Customizing your stuff

[Benegizer]

What kinda stuff do you do to help personalize your dogi/bogu? How much personalazation can you do in Kendo do you think?

I've always liked red, so I got a red shinai bag, my name stiched in red on the back of my hakama, and usually only wear red tenugui. I was looking for some kind of red, or red detailed tsuba, but havn't seen one yet. I've seen every other color almost. Black, neon green, purlpe, orange, transparent, grey, and navy. I think I have seen red tsuru before, so looking for that now.

I havn't bought my own bogu yet (using the schools) bit I will definatly get something with some red stiching on the men, kote, and tare. But I will stick with the black do, maybe with some red stiching on the top part.

So what kinda things do you guys do to set yourself apart?

How much customization can you do before you start moving away from tradition? At one of the kendo shops I sometimes go to the lady told me that most all the high level or famous kendoka always wear white tenugui.

[mystic_kendoka]

I've always liked red, so I got a red shinai bag, my name stiched in red on the back of my hakama, and usually only wear red tenugui. I was looking for some kind of red, or red detailed tsuba, but havn't seen one yet. I've seen every other color almost. Black, neon green, purlpe, orange, transparent, grey, and navy. I think I have seen red tsuru before, so looking for that now.
i have a shinai with red leather parts xD but i dont use it in classes anymore, its more of a display piece...

[ShinKenshi]

When I got my bogu, I opted for blue stitching for two reasons. First, my sensei and my sempai already had red stitching on their bogu and theirs looked pretty similar. Second, I just like blue a lot more than red :wink:. I didn't want to splurge on customizing my do because it'll get a lot of scratches and I would much rather spend more on my men and kote. The funny thing about this was when I got my bogu, I found that the included tenugui was also blue.

When it comes to customizing your bogu, I feel you can pretty much do whatever you want. Just don't make it look tacky or anything. I heard that there was one guy on the British team at the IKF tournament that had the Union Jack on his do and it just looked ridiculous. Not to disrespect him or anything but seriously, there are much better things to put on your do. So, do what you want when customizing but think carefully about it and whether or not it's a good idea.

[Commander]

I have purple stitching, burgandy doh. White uniform and indigo uniform.

White bogu himo :)

[#2 mouse]

For the shinail leather parts try "RIT" dye or other clothing dye. Also look for shoe dye in various colors.

[hamish]

So what kinda things do you guys do to set yourself apart?
Umm, good kendo?

Part of the aesthetic of kendo is removing distinctions and distractions, and getting your ego out of the way so you can concentrate on what really matters is a big part of that.

That's one reason why those at higher levels in kendo usually aren't overly flashy (other than their ability, that is!)

There have been countless posts going over the same stuff, so I won't re-hash it all. But the short version is...You're welcome to do whatever you want, but the attention you gain from 'setting yourself apart' is seldom that positive.

What you mention doing, however, doesn't seem too far out there, but a red tsuba might be going too far, especially in Japan, where that kind of stuff is really only to keep kids with short attention spans interested. Because of that you'll find the quality of such tsuba will be very low.

[mystic_kendoka]

Because of that you'll find the quality of such tsuba will be very low.

wat do you mean by quality of the tsuba? durability? or how good it looks?

[Kingofmyrrh]

I heard that there was one guy on the British team at the IKF tournament that had the Union Jack on his do and it just looked ridiculous. Not to disrespect him or anything but seriously, there are much better things to put on your do. So, do what you want when customizing but think carefully about it and whether or not it's a good idea.
If you mean the world championships when you say 'IKF tournament' (?) then I'm pretty much certain that you're wrong. I can't think what other event you might be referring to. So, not to disrespect you or anything but seriously, check your facts.

(It hurts me to have to use such nasty syntax, but it wouldn't be copying otherwise).

[mystic_kendoka]

there are much better things to put on your do.

like smiley faced bumper stickers, those are just classic..

