Undivided hakama?

[Plush]

Hi!

Lurking n00b here, with a question that I don't think I've really seen addressed before.

I've almost got a handle on the footwork involved in kendo, and my sensei tells me I can start looking into buying an actual uniform. After looking around, I got it in my head that I'd like to buy a gyoto style hakama.

Are there any drawbacks to wearing a gyoto hakama instead of an umanori hakama? Is it considered "proper" in modern kendo today? Also, after some searching, I can't for the life of me find a vendor online that sells one in solid indigo. D:

Help, as always, is appreciated. (I'll try and pay more attention to my own thread in the future, also. :P)

[nodachi]

You will wear what everyone else wears because its tradition and there are reasons for why they chose to have us wearing the split hakama. This is not one of those things that you can choose. Maybe not a nice answer, but the uniform is not one of things that are up for debate; you wear what the dojo sensei says you should wear.

[Lady_Kitsune]

Yeah it wasn't nice, but it is the truth thou, you have to use what everyone in the dojo use...

[Kagerou]

I don't think it would be practical either. Look at people's hakama when the strike and you can see empty space in the middle. You travel pretty far and I don't know if gyoto hakama would allow that.

[R Stroud]

Are there any drawbacks to wearing a gyoto hakama instead of an umanori hakama? Is it considered "proper" in modern kendo today?

Deru kugi wa utareru.

[Oroshi]

If you're desperate to wear andonbakama (never heard it pronounced 'gyoto' before), assuming you're female, you could try taking up kyudo.

Otherwise, nodachi and Stroud-sensei put it very well.

[yoda-waza]

Gyoto with kimono. Umanori with gi. You planning on wearing a kimono for keiko? There is a reason you can't find indigo, but I'll let you figure it out.

[Plush]

To begin, you guys sure are rough!

I want to clarify that I'm not seriously considering wearing an undivided hakama for practice, and certainly not at the dojo. If I did buy one, I'd more than likely wear it when practicing alone (for aesthetic reasons, I'll admit I'm a bit vain). Upon looking more deeply into Japanese clothing, I read about the gyoto/andonbakama, and thought it might be interesting if one were to wear that in conjunction with a kimono.

I've also heard that, when kimono were more common, the samurai would wear a kimono and a gyoto, though I'm not sure of the validity of this. Anyway, if that's the case, I don't really see a problem with wearing a kimono for keiko.

Also, Yoda, the only gyoto I've come across are black and white striped ones, usually worn by men to tea ceremonies, grooms at weddings, or other appropriately formal occasions. I can't find an indigo gyoto because they don't exist HURR.

[Kagerou]

I've also heard that, when kimono were more common, the samurai would wear a kimono and a gyoto, though I'm not sure of the validity of this. Anyway, if that's the case, I don't really see a problem with wearing a kimono for keiko.


Well try it and see what happens to you. I'll bet you decide against it after the first ten seconds when someone rakes a shinai across your arms. Believe it or not but a good thick keikogi is protective against nasty things like inch long splinters that can come off of your opponents shinai.

[Kaoru]

To begin, you guys sure are rough!

I want to clarify that I'm not seriously considering wearing an undivided hakama for practice, and certainly not at the dojo. If I did buy one, I'd more than likely wear it when practicing alone (for aesthetic reasons, I'll admit I'm a bit vain). Upon looking more deeply into Japanese clothing, I read about the gyoto/andonbakama, and thought it might be interesting if one were to wear that in conjunction with a kimono.

I've also heard that, when kimono were more common, the samurai would wear a kimono and a gyoto, though I'm not sure of the validity of this. Anyway, if that's the case, I don't really see a problem with wearing a kimono for keiko.

Also, Yoda, the only gyoto I've come across are black and white striped ones, usually worn by men to tea ceremonies, grooms at weddings, or other appropriately formal occasions. I can't find an indigo gyoto because they don't exist HURR.

