido based. I do have some black hakama, but theyre my back up back up back up pair.

mind you, they do look nice.... (*kitten forces herself to PUT THE CREDIT CARD DOWN!)

[Newbie]

But they do have navy..... Most of the people in my dojo wear navy rayon. I was the poor mug who's wrestling with their first hakama being cotton and indigo - by accident of all things!!

[Lone Kitten]

oops! I had cotton hakama as my first, but only because i was out in japan and i was told off severely for even thinking of rayon! I still ended up getting my black ones out there, but that was for when i was travelling. Cotton takes up far too much room!

[Newbie]

I don't mind the permant smurf/undead look but everyone else has such nice, neat crisp pleats with no wrinkles and I have to wrestle mine just so you can see there are some pleats there. Thankfully my housemate's gonna iron it for me before my grading. We just gotta trawl back through the forums for the directions on how but she's a good materials-type person whereas I say "i want you to make me that. ugh. pretty".

[Lone Kitten]

heh heh - i'm really good at ironing them - mainly because i'm crap at folding them!

btw - this is spooky, but yr hobbies are almost the same as mine, with some time period differences!

[Newbie]

I can fold it all right. *laf* One night in the dojo me and the guy who takes training at one of the dojos were giving crap to one of our dojomates for being a Japanese mum who didn't know how to fold a hakama properly (just the himo but it was still funny). The following week I photocopied the diagrams I have and gave them to her. She laughed for ages :)

Okay. Hobbies:
- Trying to control small stupid cat who's running madly up and down the
corridor.
- Kendo, jodo, iaido(ish)
- Medieval re-enactment
- Medieval re-enactment archery
- Roleplaying
- Live Action Roleplaying (World of Darnkess)
- Tai Chi & Chi Kung
- Painting miniatures (errr... in theory. It's been a while)
- Reading (Pratchett at the moment)
- Medieval singing (after my grading)
- Photographic retouching

So, how many of these match?

BTW it's funny how quickly the cat learnt not to play with the himo on my hakama. I think I was a bit frightening in my effort to impress upon his small furry brain that he is really not allowed to play with it.

[Lone Kitten]

hee hee, i PM'd u about the hobbies

I have a problem with a neighbourhood cat - it actually came thru the window last night. Apparently if u put paprika down on the lawn the cats stay away - but who in the hell wants an orange lawn!

anyways, we are straying off topic! I think i have figured out which loop u hook under your arse to keep everything in place!... I think... i'll try it at practice tomorro if i make it (IF being the operative word here!)

[Airin]

Just wondering, but have any of u come across a way of defeating the way that hakama, keikogi, obi etc bunch up really uncomfortable when you're *ahem* curvier?
It's nice hear that: I get often rebuked, because I tie my hakama too high on waist. But if I tie it as men do, I can't end the training without stopping to adjust it over and over.

[Solinde]

someone mentioned about pulling a loop of the himo under your bum, but i'm not sure how to do that! any ideas guys?

I used to do that for iai before I had an obi to help keep the himo in place. Basically you just tie your front himo as usual and then push them down so that they are below your bum. But it seems you've already figured that out?

[Lone Kitten]

i've more or less got it. i think. it's not as easy to work out as i thought, but i did!

[Alison2805]

Im a pretty small girl (in the lower half) but I have found it impossible to stop my hakama from slipping below my himo too. Ive tried tying it so damn tight Im going to pass out, and it will still work its way down. Also Ive been told to tie the himo low like how the guys do, thats impossible!! It then bunches upwards and goes all loose. I just have to get a longer hakama so I can tie it really high, that seems to be the only thing that works.

[Solinde]

Lone Kitten, make sure you don't make the knot to big. It makes sitting in seiza very...awkward, if you know what I mean. :wink:

Im a pretty small girl (in the lower half) but I have found it impossible to stop my hakama from slipping below my himo too. Ive tried tying it so damn tight Im going to pass out, and it will still work its way down. Also Ive been told to tie the himo low like how the guys do, thats impossible!! It then bunches upwards and goes all loose. I just have to get a longer hakama so I can tie it really high, that seems to be the only thing that works.
If it's all because of fit, then you can actually try using a safety pin for pinning it to the gi so that it stays up. (But if it's because you step on the hakama every now and then (some people do), that might not be such a bright idea...)

[Lone Kitten]

[QUOTE=Solinde]Lone Kitten, make sure you don't make the knot to big. It makes sitting in seiza very...awkward, if you know what I mean. :wink:
QUOTE]

Ouch! that doesn't cound too comfy at all.:spchless: