dogi dogi dogi issues

[nalogg]

HEYyyy

So like what kind of care do you actually take involving your dogi...
for me this is how it is....

i colour stayed it overnight the first night i bought it... does anybody repeat this process again? how does it normall go for you?

It gets washed maybe once after every 4 or 5 practices (and sometimes not even, just a dust-off)
After practice i don't fold it... i take it off cram it in my bag, throw on my clothes and i'm gone

does anybody take the time to fold it before you put it in the bag or something?
i just can't imagine doing it... standing there 3/4 naked folding it

I wait til i get home to fold it... and sometimes not too well

After i wash it i hang up the hakama, put clothes pins on the pleats to keep them good while it air dries. I put the keikogi in the machine just for 30 minutes to dry slightly, then hang it up so it won't shrink

I iron it maybe once a month and fold it properly even tying up the himo.

am i doing things right here? or is there something i'm missing?

peace OUT

[Halcyon]

After practice i don't fold it... i take it off cram it in my bag, throw on my clothes and i'm gone

does anybody take the time to fold it before you put it in the bag or something?
i just can't imagine doing it... standing there 3/4 naked folding it

I wait til i get home to fold it... and sometimes not too well
so when do you actually let it dry? yes. fold it before you cram it into your bag. then take it out when you get home and hang it up to dry. (an old shinai slat through the sleeves should keep the shoulders from sagging.) as for being 3/4 naked ... you can always fold it after you throw on some clothes.


I put the keikogi in the machine just for 30 minutes to dry slightly, then hang it up so it won't shrink

I iron it maybe once a month and fold it properly even tying up the himo.

am i doing things right here? or is there something i'm missing?i've personally never put my keikogi in the drier. but if it works for you, go ahead. i've never ironed it either. if you let it air dry with the sleeves nice and straight, i've never found a need to.

[nalogg]

so when do you actually let it dry? yes. fold it before you cram it into your bag. then take it out when you get home and hang it up to dry. (an old shinai slat through the sleeves should keep the shoulders from sagging.) as for being 3/4 naked ... you can always fold it after you throw on some clothes.
Once i come home i'll throw it on the bed or hang it up

but how meticulously do you fold it after practice?
part of my reason is that we change in washrooms, so there's nowhere to lay it down really. it's not far from my home though, so it's not long til it gets straightened out.



i've personally never put my keikogi in the drier. but if it works for you, go ahead. i've never ironed it either. if you let it air dry with the sleeves nice and straight, i've never found a need to.
it's all a matter of timing... usually after kendo on nights i'll be so tired i just want to go to sleep.. the next morning i have to get up early for work, so it won't go in the machine til 7:pm the next day---> so I find if i just hang it up straight out of the machine (always on "delicate and handwash" setting) it doesn't dry in time for my next practice

I was late once because my keikogi was still damp (eewwww)

sweat is a different story because it's never as thoroughly saturated.

the 30 minutes just "getting it warm" after the wash helps speed up the process a lot. It's dry by next morning.

yeah man, i wouldn't iron my keikogi.. i think that fluffiness helps absorb sweat easier

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you properly fold your hakama after practice, you won't need to iron it. Most people in your situation get dressed, then haul the hakama out to the practice floor and fold it there. Folding your kendogi takes about 10 seconds and shows the sort of care and respect expected of all your gear.

[Enderin]

I go back from practice with my sensei, so I have 30 mins or so to take care of everything, so i fold the hakama right after im getting dressed, while talking to the other friends.
I believe that folding the hakama after each practice is very important for few reasons,
1) you won't need to iron it, and the pleats will stay in tact
2) you take care of your equipment, and its very important to respect your own gear, just as well as you do to others
3) I gotta kill time while waiting for the sensei to finish his business :P

note that i do that 3 times a week for jodo iaido and kendo practice,
so i fold the hakama really fast now

I wash my keiko gi every month with soup and softner with some serious business smell, and leave it for an hour in the bathtub, it doesn't remove the dye and it gives the keiko gi a really good smell for about a month, then i rewash it :) i never got to wash my hakama (besides the first wash) :0

[Paikea]

Some of the best kendo knowledge is gained after practice, whilst folding and stowing the gear...don't be in such a hurry to bail!

I bring a vinyl tablecloth (like you would see on a picnic table) to fold on if we can't get back into the dojo after practice. It's better than the dirty carpet...

