Names on Zekken

[Dante]

Greets,

Is it okey to get your nickname written instead of your real name.
Or is this a bad idea?

Any special rules/recomendations on this?

[Halcyon]

Is it okey to get your nickname written instead of your real name.
Or is this a bad idea?
ask your sensei.

but as you may have gathered from the discussions on other threads about this, the zekken should not be considered a fashion statement. it is simply a method to identify who you are and where you are from, not only for your fellow dojo mates, but for other people who might not know you when you either visit another dojo or at competitions.

[Neil Gendzwill]

For competitions, they usually require that you have your last name on the zekken.

[Dante]

Many thanks.

[senki-kendo-jos]

I actually have my first name on my zekken... and it's more of a nickname than anything. It's my name in kanji and I love it (mainly because it means "like a beautiful sapphire necklace"... sigh!) I also have it embroidered on the arse of my hakama... several times over... and next time will get something else embroidered... I dunno... something contraversial!! Mind you... i'm still wearing my japanese zekken and no one can read it so it doesn't really matter!

[mystic_kendoka]

i have my nickname, sungi on it... because my full name is seounghoun, and that is a bit too long to write horizontally... so i have sungi instead, and personally i prefer it...

[Hai_hai]

In a recent copy of "Kendo Jidai", I saw some kendoka with a second zekken-sort-of. They put a cloth band over the tare flap to the left of the center flap, put it wasn't a bag like a zekken. On it, they put a secondary name or nickname.

[Neil Gendzwill]

i have my nickname, sungi on it... because my full name is seounghoun, and that is a bit too long to write horizontally... so i have sungi instead, and personally i prefer it...
My name is only one letter shorter than yours, and it fits OK. At least you can use Chinese characters for the middle part, I have to use two columns of katakana!

[mingshi]

Mind you... i'm still wearing my japanese zekken and no one can read it so it doesn't really matter!
...you know, Leng is already laughing at you.

[Musha]

i'm still wearing my japanese zekken and no one can read it so it doesn't really matter!

Don't be too sure Joshi lol :).

Actually I can't work out what Lengs Zekken means. Emperor Wuu? :normal:. There are afew Zekken that make me laugh but I can't tell you whose they are :D.

[Stimpson J. Cat]

will get something else embroidered... I dunno... something contraversial!!
wouldn't that make it a tattoo instead of embroidery? :cool:

[Shazzanzzz]

i have my nickname, sungi on it... because my full name is seounghoun, and that is a bit too long to write horizontally... so i have sungi instead, and personally i prefer it...

For people who have 3 characters, they usually have the last name in the middle of the zekken, and first name in smaller characters on the bottom corners of the zekken. But, if you want english on it too, people usually just have last name and english in the bottom.

[kendokamax]

In japan I asked that my zekken had makishimu in katakana (maxime being my first name) , since it is a popular coffey brand in Japan I thought people would remember that name easier than my last name which is totaly alien to them.

Work perfectly good , everyone could remember my name in the club :D

[KhawMengLee]

I got my nickname(Jenny's seen it) on mine. Japanese for "Mountain", with my full name below in smaller kanji. It leads to a lot of people calling me Yama-san and thinking I am japanese...ook.

Hmmnnn...Jenny, you should ask Fai to tell you about the Totoro Zekken he found in HK...I want one...been searching everywhere for it...hahah...maybe I can find a Hello Kitty one instead.