Halloween?

[runsyi]

How many of you are planning on dressing up for Halloween? And what are you planning on dressing up as?

I was planning on dressing up as either Natsumi Tsujimoto, Jill Valentine, or a generic pulp fiction femme fatale.

[T.Lee]

from this thread,
http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4693&highlight=halloween

i will go as t shirt ninja again this year...
http://www.entertheninja.com/ninja_fun/shirt_ninja.shtml

[kendonewbie]

hmmm...dunno. I like the idea of free candy, but man, do those people give you funny looks if you taller than 4 1/2 feet and older than 12 years old.

[stephanie dee]

hmmm...dunno. I like the idea of free candy, but man, do those people give you funny looks if you taller than 4 1/2 feet and older than 12 years old.

Hey! I'm nearly 18 and I have managed to get a load of mates to go trick or treating, fully dressed up! I've got my devil's costume out and ready and everything! We're having a Fright Night afterwards too, with scary DVDs and stuff.... which should be interesting because most of my friends are complete whimps... hehehe:devious:

I wore my devil costume last year! take a look!

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stephanie_dee24/detail?.dir=11cb&.dnm=b075.jpg&.src=ph

[SkippyDaStudent]

Well, for the local Anime Club party, I'm wearing my kendo stuff.

As for Halloween itself, I'm not exactly sure. I'll probably use a past costume again. *shrugs*

[Paikea]

Well, for the local Anime Club party, I'm wearing my kendo stuff.
There are old threads on that very topic, but you may want to think twice about wearing your kendo gear in that kind of setting. It's not a party outfit...

[SkippyDaStudent]

There are old threads on that very topic, but you may want to think twice about wearing your kendo gear in that kind of setting. It's not a party outfit...

I was thinking more along the lines of just the keikogi and hakama. However, I may take my bogu along just for pictures.

[Paikea]

I was thinking more along the lines of just the keikogi and hakama. However, I may take my bogu along just for pictures.Ask your sensei about it if you have a practice before Monday. You might be suprised at the response you get - I doubt that it will be favorable.

[Alex_McGrady]

I was thinking more along the lines of just the keikogi and hakama. However, I may take my bogu along just for pictures.

I don't really see anything wrong with wearing your keikogi and hakama for Halloween... maybe just be sure the candy stains are washed out before your next practice :confused2

Might be a good idea to wear something underneath them!!! :rolleyes:

As for me.... I'll just stick with handing out candy to the little kiddies....

Alex

[SkippyDaStudent]

Thanks for the advice.

I do understand that some people think that wearing their keikogi, hakama, and bogu as a "costume" is a big no-no. They see it as an insult to the art. I can completely understand this opinion, having seen many people make a fool out of themselves in "karate costumes".

However, this is how I look at it. I am wearing it to an anime club party. Everyone there has an interest in, and respect for, the Japanese culture. Several of them have even talked with me about kendo (since I proudly read my copy of Kendo: the Definitive Guide before club starts every week). I think, if anywhere, it would be most acceptable in a group of people who respect the culture.

I plan on treating my uniform and my bogu with just as much respect as I would inside the dojo.

Just my two cents.

[T.Lee]

I do understand that some people think that wearing their keikogi, hakama, and bogu as a "costume" is a big no-no. They see it as an insult to the art. I can completely understand this opinion, having seen many people make a fool out of themselves in "karate costumes".


so how is it different for you to wear your kendo costume than the foolish karate costume??

personally, i dont care what you do with your kendo gear. i just wouldnt want beer or nacho chips spilt on my practice gear at a party. nor do i care to parade my kendo gear to show off how cool it is. but you said it yourself man...

[SkippyDaStudent]

so how is it different for you to wear your kendo costume than the foolish karate costume??

I don't plan on making a fool out of myself.

This isn't the kind of party where beer, nachos, and what not will be all over the place. It is a bunch of people who are dressed up, getting together to watch some anime.