[ShinKenshi]

If you mean the world championships when you say 'IKF tournament' (?) then I'm pretty much certain that you're wrong. I can't think what other event you might be referring to. So, not to disrespect you or anything but seriously, check your facts.

(It hurts me to have to use such nasty syntax, but it wouldn't be copying otherwise).

Yeah, I most likely got that part wrong, sorry :(. I am pretty sure that the guy with the Union Jack on his do is true though but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[mystic_kendoka]

maybe you meant the WKC? world kendo championship?

dont think there were any union jack wearing fanatics there though..

[Kingofmyrrh]

Well, I've never seen one and I get around a bit. Mind you, I've only been doing kendo for 6 years so it could have happened before my time... even so, if this were the case, I find it hard to imagine that somebody fresh to kendo such as Shinkenshi would have had occasion to see it.

[Hai_hai]

What kinda stuff do you do to help personalize your dogi/bogu? How much personalazation can you do in Kendo do you think?

I've always liked red, so I got a red shinai bag, my name stiched in red on the back of my hakama, and usually only wear red tenugui. I was looking for some kind of red, or red detailed tsuba, but havn't seen one yet. I've seen every other color almost. Black, neon green, purlpe, orange, transparent, grey, and navy. I think I have seen red tsuru before, so looking for that now.

I havn't bought my own bogu yet (using the schools) bit I will definatly get something with some red stiching on the men, kote, and tare. But I will stick with the black do, maybe with some red stiching on the top part.

So what kinda things do you guys do to set yourself apart?

How much customization can you do before you start moving away from tradition? At one of the kendo shops I sometimes go to the lady told me that most all the high level or famous kendoka always wear white tenugui.
I don't do any customization, but I sometimes choose options that are available. I have a double-stitched leather layered tsuba and a tenegui that's different from others. The colors on the embroidery (wisteria and pink) on my ago and mune are different than others in my dojo. That's about it.

[mystic_kendoka]

you could always make your own tsubas, with thermoplastic materials..

u can get them at hardware stores, you boil it/heat it and mould it.. not sure how long it would last though..

[ShinKenshi]

Well, I've never seen one and I get around a bit. Mind you, I've only been doing kendo for 6 years so it could have happened before my time... even so, if this were the case, I find it hard to imagine that somebody fresh to kendo such as Shinkenshi would have had occasion to see it.

I never said I saw it, I said that I had heard about it.

[Andou]

What sets me apart..? Aside from my nafuda, the extremely labored breathing you hear towards the end of practice. Hahahaha either that or I'm that Japanese kid who sucks at something that originated in his country.

[Yiu Fai]

wat do you mean by quality of the tsuba? durability? or how good it looks?

I think what Hamish meant was that good quality Tsuba (ie: one that pros would use, top of the line tsuba) are not made in fancy colours, simply because higher level kendoka wouldnt bother using it because they're not overly flashy save for their skill.

[samurai999]

Well, if there is any distinction in kendo other than between beginners and yudansha, it usually is found with the tenugui and the patterns on the dou.

amatsuda has a very nice same-dou. It used to set himself apart from the crowd, until the imitations and the cheaper knockoffs started to show up. There was a nice catalog that he brought to practice one day and that showed all the types of dou and dou stiching patterns you could get. I think it was an Eikou budogu catalog if i'm not mistaken.

We got a special tenugui for teams and I know of some dojos in the old days that had team dous.


my 0.02$(US) for all it is worth,
Tim

[Benegizer]

In regard to what Hamish had to say, I agree, but there is a point where looking sharp (dressing neat, properly) are very important. You can look at in the same way samurai used to wear armour. Of course for protection, but a lot of their helmets or face masks were used to show, rank, clan, and used just to scare the crap out of people. (I've been to a few samurai museums out here, and some of their armour was pretty flashy, or just plain freaky looking)

One shop owner told me that when I go in for grading, make sure everything is tied nice, and all the himo are the right length and everything is ironed, or polished real nice. Basicly the equivalent to a US marine in formal dress. Look sharp. And that can be interperetd differnt ways. I mean, they don't have flashy DO for nothing.