[Washington]

I shove my uniform into my bag and take it home after practice also... after a good class it's hard on my back to fold it there on the floor. At home on a table doesn't hurt as much. But it gets folded a.s.a.p. after practice.

I run the uniform through a front loader washing machine on cold/cold cycle once every 2 or 3 practices. I clip the bottom of the pleats of the hakima also while it's hanging up to help put in nice creases.

[Nanbanjin]

HEYyyy

So like what kind of care do you actually take involving your dogi...
for me this is how it is....

i colour stayed it overnight the first night i bought it... does anybody repeat this process again? how does it normall go for you?

It gets washed maybe once after every 4 or 5 practices (and sometimes not even, just a dust-off)
After practice i don't fold it... i take it off cram it in my bag, throw on my clothes and i'm gone

does anybody take the time to fold it before you put it in the bag or something?
i just can't imagine doing it... standing there 3/4 naked folding it

I wait til i get home to fold it... and sometimes not too well

After i wash it i hang up the hakama, put clothes pins on the pleats to keep them good while it air dries. I put the keikogi in the machine just for 30 minutes to dry slightly, then hang it up so it won't shrink

I iron it maybe once a month and fold it properly even tying up the himo.

am i doing things right here? or is there something i'm missing?

peace OUT
Like everyone else says, fold your dogi-hakama straight after kendo. Being neat and tidy is apparently part of kendo. Recently my sensei has even been asking me to wash the blue off my shinai slats before coming to training. I just hope keeping your room tidy is not part of kendo etiquette.
I think this type of thing falls under the heading of Reihoh. That basically means it's uncouth not to fold your hakama after training. Like everything else in kendo you should do it on the floor. You should also make sure you put on and take off your tare and do in seiza. When you take you shinai out and put it back in your shinai bag you should also be in seiza.


When I saw the topic heading I thought you might be as concerned as I am about the upcomming match between the Canterbury Bulldogs (Doggies) and the Melbourne Storm.

[Nanbanjin]

I wash my keiko gi every month with soup and softner with some serious business smell...
Do you use canned soup or do you like to make it from scratch?

[Enderin]

Do you use canned soup or do you like to make it from scratch?
Its acctually a "cloth shampoo" or somthing like that, the cheapest there is here in Israel, its like 2$ or somthing like that for a 1lt. bottle.
i just use it to remove the white stains of sweat from the gi

[Nanbanjin]

Its acctually a "cloth shampoo" or somthing like that, the cheapest there is here in Israel, its like 2$ or somthing like that for a 1lt. bottle.
i just use it to remove the white stains of sweat from the gi
Sorry, I was trying to be funny but it didn't work.
Thanks for the info.
I was told to use shampoo because it doesn't contain any bleaching agents.

[kanyil]

Do you use canned soup or do you like to make it from scratch?
Miso soup works the best. the salt stains also gives the soup a very deep flavour post-treatment.

[Enderin]

heh, i just got it ~_~

[meow]

I fold my keikogi and hakama after every practice. keikogi will only take a couple of seconds and hakama about 2 or 3 minutes. I first sort the front pleats of the hakama very quick, then I fold the backside and at last I flip it over once more and carefully fold the frontside again.

Doesn´t take that much time and is always a good opportunity to have some chat with the other kendo-folks.

[louisvandalen]

Miso soup works the best. the salt stains also gives the soup a very deep flavour post-treatment.
Whatever soup I use, within 10 mins it turns to smurfsoup. And I hate smurfs!

[indigo0086]

hang it up, f'breeze it, wait till it dries, fold it, go to practice.

repeat for a moth and then wash...maybe.

[nalogg]

hang it up, f'breeze it, wait till it dries, fold it, go to practice.

repeat for a month and then wash...maybe.
f'breeze eh?... i never thought of that
that would cut down my washing by half
What kind do you use? antibacterial or something?
is there any danger of weird stains?

I should use fbreeze on my car seats too seeing as i get in and sit down still slightly moist from practice... sometimes i get a whiff of sweaty stench from them.

[indigo0086]

f'breeze eh?... i never thought of that
that would cut down my washing by half
What kind do you use? antibacterial or something?
is there any danger of weird stains?

I should use fbreeze on my car seats too seeing as i get in and sit down still slightly moist from practice... sometimes i get a whiff of sweaty stench from them.
f'breeze is the best. F'breeze dirty clothes and put them in the dryer = instant clean [smell]

and besides the salt stans that I already have in my hakama (don't think they should be there) the f'breeze itself doesn't actually caus any staining to occur.