And I think of it as a way for me to wear the uniform that I am proud of in an accepting environment (outside of the dojo), and also a way to allow me to share my interest in kendo with other enthusiasts of the Japanese culture.

[Alex_McGrady]

so how is it different for you to wear your kendo costume than the foolish karate costume??...

I think what Skippy-san meant is that those people who know nothing about karate wearing a dougi and a belt to a party. Then they walk around acting like they know karate and making a fool of themselves by screaming "HiiiiiYAaaaa" and throwing various kicks and punches. I have seen it too... makes me want to make them change right there!

by the way, give me some candy.

Alex

[piggy]

I'm going to take my younger brother out for halloween and I am going to be leatherface or maybe Jack Torrence...

[SkippyDaStudent]

I think what Skippy-san meant is that those people who know nothing about karate wearing a dougi and a belt to a party. Then they walk around acting like they know karate and making a fool of themselves by screaming "HiiiiiYAaaaa" and throwing various kicks and punches. I have seen it too... makes me want to make them change right there!

by the way, give me some candy.

Alex

Exactly my point. Sorry I wasn't clearer about it.

[T.Lee]

let me add or perhaps rephrase what im saying.

if you wanna dress up in some traditional japanese wear, or as a fictional anime character, then go ahead and make a costume like yahiko's yellow gi and hakama. but i wouldnt wear my kendo gear in public if i didnt intend to practice kendo.

its kinda like a football player wearing his pads and uniform when not practicing, especially since its designed to be sweated into. i just dont see that happening unless you were some little kid who wanted to dress like brett favre and wore a GB packer uniform and wore the paint on your cheeks.

just my opinion and advice. you are of course free to do whatever you want.

[Andou]

It'd be interesting to go out in your kendo stuff, but man...there are tons of things that can go wrong. I might just white sheet it this year...it seems like kids are getting less and less involved with Halloween in this neighborhood...if they're not going to put any effort, I won't either...Bit O' Honey's, Mary Janes, Circus Peanuts, and raisins for them all!

[SkippyDaStudent]

I definitely understand the concerns involved. The only reason I'm willing to risk my keikogi and hakama set is because I have multiples.

T. Lee, thank you for expressing you opinion as far as the bogu goes. I see what you are saying, and will consider it in more depth before I do anything involving wearing it outside of the dojo.

[T.Lee]

ok, ill vicariously plan my halloween anime costume through you...

here's what id do, say you were going as yahiko. make a separate yellow gi instead of your sweaty plain white/blue keikogi. go to the fabric store, get some patterned yellow fabric and use your keikogi as a template. id be ok with using your kendo hakama, especially an old hakama if you have one, along with the costume because my hakama really doesnt get too sweaty and it'd be much harder to make than a gi. then use an old shinai, maybe a kids 37 shinai as a prop. MAKE SURE YOU USE AN EXTRA STRING to strap it to your back... bonus points will be given if you get a spikey haired wig...

[Paikea]

Seriously, whether you actually do (or not) ask your sensei about it...

[Anime12478]

Let me put in my two cents about this.

To me, I think that it would be okay to go in a Kendo uniform as long as you are going there in good spirits. Just don't do anything to misrepresent Kendo such as drinking heavily and being stupid. If you are going to promote Kendo and answer any questions that shoot your way, I say go for it.

I don't fully understand the not being able to wear your Kendo gear outside of the dojo, but I guess it's just one of those concepts that I will understand once I train longer, like a kid realizing the value of money as it becomes a bigger part of his or her life.

[Mugu]

Let me put in my two cents about this.

To me, I think that it would be okay to go in a Kendo uniform as long as you are going there in good spirits. Just don't do anything to misrepresent Kendo such as drinking heavily and being stupid.
But I thought mastering Kendo and drinking is a must! Especially in Japan! According to the Bekkasai Manual :D

Seriously, I guess it is not quite appropriate to wear your uniform out of your dojo due to these reasons:

1. Show off
2. Disrespectful - it's like walking around someone's house with your shoes on (bad example, but you get the point)
3. People will dislike you because nobody else like your sweaty smell left over from last night's practice
4. It's cold outside
5. Someone said candies, beer, and food stains
6. It's hard to pee
7. You'll get vote for the worst costom at the Halloween party
8. You get the idea...