[piggy]

to set my stuff apart, i make one simple mark on everything. nothing fancy. just a one square inch mark. but ususally so that it cannot be seen.

[Naginatagirl]

On the hidden side of my tsuba dome I put a little design and my initials on the inside of my kote and men ('cause all of them looked the same and I got confused the first time -_-; ). ...that's about it. Flashiness is not really my thing... But I'm dying to get a tenegui that isn't the default I got with my bogu. Maybe a nice, soft green....hmmm...

[piggy]

did you check e-bogu? i was there last night and i know that they have a tea green tenegui. it wasnt expensive at all. just the shipping wouldnt be too kind. at least for me its not...

[Naginatagirl]

I have that one, but in navy. I'm looking for one that's a light green or just plain nice. The CNF one I have is cool but too short >< not to mention it's for Nagianta...oh well...I'll get a new one eventually. Thanks piggy. ^^

[kanyil]

We had a young-ish visiting kenshi last Friday that showed up with a Tiger-doh. Nobody really batted an eye and his kendo was good enough to back it up.

I hear Hasegawa also makes tsubas. Given how Hasegawa is the pioneer in applying new technology to kendo equipment, I wonder what their tsubas are like?

[DCPan]

I hear Hasegawa also makes tsubas. Given how Hasegawa is the pioneer in applying new technology to kendo equipment, I wonder what their tsubas are like?

Black translucent plastic...when you look closely, the carbon fiber makes a weave so you can see little dots through the tsuba, sandwiched between two clear/grey plastic layer.

I think you maybe able to buy them in different sizes...the ones I got were had "DB" sticker on it...the hole was pre-done to fit a dobari shinai, so I didn't have to do any alterations to the fit.

It's like 1260yen a piece or so.

[kanyil]

Black translucent plastic...when you look closely, the carbon fiber makes a weave so you can see little dots through the tsuba, sandwiched between two clear/grey plastic layer.



So it's a purely cosmetic thing? So it's not an "indestructible tsuba", ala carbon shinai? :D

[DCPan]

So it's a purely cosmetic thing? So it's not an "indestructible tsuba", ala carbon shinai? :D

Don't know...haven't had it for that long yet.

Then again, if carbon shinai is not indestructable, why should the tsuba be?

Like anything else carbon though, the tsuba feels kinda dead...I still like the hide tsuba more.

FWIW.

[amatsuda]

So it's a purely cosmetic thing? So it's not an "indestructible tsuba", ala carbon shinai? :D
Yes. The CF is cosmetic...Mine broke about six months after I started using it. Glued it back together with Super glue which worked for about a month and then the whole thing just completely broke in half.

The good thing about it is that the circumference of the Hasegawa tsuba is a little larger than the leather ones so I use my last one for shiai only...

[Curtis]

My CF tsuba has held up fine. I do not use it all the time though.

Have to agree with Alex Bennett sensei, start with good kendo. Not that that ever stopped me from wanting something good looking.

In '79 during my first trip to Japan I saw a slate blue colored bamboo dou on the shelf and had to have it. When I returned 2 years later I bought it. I stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of black dou even though it was a really subdued color.

[Mr. Donigan]

A friend of mine plays the saxophone in a famous blues band. He laughs at the young wannabies that buy Black saxophones and have no skills. He's always said that if you're going to spend alot of money on a fancy all black sax, you'd better be able to back it up. Well, I feel the same way about Bogu. You can get away with about anything, as long as your kendo is louder than your bogu.

[piggy]

i would never want anything that would stand out. it says that you need attention. which some of us do.

Mr donnigan, ive never seen a black sax. ive seen white ones and even those hideous ones with the american flag painted on it. for me, i'll just stick to plain gold colour or maybe silver.

nothing fancy.

