Wheres the cheapest place to buy bogu/uniform?

[PhoenixProfile]

I have been doing kendo for a while and while searching online stores since where i am i don't see a shop selling any bogu or the uniform i was hoping that there would be a cheaper store around to buy equipment from. My club recommends http://www.ninecircles.co.uk but with their VAT and shipping prices i dont see it one bit cheap at all.

I am still learning the art of Kendo and enjoying praticising swordsmenship, but as Kendo is still new to me it seems to me that its the most expensive martial arts in trying to buy equipment. I hope i can recieve your guidence in good Kendo shopping if anyone would like to give their advice.

Cheers i appriciate which ever does :)

[Lloromannic]

kendoshop (www.kendoshop.com) is probably one of the cheapest places. But one must remember that you get what you pay for.

[nysamurai]

Sir,

I'm not sure if this will be of much use to you or not. I cannot give you much of a recommendation on suppliers in Europe, but I am sure that your fellows in the EU will be able to help.

In the meantime, the recommendation from here in the colonies is that you check out a company called Eguchi ( www.eguchi.net (http://www.eguchi.net) ). I buy from Eguchi USA (located in California) and they are fabulous in terms of the quality of their equipment, the variety of their offering with respect to cost and applicability... in other words, they are not especially interested is selling you something you don't need.

And, most importantly for me, they are the absolute best in terms of their customer service. They will provide recommendations on the "level" of equipment you might need based on your level of involvement in Kendo. For example, how often are you in the dojo? Do you compete, etc.? They are a family owned business, based in Japan, and have been in this business and involved in kendo for generations.

Unfortunately I don't know what presence, if any, they have in Europe. Contact them at eguchi@earthlink.net . They will happily point you in the right direction and guide you from there.

And lastly, if I may, I suspect that when you suggest "cheap(er)" that you actually mean "less expensive". No doubt, our sport can be an expensive one. But I would council that if you need to economize, don't do it with your equipment. Find some other place to save money. Stop going to the movies. If a trip to the cinema in London is anything like it is here in New York, you should save a small fortune in no time!

The old adage "You get what you pay for" applies. Do not place yourself, your training partners or your opponents in danger as the result of "cheap" equipment. Good luck to you.

[PhoenixProfile]

Thank you very much Lloromannic and nysamurai for the links, i am located in Europe but i will browse around on those websites to see if their pricing is the right price. I don't mind buying from any store as long the price is right. Kendo is a very interesting sport and i am enjoying it, hakama and keikogi are my first priority on the list, far later on its the bogu set for me then.

I was talking about uniform to one of my sempais and the colour white is mainly worn as a womens colour? So-so? But how about dark red, so is there a gender relation towards it as well? I am a tad bit confused on colour of keikogi and hakama...

[reg]

Thank you very much Lloromannic and nysamurai for the links, i am located in Europe but i will browse around on those websites to see if their pricing is the right price. I don't mind buying from any store as long the price is right. Kendo is a very interesting sport and i am enjoying it, hakama and keikogi are my first priority on the list, far later on its the bogu set for me then.

I was talking about uniform to one of my sempais and the colour white is mainly worn as a womens colour? So-so? But how about dark red, so is there a gender relation towards it as well? I am a tad bit confused on colour of keikogi and hakama...
the colours you see often are either indigo blue, or white. i don't think there's any rule saying you can't wear any other colours, but if you're the only one wearing red in a sea of blue, then you will kinda stick out a little bit. ask your sensei/senpai about this.

as to a bogu shop, i think euro bogu is [obviously] in europe and they are supplied by koei, who gives generous discounts. http://www.eurobogu.net/

or you can try some of the korean shops, they are generally less expensive compared to their japanese counterparts. do a search on the bogu section, and you should find heaps of information about shops.

[nysamurai]

When in doubt, ask your sensei. I must say, though, that I honestly do not know the "correct answer" to your question. In my experience, uniforms can be black, white or indigo, a deep blue. There is also a black and white "patterned" keikogi which I have always heard referred to as the "Musashi" style, which is very popluar with youthful kenshi, i.e., children.

I suspect that the determination of what colors are worn by whom, and when, are a matter of martial tradition and are influenced by what your teachers experience has been and what style, school or tradition he or she was trained in, which is why I again recommend speaking with your sensei. However, for what it's worth, my personal experience has been that most people wear the indigo blue.

At the dojo where I train, for example, everyone wears all indigo; beginners, advanced students, male and female, young and old. This eliminates those long hours spent peering into ones closet, eyes glazed over, struggling to decide "what to wear" to class.

Conversely, at the kyudo dojo where I train, the keikogi is white and the hakama black; period, stop, end of discussion. Again, this applies to everyone at the dojo and, as with my kendo instructor, is so decreed by the sensei who, of course, gets his orders from the leader of the clan in Japan. So, go figure.

Cheers

[KingCanute]

appealing as a red hakama may sound it is one of those things which just isn't done and that beginners aren't meant to question. This may be different in your dojo but I have never seen anyone wear anything other than indigo so I'd definately do the same if I was you because you can't do wrong.

[-fu-]

htt://www.e-kendo.com/
Is very cheap.
Uniform for 25,-$, shinai 10,-, bogu 2,5mm 440,-.
I buy all my equipement there and i am very happy with it.
Now, all my dojo buy there.
They aswer all your questions and the service is great.(one time there was missing a jaket. I told them and we become it in a week !!)
My sensei was impress of the quality of the bogu. He thougt i spend over 1000 € for it. When i told him the price, he didnt believe me. :o)

When your money is more imporant as your "dojo show" and whem you think you don't need a japanese hand made bogu to practice good kendo, e-kendo is the place for you.

(I dont have any agreement with e-kendo, I am a normal happy customer, check the site and make your own oppinion.)

[PhoenixProfile]

htt://www.e-kendo.com/
Is very cheap.
Uniform for 25,-$, shinai 10,-, bogu 2,5mm 440,-.
I buy all my equipement there and i am very happy with it.
Now, all my dojo buy there.
They aswer all your questions and the service is great.(one time there was missing a jaket. I told them and we become it in a week !!)
My sensei was impress of the quality of the bogu. He thougt i spend over 1000 € for it. When i told him the price, he didnt believe me. :o)

I have checked this website with eurobogu and k-kendo and their prices are fantasticly lower than the previous ones i have been on to, i do like e-kendo and the highest chance i will go there to buy my hakama/keikogi and bogu later on. I like to thank everyone once again for giving me their advice to my questions. :)

[PhoenixProfile]

Another question i would like to ask is how long does your bogu last? They are very durable that i know of but can they be broken on the DO?

[KendokaJim]

I second nysamurai and recommend eguchi.net. I have their "Eguchi Limited" uniform set, and I think that the hakama and the keikogi in particular, are of very good quality for the price ($70 US). The tetron hakama is a lot heavier than other ones I've seen. The doh is meant to take a lot of abuse, I doubt it would break unless under extreme stress.

[Lloromannic]

Another question i would like to ask is how long does your bogu last? They are very durable that i know of but can they be broken on the DO?
Expensive bogu (japanese made such as tozando (www.tozando.com)) last a very long time( much longer if repaired)
Cheap Bogu (kendoshop (www.kendoshop.com) or e-kendo (www.e-kendo.com)) last a long time (except for the Kote) but not so much and sometimes repairing it may be more costly.