Well, you should just show up in the regular hakama and keiko-gi. You can buy one on e-bogu.com, bogubag.com or eguchi.com.

You should not show up for practice wearing a kimono or anything else that is not what you are supposed to wear.

If you want to wear all that during your own practice at home in between attending dojo practices, that's perfectly fine. :) But, please don't try to do that at the dojo unless you want to be yelled at or whatever the sensei might do. I know it would not be pretty if you tried such a thing...

Just get what we all get... The regular indigo cotton keiko-gi and hakama. :)

Also, you do what your sensei tells you to do, and don't do the opposite. Very bad idea!

Kaoru

[Lady_Kitsune]

Trust me, Kaoru is right

[Anonymous]

Just wear the same keikogi and hakama as everyone else, if anything it won't give people who like hammering on guys who try to be different a reason to wail on you more than usual.

[Kendoka]

To begin, you guys sure are rough!

I want to clarify that I'm not seriously considering wearing an undivided hakama for practice, and certainly not at the dojo. If I did buy one, I'd more than likely wear it when practicing alone (for aesthetic reasons, I'll admit I'm a bit vain). Upon looking more deeply into Japanese clothing, I read about the gyoto/andonbakama, and thought it might be interesting if one were to wear that in conjunction with a kimono.

I've also heard that, when kimono were more common, the samurai would wear a kimono and a gyoto, though I'm not sure of the validity of this. Anyway, if that's the case, I don't really see a problem with wearing a kimono for keiko.

Also, Yoda, the only gyoto I've come across are black and white striped ones, usually worn by men to tea ceremonies, grooms at weddings, or other appropriately formal occasions. I can't find an indigo gyoto because they don't exist HURR.

The kendo uniform is specified in all the related books.

[yoda-waza]

...Also, Yoda, the only gyoto I've come across are black and white striped ones, usually worn by men to tea ceremonies, grooms at weddings, or other appropriately formal occasions. I can't find an indigo gyoto because they don't exist HURR.

Kimono attire is indeed beautiful and traditionally stylish but probably best suited to sedate activities like tea, pageantry and matrimony.

[subygal]

Just wear the same keikogi and hakama as everyone else, if anything it won't give people who like hammering on guys who try to be different a reason to wail on you more than usual.

LOL - I've heard the same thing happens for those who choose doh-dai in anything but black :laugh:

[Anonymous]

LOL - I've heard the same thing happens for those who choose doh-dai in anything but black :laugh:


I dunno about you, but if some nub at my dojo showed up with a weird colored do and funky hakama I wouldn't be the only person who would attempt to give him an extra beating...

[shred_lord]

Arrgh! Not the Do colour argument again!!!

[Occidio]

Why would you want to wear an undivided hakama? It's true that samurai used to wear these but they wore them only when visiting a Shogun or the Emperor. The reason for this was simple, a Kimono is very restrictive and it prevented any attempt of an assassination! Why would you want to implement something that was meant to be restrictive from attacking? It's so counterintuitive!

[sparky2488]

Arrgh! Not the Do colour argument again!!!

So a funky pink & yellow glow in the dark one wouldn't go down well ??

[ccheck5]

lolz i dont have a problem unless they are too noticable or out there.

[Plush]

Why would you want to wear an undivided hakama? It's true that samurai used to wear these but they wore them only when visiting a Shogun or the Emperor. The reason for this was simple, a Kimono is very restrictive and it prevented any attempt of an assassination! Why would you want to implement something that was meant to be restrictive from attacking? It's so counterintuitive!

As far as I've understood it, you're thinking of a hakama that was extremely long. There's divided hakama for calvary, undivided for infantry, and what you're thinking of, as nobility protection.

[yoda-waza]

Yabusame practitioners presumably wear gyoto hakama. Google it and you'll see a wide variety of colors, including indigo. They also seem to be a bit shorter, like high-water hakama, I'd guess to avoid entangling them in the stirrups.