Plastic Men

[emitbrownne]

http://www.hasegawakagaku.co.jp/image/emujun3.gif

Does anyone know if these types of Men are used widely?

What kind of advantages (other than safety) and disadvantages (other than being able to read your face easier, and therefore be able to read your actions better) are there??

Just wondering if they are even worth considering...:confused:

[alexpollijr]

Not widely.

Mujun Men is lighter and you have expanded visibility. If you want to conceal your eyes, they offer a monomi frame (for a fee o'course) to do it.

I've considered it. When I buy a new men (years from now since mine is in perfect shape aside from painting damage and smelly chin pad) I'll probably give it a shot if it's still around.

[Paburo]

i've only seen 2 in keiko so far.

one worn by a rokudan sensei. i guess one of the advantages is that if you are a sensei you have more visibility to be able to correct your students, also makes it easier for explanations.

the other person is a complete newbie.

[KhawMengLee]

Yeah, one of the yondan senseis in my dojo uses it too...but not often

[Karaken]

Kataoka sensei in NY uses one. I thought the main purpose was to protect your eyes from flying bamboo splinter.. ( Or broken shinai coming thru men )

Centre..

[kendomushi]

Safety is the main reason for the clear men. It also increases your ability to see and be seen. Even here in Japan after 10 years of kendo I've only seen this type of men used once. The user was a sensei who bought it as a novelty. He only used it twice before putting it away and returning to a traditional men.

[sminki]

Like Paburo, I've only seen two cases of this. One being my sensei - only at the comfort of his own dojo. The other being a complete beginner.

I can see how this type of equipment could gain more popularity in the years to come (although I'm not about to use one until it becomes the norm) because of its increased visibility and safety, but I don't think it's catching on that quickly, especially in such a traditional environment of kendo. In fact, Hasegawa even came up with this type of men with lines drawn on top of the visor so that the user of this type men looks like he/she has a traditional men on and therefore stand out less.