Types of shinai

[SmellsLikeBogu]

Im shopping around for yet another couple of new shinais
I was wondering.
I know that dobari means the balance is more towards the handle, and koban is oval handle.

but what means gun ryu, en shin, Ten do?

I want to try out a koban shinai, but I dont like dobari, cant seem to get the same speed out of them. they dont give me the good feeling I have when Im fighting with normal shinai who have the weight more forward.

I was looking around on ninecircles.co.uk and I found
BS-3 Shinai - Gun Ryu Oval Grip Size 39
but they dont give that much info on it,
anyone that could point my nose in the direction of a shinai-model/type/specification dictionary or guide will be showered with respect :)

[tamaki]

I want to try out a koban shinai, but I dont like dobari, cant seem to get the same speed out of them. they dont give me the good feeling I have when Im fighting with normal shinai who have the weight more forward.

I was looking around on ninecircles.co.uk and I found
BS-3 Shinai - Gun Ryu Oval Grip Size 39
but they dont give that much info on it,
anyone that could point my nose in the direction of a shinai-model/type/specification dictionary or guide will be showered with respect :)

I remember buying a shinai from that store,don't remember the model but it wasn't so good..Why don't you try a japanese store??

[SmellsLikeBogu]

shipping costs? :) ninecircles ships from UK,
but Ill take a look around and see if I can find what I need. recommandations are always welcome

[stuartwilson]

If your goals are vague, you can do a lot of shopping before you find what you want. I recommend that you pick out a few of your favorite handling shinai and
1. measure circumference at a few key points, like tip, tsuka, and dobari
2. weight
3. locate its center of mass (where it balances) and measure this distance from the tip

Now you will have some parameters that describe shinai that handle the way you like. Try looking for vendors who can supply shinai based on these. Unfortunately, the only ones I have seen so described are handmade one of a kinds. But some vendors may be willing to supply them.

Also, it would be very cool if we had a thread where members could sumit data on their shinai - a useful reference.

[johnkichu]

Actually, this could be a useful thread.

Neil - or someone else who knows the Japanese terms - could you post a similar sticky thread on shinai that you did for bogu? It would really be useful (of course, if such a thread exists already, can someone point it out?).

[xvikingx]

Also, it would be very cool if we had a thread where members could sumit data on their shinai - a useful reference.
Yeah I also thought that was a good idea (http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11620), but every idiot here seems interested in one with a flask or VTEC.

[jasmine]

Im shopping around for yet another couple of new shinais
I was wondering.
I know that dobari means the balance is more towards the handle, and koban is oval handle.

but what means gun ryu, en shin, Ten do?

I want to try out a koban shinai, but I dont like dobari, cant seem to get the same speed out of them. they dont give me the good feeling I have when Im fighting with normal shinai who have the weight more forward.

I was looking around on ninecircles.co.uk and I found
BS-3 Shinai - Gun Ryu Oval Grip Size 39
but they dont give that much info on it,
anyone that could point my nose in the direction of a shinai-model/type/specification dictionary or guide will be showered with respect :)

Hi,I know it.hehe
Gun Ryu is the shinai's name.It's Japanese word .I think it means "many dragons".

[jasmine]

Many shinai from Japan have some names,but they dont mean the types of shinai,just names.

BTW,En shin means the heart of moon.Ten do means the way to sky.

I have a bio shinai called "black king".

[David]

Yes, many companies have different names for different models. It's usually used as a method to seperate shinai that are of the same type that have slightly different specifications. This could be anything from either having a round or oval grip, being koto or dobari, BIO or natural, Matadake bamboo or not, and other obscure details. Aoi Budogu offers up alot of shinai like this, and so does E-bogu.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I'm not much of a shinai expert. If someone wants to write a piece up, I'd be happy to sticky it (if it's well-written and accurate, that is).

As others have pointed out, most of those "terms" are either brand-names or model-names.