[samurai999]

There ARE black saxophones. Yanagisawa and Yamaha make them as well as Selmer. Sorta went OT here, but the black saxophones have a slighter dark, soft tone compared to the brighter tone of the silver and the mellow tone of the regular lacquered gold. These are usually hand-made and are pretty expensive. These makers make those types of custom saxophones for more accomplished players.

I still have the YSS-875 soprano custom saxophone that I played in HS.

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,6373,CNTID%253D571%2526CTID%253D240200,00.html

Tim

[Mr. Donigan]

I agree, that I don't want my bogu to do the "talking" for me, I'd rather be noticed for my kendo. About sax's. I play (played) the bari mostly. I had a 16 piece jazz swing band back in 1999-2001. That was a lot of fun, but with a band that large the $500 a gig we normally got paid ended up being about $6 an hour for the night. But if you took the amount of practice time we put into it (about 3 nights a week) it was more like $1 an hour. We sure weren't doing it to retire!

[LarsCW]

I have that one, but in navy. I'm looking for one that's a light green or just plain nice. The CNF one I have is cool but too short >< not to mention it's for Nagianta...oh well...I'll get a new one eventually. Thanks piggy. ^^

Maybe tozando has what you are looking for

http://wafu-living.com/wear/tenuguitowel/index.htm

They have loads of choise

[Textbook Chris]

I play (played) the bari mostly. I had a 16 piece jazz swing band back in 1999-2001 I saw that band... :beard: <--that is what the Bari sax player looks like in RL.

I remember the first custom paint job I did on my bogu..it sucked. I was younger and naive..now I am just a bit older...and still naive. I got this paint that was like this stone fleck color that gave it texture...it was such a bad idea. After my next practice I spent like 3 days removing that crap paint and to this day I bet there is still paint chips on some of my friends shinai. I would rather flourish with footwork then lead a parade in wacky colored Bogu.

-C

[piggy]

I agree, that I don't want my bogu to do the "talking" for me, I'd rather be noticed for my kendo. About sax's. I play (played) the bari mostly. I had a 16 piece jazz swing band back in 1999-2001. That was a lot of fun, but with a band that large the $500 a gig we normally got paid ended up being about $6 an hour for the night. But if you took the amount of practice time we put into it (about 3 nights a week) it was more like $1 an hour. We sure weren't doing it to retire!



ive been a bari sax player for quite some time but i had to give it up recently because i was renting it and its not cheap. im hoping to find one in a pawn shop or something so i can finally have my own.

[Shiro7]

hmm well as far as customization would allow me to do.. without embarrassing myself or anything dumb lol, Id get a white kendogi and a black hakama, with a black undershirt or something. Maybe the traditional hakamas though not sure... if or when i get my bogu which would be a long time id probably get a white kote like in naginata (i mean if they allow me..) and a black bogu do with white speckles and maybe white stitching. And a bogu close to black atleast.. And tabi socks! Who wouldnt like tabi socks??

[Mr. Donigan]

"I remember the first custom paint job I did on my bogu..it sucked. I was younger and naive..now I am just a bit older...and still naive. I got this paint that was like this stone fleck color that gave it texture...it was such a bad idea. After my next practice I spent like 3 days removing that crap paint and to this day I bet there is still paint chips on some of my friends shinai. I would rather flourish with footwork then lead a parade in wacky colored Bogu."

Yeah, I think I got a stone fleck colored shinai from those days. Though after my basement bogu team beats your living room loafers team I think I'll have a parade of wacky colored bogu through your house. Don't worry, we'll wait till Matlock is over.

[tilt]

Yeah, I most likely got that part wrong, sorry :(. I am pretty sure that the guy with the Union Jack on his do is true though but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

It's a Union Jack on his zekken.

http://www.pabudden.com/kodokan/pictures/ladies05041.jpghttp://www.pabudden.com/kodokan/pictures/ladies05041.jpg