Requesting Do, Tare availability...

[Jung_Yul]

Hey there, All...

I came home today to discover that my home had been burglarized. Whoever did it seems to have taken my Men and Kote from my Bogu bag - I assume to facilitate the removal of their ill-gotten gains - but my Do and Tare are nowhere to be found. I assume (further) that they either thought that the Do and Tare were part of the bag (it was a front loading bag) OR left them in there to give the bag some structure to make it easier to put things in. Hence, I'm out half my armor, as well as my bag, so I was wondering if anyone had a gently used Do, Tare, and bag I could purchase before I start perusing e-bogu, kendoshop, etc to purchase a new set.

On a side note, what does it say about me that I'm angrier by far about losing half of my original Bogu, than losing my Nintendo Wii, all my games, and controllers?

[sirius1906]

I am so sorry to hear that...

[Jung_Yul]

I am so sorry to hear that...

Thanks... my wife walks out on me a week and a half ago, and now this... GOOOOOOOD times...:dead:

[corwyn]

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that... :-(

Can the police get good fingerprints off of the men and kote? Too bad they didn't leave the do; that would have been the perfect place for them to leave fingerprints...

[Masahiro]

damn dude, i don't even want to imagine the who, or the how and they why of your predicament. I don't have anything to spare, but can somebody who does please help this man out?

[Jung_Yul]

Corwyn - forensics police have already been here, and they wore gloves... naturally.

Masahiro - I appreciate your, and everyone's, concern a great deal.

[Paikea]

Can the police get good fingerprints off of the men and kote? Too bad they didn't leave the do; that would have been the perfect place for them to leave fingerprints...The sad reality is that in a case of (comparatively) petty burglary the police are not going to expend the resources and money to search for a match. You'll have better odds watching the local Craigslist for ads with the words "samurai armor" and the like.

[Alison2805]

good idea - they might try to sell them. Assh#les.

Good luck finding another set, that sucks mate.

[braxtonhicks]

Jung Yul,

I'm sorry to hear all this. Sounds like a really tough time, my thoughts are with you.

You might want to phone local pawn shops as well as Craigslist.

[Jung_Yul]

Everyone,

I really can't describe what all of your support means to me... it's like I said in a PM earlier, this is just one more reason I love Kendo and Iaido - they are practiced by quite basically the finest people.

[Alison2805]

Us fine and stinky people gotta stick together. God knows noone else will come near us.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Jung, sorry to hear life is smacking you around lately. Keep your chin up and your head on straight, we're all rooting for you.

[ben]

...
On a side note, what does it say about me that I'm angrier by far about losing half of my original Bogu, than losing my Nintendo Wii, all my games, and controllers?

It says you're a lifer. Hang in there mate.

b

[Exia00]

I would send you a do & tare if i had a spare to send over, but alas; I've only got one set of Bogu. I'm sure that karma will come your way and you'll get your set back though.

Hang in there =]

[Jung_Yul]

Hey All,

I went ahead and ordered a new bogu yesterday. I figured that the chances of someone having spare Do or Tare might be a bit of a long shot, but I thought it was at least worth a try.

What everyone HAS given me is, I think, of far, far greater value: your support. Your compassion. The amount of well-wishes I received, both in the replies on this thread, and the number of private messages wishing me well, offering a shoulder to cry on, and reminding me that, as dark as things appear now, the dawn will come, were truly staggering. I am simultaneously humbled and gratified by the degree of caring and concern I have been fortunate enough to be given. To me, you are all my very good friends, and if ever there is something you need, and it is within my power, I'll do all I can to help you in kind. I love you guys.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Anderson
Virginia Beach Kendo and Iaido Club

P.S. Just to end on a light note: I don't suppose any of you are female, single, cute, and interested?

Hey... I've gotta try to find my sense of humor again SOMEHOW, right? :grin:

[corwyn]

Well, damn, I saw you'd posted, and I was hoping that you'd somehow gotten your stuff back. Ah well...glad to see you're moving on (in both kendo and your social life). :)

[Jung_Yul]

Well, damn, I saw you'd posted, and I was hoping that you'd somehow gotten your stuff back. Ah well...glad to see you're moving on (in both kendo and your social life). :)

Don't worry. If I DO somehow manage to recover my gear, I'll be sure to let everyone know. :)

[Alison2805]

Hey All,

What everyone HAS given me is, I think, of far, far greater value: your support. Your compassion. The amount of well-wishes I received, both in the replies on this thread, and the number of private messages wishing me well, offering a shoulder to cry on, and reminding me that, as dark as things appear now, the dawn will come, were truly staggering.

But even better - if your ever in the neighbourhood we will smack you over the head a lot, and then get you drunk.

I hope you get your new bogu soon :)

[MikeW]

Sorry to hear about all this of course... I do hope you had some insurance to help with the replacement of the bogu parts as well as the electronics and anything else that was stolen. (sorry also the hear about the break up, having been through that in my life previously gives me some great appreciation for how you might feel).

If I had any spares to lend you I would but I am glad to hear you have gone ahead and taken steps to replace them and will be back practicing soon.

[Jung_Yul]

But even better - if your ever in the neighbourhood we will smack you over the head a lot, and then get you drunk.

I hope you get your new bogu soon :)

Is that an invite, Ali? Like I said to Sats in a PM, once I've gotten all my legal fees taken care of, I just MIGHT want to put my passport to some use... and I've always wanted to see Australia.....

[Alison2805]

Is that an invite, Ali? Like I said to Sats in a PM, once I've gotten all my legal fees taken care of, I just MIGHT want to put my passport to some use... and I've always wanted to see Australia.....

