A Longer Do

[Keenan]

Has anyone noticed how on japanese kendoka the tsuki protector extends over the top of the do, but on europeans the protector comes no where close to touching the do. This seems to make recieving a tsuki thrust much easier. I was wondering if anyone knows of a company that either makes longer do, so it can be worn higher, or a men with a longer tsuki protector?

[mingshi]

A few possiblities there:

a) Europeans have giraffe necks, for example... uhmmm :rolleyes:
b) "Tuck your chin in!" as in boxing
c) Can't you tie your do himo on your shoulder higher?

[Optomitrist]

I thought that the do was pretty much standard as far as the shape is concerned. The only difference being the size (which might be difference).

DO what mingshi said and just tie it higher. (dont leave a gap between your tare and do though, ouch!)

[slidercrank]

Generally you only need to concern with the width of the opening on a do. However, the height of the mune piece (the leather chest piece) can also vary. If you have a longer than average torso with respect to your height, then you can request a taller mune piece to get more coverage.

Personally I only notice that pretty much all male kendo players have a gap between the throat protector and the chest protector, of course some bigger than others. And all women kendo player's throat protector overlap the chest protector. This is, of course, because the women must wear the do's higher than men, due to women having higher hip bones than men.

You cannot just wear your do higher because you want to. The bottom of the do is supposed to be at the level of the top of the tare flaps for men, assuming you don't have a beer belly.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Actually the height of the doh-dai is variable too. For example, Koei has three different stock heights. It's one of the reasons they ask for your overall height when ordering.

[slidercrank]

Actually the height of the doh-dai is variable too. For example, Koei has three different stock heights. It's one of the reasons they ask for your overall height when ordering.

If I am not mistaken, the height of the do-dai is dependent on the back opening. Thus, there are about 4 ranges of the do-dai width, S, M, L, XL, and for each size there is also a specific do-dai height. Therefore, if your waist width is 39cm, then you will get an M-sized do-dai (opening 38-40cm), but you cannot get an M-sized do-dai width with the L-sized do-dai height. Of course, it is possible to take an L-sized do-dai and reshape it to make it narrower. (All numbers in this paragraph are just examples).

On top of all these variables, you have what I already stated a choice of the mune heights.

Confused yet?

[Nicker100]

It comes down to the length of your torso. A standard sized do assumes a certain size torso which for many westerners is not always the case. If you have a longer torso, simply tying a strandard sized do higher on the body is not a solution becasue it means that the do will be too high relative to the tare. This looks really really really bad and also means your likely to catch a do cut on an unprotected hip. The solution if you can afford it is a longer do. This can be done by extending the height of the mune or the do dai (large abdominal section). Extending the height of the mune is not so expensive and will give you a few extra centimeters if thats all u need. However if you really do have a long torso this probably wont be enough (trust me i found this out the hard way). Extending the height of the do dai is a much more effective way of creating a "longer" do. The catch is if you are after a bamboo do your going to find that this is incredibly expensive (for a fiber do this generally isnt too painful). I think if you are willing to make the investment almost any of the online bogu shops will create a correct height do for you.
Speaking from experience - getting the do height correct is worth the effort

[ratdeau]

If I was about to start kendo, I would buy a longer do.
I'm 196cm tall, imagine the gap between my do and my tsuki.
I've only been badly hit one time on the sternum's side by a tsuki. It was fifteen years ago but I still feel the crushed muscle sometimes.
Now my kamae is a little better. I don't think it will happen again.

[Keenan]

Thank you all for your help. The solution seems to be a longer mune, so i will look into this. A friend of mine is going to Korea soon and i will ask him to find one or have one made while he is there. (I think his brother actually sells bogus.) I should be able to get a very good price!

On side note, wearing the do higher not only creates the risk of getting hit directly on the hip, but also cause the force of all do strikes to be trasmitted directly to the hip. Talk about some nasty looking bruises.