carbon shinai

[decembersnow6]

any carbon shinai users here? they are down right expensive and i heard that the feel is different from bamboo ones, i was thinking about getting one but the feel factor got me so i don't know what to do........ also, when should you change the bottom leather for you shinai? i think my is considered "worn out" but i'm not sure

[decembersnow6]

another question... is anyone using a leather tsuba? i am using a plastic one right now but people in my dojo are starting to use leather ones, what are some advantage and disadvantage of that? also, leather tsuba has cool designs

[tyler]

i havn't used carbon shinai (althought I saw somebody's older one explode once which was scary). I did once hear though, that plastic tsuba is 'better' in shiai because it makes a distinctive sound when your opponent misses kote and hits the guard, so the judges can't mistake a miss. I use a leather one though, because as you said they just look nicer and the really nice one's are downright stylish.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Carbon shinai are OK for an everyday knock-around shinai but most people don't like how they feel. It's nice to have in your bag and not worry about maintenance, but they feel kind of noodle-like and sound funny. I don't recommend them to beginners because if you are still hitting the men-gane a lot you'll just end up breaking an expensive shinai.

[amatsuda]

Check out this pic....it's a pic of the carbon shinai flexing when the Men is struck..

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo/rtanaka.html

amatsuda

[A P]

Check out this pic....it's a pic of the carbon shinai flexing when the Men is struck..

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo/rtanaka.html

amatsuda

It's a perfect hit mannnnnnnn..

So cool!! great posture as well.

The shinai was the funny part, but that is how it is suppose to look, when

it hit.

[Craig Jones]

I picked up a carbon shinai about 6 monts ago when one of our clubs senior student quit and was liquidating his gear. I am not sure I really like it as i find that strikes feel 'dead', and like Neil says, the hits sounds funny. For more serious shiai I prefer the feel of a bamboo shinai.

[Shazzanzzz]

carbon shinais aren't worth it. I broke mine 8 month after i bought it.

[tango]

I've used one for a couple years now.. got a really good price on the DB-39 through Tozando.

I would go through maybe 2 or 3 bamboo shinai a year and I just got tired of it. .. and since the carbon shinai was on a special price, I thought I'd try it out.

I did not like it at first simply because it just handled differently than bamboo.. As someone else mentioned, it seemed more.. 'whippy' .. and it kind of messed up my timing a little bit. Anyway, it took about 3 or 4 months for me to get used to it and it doesn't bother me at all now.

Guess you either love em or hate em...

[Neil Gendzwill]

carbon shinais aren't worth it. I broke mine 8 month after i bought it.
That would be why I don't recommend them for newer people. They're quite sturdy if you're mostly hitting properly, but they aren't indestructible. I've had mine for 16 or 17 years now, and replaced two staves in that time. It went 10 years before the first stave broke.

[kendotamashi]

another question... is anyone using a leather tsuba? i am using a plastic one right now but people in my dojo are starting to use leather ones, what are some advantage and disadvantage of that? also, leather tsuba has cool designs

YEA I use a leather tsuba because they look nice and I dont think there is any
advantage and disadvantage in using them.I got my tsuba from e-bogu, they have a good selection.

[Andoy]

I've been using a carbon shinai for 2 years now (i got it 2nd hand from another student which has been using it for 5 years now so that makes it 7) and i pretty much use it for everyday practice. The reason is because it can take alot of hits. One drawback is that yes the "feel" just isn't quite the same like a bamboo shinai. Bamboo shinai sounds good when you hit a nice men or kote.

One thing i've heard is that bamboo absorbs the shock from the hit much better than a carbon. But for everyday use I would still recommend a carbon shinai and a bamboo for taikai or shiai. Carbons are easy to maintain and like what Neil said, can last you a long time.

About the leather tsubas....i've been thinking of purchasing one for some time now. Is there a weight difference between the two?