heinous body odor...bad etiquette?

[subtrax]

Let’s face it; we've all faced off against one of these hygienically challenged individuals.



So where do you draw the line? Don’t get me wrong, I know what a high school locker room smells like and quite frankly, I sometimes miss that stench. Ah...the good old days. Anyways.



It’s not so much the actual body odor from sweating in class; it's the awful vinegary sting from unwashed bogu and gi. Even if someone has unusually high b.o. levels, the gi does a pretty good job of keeping all that moisture and heat trapped inside.



Aren’t we supposed to keep our gear in tip top shape? Does this not include keeping the stink level to a minimum?



To make matters worse, it's one particular sempai who intrudes my nostrils with fumes of vinegar fire. Let’s face it, newbie’s never smell bad, they have that new car smell which I enjoy.



Really, it’s not just the heinous stank, it’s a culmination of things. This particular sempai has really touched a nerve with me.

It’s as though he thinks he is above the law, the etiquette of kendo. i.e., walks in the dojo with a half ass bow, then proceeds to the newbie area and flings his flip flops across the dojo floor, right where the newbie’s practice and store their gear so that they have to pick them up and place them with the others. Everyone else’s shoes are nicely paired up next to the door. Always a disrespectful sonkyo to juniors. Never does he do the exact same stretching exercises as the rest of us. Always stretching a different way and different direction. Am I drawing you a clear enough picture?


Every time I have keiko with him, I try and show perfect etiquette but he never responds back with the same respect.



What would you do? Advice from senior students and senseis would greatly help in this matter.

[Infinity]

do your own etiquette and kendo.
teach the juniors by example.
ignore anyone who doesn't do the same.
you will find a$$holes in every corner or the world and im sure kendo has its fair share.
there is no need to make an emeny or a friend out of this person.
steer clear as much as you can if you just cant handle him and learn what you can in the time you must spend together.
he wont be in your life forever.

[goh]

I carry my stench as a badge of honor!

[Musha]

About bad breath, I have met quite afew kendoka with it. When we went into tsuba-zeriai I was almost coughing at the end of the keiko lol. I think afew people get worn out too much and start breathing bad breath at you.

Maybe it puts your opponent off :p.

[Hisham]

Subtrax , talk to your Teacher about it if this guy really makes your kendo parctice less enjoyable if not then you should go about it as Infinity suggested.

[mingshi]

Oh well, watch out when you go for seminars, gasshuku, taikai, etc. that last more than one day. Especially try your best to avoid getting into tsuba-zeriai during asa-keiko, after a mad night of Sayonara party...!!!

Time to really learn about breath control.. :D Let's think about it in a positive way: it's part of kendo training!!

[samurai999]

I remember somebody smelling so bad that I almost passed out on the spot. Of course now that my dad PURPOSELY put mothballs in the garage for some wierd reason, EVERYTHING smells like mothballs, so I can't really complain.

Tim

[Pan-Chan]

Hold a Kendo get together, then "invite" him into a friendly waterballoon fight. :evil: That way you get to have fun throwing things at him, AND he gets a bath!

Just kidding, that would be bad. I can't suggest anything that hasn't already been said. Just don't let this guy disrupt your Kendo, you should set an example for him, and the juniors in your dojo, even if he is your sempai.

I think this really proves that sempai aren't necessarily more skilled. They are only sempai because they have been there longer. He should know better, really.

[Optomitrist]

Man, sounds like you have a real dud in the class. I have had my fair share of the sort. They will continue to do their own thing no matter what you do. Even if you consider him your enemy( not saying you do) you should still treat him with the utmost respect.

[Koki]

talking about someone who just ate a bunch of onions and garlic. :D

I consider that another kind of chemical weapons.

[subtrax]

bad breath...secret weapon?

let's not all go out and munch on cloves of garlic before class.

[don quixote]

Ahh, the smell of kendo... stinking doesn't have anything to do with bad etiquette! In fact, I think it is impolite toward the smelly majority of kendoka to be odorless! :wink:

BTW, a judoka I know told me that eating a handful of raw garlic cloves teh day before a competition was a traditional trick... would work better in judo than in kendo though!:)

[Koki]

I was at this tournament. One of my opponent was taller than I was, so he was breathing down my face. And gosh... his breath smelled so bad that every time we came in close contact i had to push him away. I almost fainted.

Now you see the "secret weapon"?

Once i was talking to a japanese girl. She told me the only thing she remembered from the kendo people at her high school was that they smelled bad :D

[kuzu70]

In my dojo as well, there are kenshi who are quite smelly. It doesn't seem to bother me too much. I just stay away from them. Now about the sempai with the bad ettiquete, that really stinks (pun intended).

Just as some people have mentioned on the post, do the best you can. Do what you know is right and let him be how he wants to be. I wouldn't pick up his sandles or whatever though.

[Vortex]

That happened to me a little while ago. He kiaied in my face and all I could do was blink alot and keep from saying What The #%^$^& Man!

[grasshopper_r2]

When he's not looking slip a car de-odorizer, or drier sheet in his bogu bag! Or bring a gift of those little sport ball deodorizers all wrapped up with his name on it and leave it in his "area" prior to his arrival... just don't sign who it's from. Some times a suttle, private, yet, non-confrontive "hint" might get the message thru?? Good Luck!!!

[Reikon]

*Pops out his Listerine Pocket Pack*

[Kendoka]

If your sempei is behaving as you describe, then others may have also noticed and have a similar opinion and eventually some one who is senior to him may give him some guidance or correction.

But you should do your best to not show your feelings and you do everything correctly, no need for a goose to adversely affect your training.

From what you wrote he not only lacks respect for others, but also for himself.

[Richmond-san]

To be honest, for a little while I was the stinky kenshi until someone graciously pointed it out to me. I always keep deodorizers between my hakama and gi when folded, I let my bogu air dry after wiping the sweat with a towl, and for gods sake wash your tenugui. Deodorizing spray, and tic-tacs are also helpful.

Richmond-san

[Pokie]

lol..how about unwashed keiko gi - aged and fermented for 1 month ? Oh man...I nearly died when I smelt someone wearing that...it started to grow moulds too. My kote is cool..it stinks but I can wash it in plain water..dry..then 3 days..its nice and soft and fluffy and no more smell :P

[Vortex]

When he's not looking slip a car de-odorizer, or drier sheet in his bogu bag! Or bring a gift of those little sport ball deodorizers all wrapped up with his name on it and leave it in his "area" prior to his arrival... just don't sign who it's from. Some times a suttle, private, yet, non-confrontive "hint" might get the message thru?? Good Luck!!!
Man, I gotta use that idea!!

[zdvil]

Not sure if i missed it, and since this is on the topic of smells.

I was given a set of Club armour, almost new, except that like it was previously described by others, my men has that 'vinegery smell'. As of now its not that bad.. kinda mild, and i try to air it out after practices.

so i was wondering what people do to, tone down the sweat smell from their men?

[subtrax]

a friend sprays alcohol on his men. anybody else try this? works great killing the odor but how safe is it?

[joekc6nlx]

a friend sprays alcohol on his men. anybody else try this? works great killing the odor but how safe is it?
I presume you mean rubbing alcohol, which is usually isopropyl alcohol. Since it evaporates rather quickly, it shouldn't have any adverse effects. If he's using the 91%, then it will dry quicker than the 70% because of the amount of water used as a "filler".

Now, if he's using ethyl alcohol, which is grain alcohol, the active ingredient in such exotic beverages as beer, wine, whisky, brandy, and the like, and he's pouring it straight from the bottle, that's alcohol abuse! :wink:

[Infinity]

Diluted eucalyptus oil works really well. The smell doesn’t linger and it neutralizes bad odors.
Use a damp cloth and wipe over men and kote.
I also wipe down my hakama to stop those unsightly salt stains.

[Vortex]

I once heard about putting laveder oil in a men but Im not sure if she was pulling my leg or not. But I also heard of others putting incense in a burner and putting the men over it. Doesnt kill the bacteria thats causes the smell but covers it up I would imagine..

[Koki]

Go to walmart and get a bottle of fabric deodorant... it works like a charm...and cheap too...

[wezzyfish]

Hey, it may be bad etiquette, but not necessarily bad technique. After all, who wants to shiai against the guy who stinks? No doubt it could help as long as you are immune to the smell.

Just look at Musashi. He was jumped in a bathhouse once and so he didn't bathe very often, and was always hunted down. Of course, it could be his superior technique, but he never lost, so maybe it something to do with it. :wink:

[wezzyfish]

I always thought it would be funny to sneeze, or at least pretend to blow your nose on your sparring pads in karate, then take your fighting position. The look on your opponents face would be classic.

[subtrax]

go and buy a bottle of febreeze. works great. kills the bacteria and leaves a wonderful scent. lots of choices in fragrance.

i like my men smelling like wild flowers (not a gay thing). i'm getting a bottle for all the dojo members for chirstmas. that way all basis is covered and the really stinky ones won't get offended.

i dream of the day i walk into the dojo and everyone smells like vanilla cinnamon. i crack myself up...

[Charlie]

Sub, you're right, the guy's being a tool. Keep up your good etiquette regardless.

AND! Yes, offensive odors and piss-poor care of your equipment is a violation of kendo reigi. Whenever you go to practice you should be clean as possible, your gear should be clean as possible (allowing that it is difficult to keep it not-smelling) and your person should be as groomed as possible: especially in regards to having your toenails trimmed and, if possible, your face washed and teeth brushed. "Exercise breath" develops in practice but you can at least come in with clean teeth.

Don't believe me that this is part of kendo? Note whenever anyone takes a test that their appearance is part of the test. Your toenails will be examined, as will your bogu and shinai. Note that in some parts of the world, including midwest federation, rei for removing the men is to remove it but not lower it, wipe your sweaty face with the tenegui, give your men a wipe, and then lower the men onto the kote on the floor.

The cherry blossoms fall to their doom at any moment, therefore they should be as beautiful and smell as wonderful as they can in the short time on the bud they're allowed. <--- I didn't make that up, and neither did the last samurai movie, that's old kendo wisdom.

[subtrax]

thanx charlie! i suppose practicing good etiquette amidst etiquette abusers is training in itself. i couldn't agree with you more on cleanliness. it's just common sense and courtesy.



for some to use their talent for raunchiness as some sort of tactic is degrading to kendo. garlic before tourneys and matches, not washing your bogu or gi, where is the honor in that?



if you cannot overcome your opponent without the aid of your odor or bad breath tactics, what kind of kenshi are you?



on the contrary, what kink of kenshi would i be if the smell did bother me so much that i lost because of it? hmmmm?



what i'm saying is, let's keep kendo clean.

[joekc6nlx]

I recall reading in one of the other threads about a sensei who put a small bag of cloves in his bogu bag. I thought I'd try that trick, too.

If nothing else, at least it'll smell good when I put it on, and I won't have to worry about damaging the fabric with other kinds of deodorizers.

To whomever posted that trick, thank you.

[Random]

*ponder* How to get rid o' kote smell...?
X3 As practice starts you get used to it. I don't mind. Our sensei actually checks our gi to see if they are sweaty. Needs to know if he needs to work us harder.

I don't mind the smell, but non-kenshi apparently do. My mom makes me keep my bogu in the garage...o.o

[Charlie]

i suppose practicing good etiquette amidst etiquette abusers is training in itself.

Bravo! Well said.