Sure is, come on over! We love visitors. Most of the big cities in Aus have kendo clubs, but of course Im biased towards Perth. ;)

A kendo holiday is a great idea, Ive done it when Ive been overseas for work, and its a wonderful way to meet great people to hang out with. Great for stress relief too!

[ben]

Hey, I forgot that I've got a stack of bogu lying around out the back. Any of these (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zb8fWiP57mY/SdCPQ9kSSoI/AAAAAAAAA68/zmvAUIJuy0M/s1600-h/img011.jpg) take your fancy?

Feel free to help yourself to a few shinai too. You'll have to make your own though.

b :D

[Jung_Yul]

Sure is, come on over! We love visitors. Most of the big cities in Aus have kendo clubs, but of course Im biased towards Perth. ;)

A kendo holiday is a great idea, Ive done it when Ive been overseas for work, and its a wonderful way to meet great people to hang out with. Great for stress relief too!

Ali, I'll definitely have to give that some thought... it does sound like a fantastic idea, really.


Hey, I forgot that I've got a stack of bogu lying around out the back. Any of these (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zb8fWiP57mY/SdCPQ9kSSoI/AAAAAAAAA68/zmvAUIJuy0M/s1600-h/img011.jpg) take your fancy?

Feel free to help yourself to a few shinai too. You'll have to make your own though.

b :D

Such quality I have rarely, if ever, seen. How much? :cheerful:

[Jung_Yul]

Okay, so my new gear showed up this weekend. It was actually quite brilliant, as I was literally walking out to my car to go to practice when the Fed Ex truck pulled up with my order :eek: - couldn't believe it.

At any rate, this (http://www.e-bogu.com/High_Quality_2_MM_Bogu_set_Combination_p/ebo-com-bog-h2mmcombo.htm) is what I ordered... bit of a step up from my 3 MM bogu I bought when I started training. One question for those of you that are more in-the-know than I am (which is most, if not all, of you): The Kote seem to fit very snug. I have to really squeeze my hands just to get them into the fists of the Kote, and once they're there, the thumbs of the Kote are very tight. I'm thinking (which, without fail, is always my first mistake) that this will cause the Kote, particularly the leather of the palms, to wear out faster than it should. I'm going to call e-bogu about it today, but I wanted to get some opinions from here as well.

I know that some immediate reactions will be "Ask your Sensei," and that really is the best answer for many questions posted on here, despite the complainings of some of the recipients of that question. Unfortunately, my Sensei is now in Okinawa, and as I'm the senpai for my group here in Virginia Beach... yeah, I'm pretty much on my own out here. :alien::smiley:

[atgm]

I don't know about kote in general, but my kote thumbs were tight when I first got them; the sweat and use has since worn them in so that they're a bit more comfortable and looser.

[Jung_Yul]

I don't know about kote in general, but my kote thumbs were tight when I first got them; the sweat and use has since worn them in so that they're a bit more comfortable and looser.

That makes sense. It's been a few (7) years since I ordered my original set, and as I was just slightly overwhelmed by "ohboyohboyohboy!!! Igettoweararmor!!!" :laugh: I don't really remember how that set originally fit. :)

[MikeW]

If your thumbs are not jammed up against the tips of the kote and if they don't affect your tenouchi negatively they are probably ok. If they are just a little snug they will definitely loosen up a bit as they get broken in. But if your thumbs ARE jammed up to the end of the tip of the kote you should see about getting a replacement because they won't get any longer and if they are too tight to correctly hold the shinai they are too tight.

[Jung_Yul]

If your thumbs are not jammed up against the tips of the kote and if they don't affect your tenouchi negatively they are probably ok. If they are just a little snug they will definitely loosen up a bit as they get broken in. But if your thumbs ARE jammed up to the end of the tip of the kote you should see about getting a replacement because they won't get any longer and if they are too tight to correctly hold the shinai they are too tight.

That makes sense... I haven't had a huge amount of time to really check the kote against tenouchi with a shinai, but hopefully life will settle down a bit soon so I can try - preferrably before practice this weekend. :rolleyes::disapp:

[Tort-Speed]

If you feel it's a real squeeze getting your hands in AND the thumbs are very
constricted/jammed, best may be not a lot of trying them out on a shinai but keep 'em new-looking while you ask if they'll send a bigger pair (to compare?).

[dwez]

Glad things are coming together, and to digress into another cultural differences of the English/American language. Why are Americans burglarized and never burgled? In CSI they always talk about the directionality of bullets, is this not just the direction of a bullet?

Nice bogu by the way.

[Jung_Yul]

If you feel it's a real squeeze getting your hands in AND the thumbs are very
constricted/jammed, best may be not a lot of trying them out on a shinai but keep 'em new-looking while you ask if they'll send a bigger pair (to compare?).

Yeah, that's part of what I was thinking. I tried a few suburi with a shinai last night, and aside from my thumb being a tiny bit squeezed from side to side, that's the only thing approaching discomfort right now. I'm also used to a slightly larger buton on my old kote - maybe I've just got some readjusting to do seeing as how I'm going from a 7 year old, well broken-in bogu, to a brand new, shiny set that has yet to have any... personality worked into it.


Glad things are coming together, and to digress into another cultural differences of the English/American language. Why are Americans burglarized and never burgled? In CSI they always talk about the directionality of bullets, is this not just the direction of a bullet?

Nice bogu by the way.

Y'know, I actually almost used "burgled," but figured it might show what a Tolkien geek I am, and seeing as how it's no real secret that I'm also a Star Wars geek... :cheerful: I can't speak about what they do in CSI as I really don't watch it, but I'd figure that a lot of Americans equate the use of more syllables to sounding intelligent.

Thank you for the compliment. :smiley: