help on bogu buying

[Kyros Nighle]

after months of saving up, i finally managed to get a respectable amount of cash to get my own bogu set, so as i can afford little mistakes regarding this, i would apreciatte greatly any advice or things i should watch for regarding the quality of the equipments, for example, a store wanted to sell me a korean machine stitched bogu set in 550.00 US, but the space between the kotes upper part and the grip was plastic, the mens flaps were not reiforced etc, that kind of things.

and one other thing, could you tell me how can i know the sizes of each piece of equipment? (i checked e-bogu, but to order a set, you have to specify sizes for men and kote, etc, and i have no idea how to measure those, and as bogu sets are not produced in mexico, returning the sets cause of non-fittings would be problematic, so it would be good to know)



also fellow mexicans, the shipping for a bogu set is extremely expensive and the procedures are long, so, apart from the option of shipping a set from e-bogu or the like, anyone knows were can i buy a set in the country? any martial arts store? people who sell them?
i live in morelos but i can get to mexico city and anything near it for that matters


and i dont know either if i need to get a permit from the gobernment to get my set into the country, so that they wont hold it in the aduanas, etc (i lost a katana set there, cause i was supposed to ask a permission to the secretary of defence to get a white weapon into the country, and i didnt know so they kept the whole thing) so if you know about this please tell.

thanks for the trouble everyone, :)

[ISSAC RU]

i suguest u take a look at

www.ebogu.com (http://www.ebogu.com)

i personally will perfer to stay away from the korean companies.

[crabbi]

Hi Kyros Nighle-San

Check out http://www.e-bogu.com/Kendo_s/172.htm for Gi / Hakama sizing guidance and most sites have a specific guide to Men / Kote sizing... but e.g. http://www.e-mudo.com/Sizing.asp

The A, B, C, and D dimensions seem to be the same for virtually all the sites...

Do sizing is a bit different... best to check the sizing guides on each site...

I would throroughly recommend telephoning the Customer Service Department for the online stores... I can only recommend e-bogu from personal experience... the people there (that I spoke to...) are all Kendoka and are very helpful...

Talk through the sizing issues with them until you are satisfied that they understand exactly what you want...

Check out other threads on this forum for other people's recommendations... we all have our favourites (!)...

Good luck... and let us know what you decide...

Cheers

crabbi

[joekc6nlx]

Basically, you would measure the circumference of your head at its greatest point, somewhere about 3 centimeters above your ears, and parallel to the floor. Then, you would measure the circumference vertically. You would put the tape measure under your chin and up to the top of your head, slanting it back slightly to a point above your ears. This would give the men measurements.

For the kote, you would measure around your hand at the palm, and then from the tip of your middle finger to your wrist.

For the do, you need to tell them your chest size, and they can recommend the proper do opening size for you. They will also use your waist size to fit the tare himo for you.

The illustrations for these measuring methods can be found on the "more info" page for each set of pre-made bogu at e-bogu.com. There is a type of order form, but you don't have to fill it out, but where it asks for the size for your men, there is a little ? inside a circle. Click on that and it will show you exactly how to measure for each piece of equipment. For example, there is one ? for the men, one for the kote. I tried to paste in a clip that showed how to measure, but the system won't let me, or I don't have enough "posts" to let me do that, yet.

I highly recommend e-bogu, as Taro makes it a point to have his customer service people be highly knowledgeable about bogu. The people I have dealt with at e-bogu.com have all been extremely helpful, courteous, and have gone out of their way to make sure my purchase is a pleasant experience and that my gear is of the highest quality I can afford.

[joekc6nlx]

I hope this worked..... I tried to set up attachments......I don't know if I did it right, but my profile says I can add attachments......

[crabbi]

I hope this worked..... I tried to set up attachments......I don't know if I did it right, but my profile says I can add attachments......
The links work perfectly joekc6nlx....

cheers

crabbi

[2005 combo]

Hi,

I decided to buy my first bogu set. After Extensive Reasearch and high Recommendations, I decided to Buy my Bogu from www.sehyun.com - here are my reasons.

My recommendations were from a fifth dan Japanese kendoka.

I checked out the folowing sites:
www.ninecircles.co.uk
www.chiba-budogu.com
www.e-bogu.com
www.e-modu.com
www.ebay.com - which had good looking deals for Australia
www.sehyun.com
The sehyun prices were very reasonable compared to the other sites.

The sehyun 1.2 Bu handstiched general set(the colour of stiching I got to choose.), was only £450 all in, easily half the price of most of the other sets, on the wesites I checked. Lots of experienced kendoka/referees/sensei inspected the bogu. The remarked on the fine Bogu, and the good price. The bogu sets started at around £200. I even got a free leather imitation carry bag, and head scarf.

I had to pay via transfer, through my bank. And I recieved my bogu within a week.

I tested the set at the Irish national shiai, and in practice, It was quality. and very comfortable. I never felt hurt, even when faced with the aggressive, all out, tense style, of one of the kendoka in Eireland.

I dont rule out the quality of the bogu at other websites, but I can recommend the value and quality of sehyun.

I hope this article is of some use to any kendoka out there.

Regards Combo 2005

[aikanaro]

Kyros:

Good to know about other mexican kendoka :) ... There are no bogu shops I know of here in Mexico, as kendo is not very widespread, but an option we have taken at our dojo is to make bulk orders from stores in USA, in order to get some discount, then spend the discount money in the shipping ;) ... Anyway, if you'd like to order only your equipment we've also ordered from e-bogu and eguchi and had the shipping made by FedEx, so long there has been no problem and the goods were delivered in a few days. E-bogu has a representative in Mexico, the contact is:

Tel: (044)5995-1616
Fax: (52)5729-6075
e-mail: mexico@e-bogu.com
Contact: Carlos Horita

If I can be of further assistance being here at Mexico City, mail me at aschwartz@ibope.com.mx

By the way, I've never had any problem getting iaitos and/or bogu, as long as you classify them as ornamental swords and sports equipment.

[crabbi]

http://www.sehyun-kumdo.com/

cheers

crabbi

[grasshopper_r2]

For e-bogu, measure your men by: the point of your chin to the highest point in the top-back of your head. If the size you find is between their standard sizes, order the larger size and get the THIN men pad. The men will fit like a glove after 2-3 practices. E-bogu has excellent service, and will take time to answer any and all questions, they get two thumbs up!!! I hope this helps.