padding the men

[Matthew Lagden]

my new bogu was delivered yesterday, and the men is very slightly big - the curse of mail order...

i was going to pad it, and wondered what people recomended.

mouse mats seem to be mentioned fairly often, but i wondered how you actually go about inserting a mousemat into the men?

do you glue it, or just slide it in, and use the inherent traction in the shape and material to hold it in place.

other suggestions?

it needs about 1/4 to a 1/2 centimetre filled in at the top to make it super snug. and stop me getting brain damage.

otherwise the bogu fits perfectly and i love it.....

i would have worn it to bed except commonsense took over....

[alexpollijr]

I had this same problem in the past. At first one of my men used to fit snugly but with time and frequent use he just got a little bigger. Recently I added a standard 'head safe pad' from Mori Budo, which is a little thinner than the e-bogu one for instance, and it got just perfect. Maybe you should try it. A larger men pad like e-bogu's probably won't fit.

A second option is a chin pad. They're very good because not only the help the fit but also stops sweat in that area, which can really help to keep the men without the infamous kendo stench.

[Matthew Lagden]

where can i get a chin pad? i get a rash on my chin from the club stuff, and i don't want to ask what causes that....

[rottunpunk]

kuri gave me great advise on that one

try using a tenegui between your chin and the men

also i have a theory about the club stuff... many peoples sweat, collected over many years, coupled with the odd teenager with acne problems has created a rash making monster that is impossible to kill as it is microscopically small and has made its home imbedded in the very fibres of the men itself... or summit likr that

:p

[Matthew Lagden]

good advice about the tenegui. i have a spare one that came with the bogu set

and i really meant it about not wanting to know what caused the rash....

[alexpollijr]

Matthew

Kendoshop, Tozando and E-bogu carry the chin pad stuff.
Tenugui and handkerchiefs on the chin can often slip off during keiko, and are usually frowned upon in grading exams.

[JSchmidt]

Matthew, go here:

www.eurobogu.net

Jakob

[Neil Gendzwill]

You can make inexpensive padding from closed-cell foam. This foam is usually blue or yellow and is the stuff used to make camping mattresses. Don't use open-cell foam, it compresses too much and won't give you either the fit adjustment or protection you want. Mouse pads are usually neoprene which would also work, never tried it myself.

[amatsuda]

Originally posted by amatsuda
I used to get a little punch drunk after a long practice or doing motodachi for beginners.

Although these days you can buy bogu with Sorbothane in it, mine is an older set and does not have it. Therefore, I cut and put a piece of sorbothane inside the men with double sided tape. It works quite well and the decrease of the shock is quite noticeable. I bought the sheet of sorbothane from Edmunds Scientific.

http://www.scientificsonline.com/ec/Products/Display.cfm?CategoryID=192980

amatsuda
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/sjkendo

Matthew,

Here was my solution for padding the men.

amatsuda