So there are my reasons NOT to wear my uniform during Halloween. But I do have a nice red-junky-hakama I can wear with something else :)

[Lloromannic]

There is a high chance of me going in hakama, but it will be my old poly hakama and I won't wear my keikogi (no, I'm not going topless either!), rather ?'ll use a yukata I bought at a thrift store for the equivalent of 50 cents US. It's from a hotel in tokyo but I don't think anyone will notice. I'm just concerned about reason #6 in Mugu's list but it's easier for men.

The reason I'm wearing that is that me and my friends are going as different cultural stereotypes, we've got Japan (me) Bedouin, cowboy, and a jew. Wew hope that people will see us together and see that different cultures can get along (oh and give us candy)

Now I need to sew some pockets in the hakama to carry the candy.

[drizzt]

i plan to run around our apartment complex with the t shirt ninja headwrap i sweats with a shinai scaring the crap out of everyone i can find......that or me and my roommates might dress as the monks form quest for the holy grail

[iam_pk]

i will dress up like ''the ring''~
u know, its just handy for me as i am a chiness ;)

[Paikea]

I recall an excellent post form Ben Sheppard-sensei a while back that while telling the story of an elderly kendoka who he saw bowing to her bogu before practice, that nicely described my own feeling on this subject.

In January, we were privileged to have Kamei-sensei (Hanshi, Hachidan) and a good part of his dojo visit us for a seminar weekend, and I happened to see the same thing Sheppard-sensei saw. Early on the day of the seminar, I had seen an elderly lady at our sensei's house (Kamei-sensei was staying there, along with some of his companions). She was making tea, and generally taking care of the others that morning. I had not met any of them yet, and had no idea that she was one of the people would be teaching later that day.

Later at the seminar, I saw this same lady quietly arrange her bogu in front of her, pause, bow toward it, pause again and then put her bogu on before practice. She noticed I was watching her, recognized me from that morning and gave a little smile and nod in my direction. During the seminar, she seemed to take an interest in a group of us, helping with Kata and again during kihon and jigeiko. Nothing but quiet determination, focused on spreading what she had obtained from her kendo. She'd been doing this for a large part of her life, I think.

So...it's probably corny but I can't treat the uniform, bogu or kendo in general as a "costume" - even if the intentions are good, I'd have to think about people like her and what the trappings really mean.

[SkippyDaStudent]

I will definitely make sure to talk with my sensei on this topic tomorrow. We are having a special training session for those going to the MWKF tournament in Wisconsin.

Thank you all for bringing up some very valid points.

[Paikea]

I will definitely make sure to talk with my sensei on this topic tomorrow. We are having a special training session for those going to the MWKF tournament in Wisconsin.

Thank you all for bringing up some very valid points.Just to be clear - I'm not saying it's bad for you, just something I can't conceive of doing myself. Please let us know what your sensei thought about it.

[SkippyDaStudent]

Please let us know what your sensei thought about it.

Most definitely.

[T.Lee]

let me repeat what i think paikea is saying, because i think its what ive been trying to get out of the back of my head.

i think if you could possibly consider your actual kendo practice clothes and gear as some kind of costume, then i think it shows that you probably are doing kendo for the novelty of it, or are at least treating your kendo gear as something novel, which in reality, its just training equipment.

i would lump together with those who started kendo because they saw last samurai or kill bill, and i cant think of one beginner who started around that time that is still practicing. a lot of them just got their bogu and quit. like, why'd you bother? so you can show it off to your friends?

on the other extreme, i certainly dont see my keigogi or bogu as some kind of altar. i take care of it and make sure its treated properly, but its nothing that i think in its own deserves some kind of respect.

again, just my opinion. who am i to judge...

like i said, go ahead and buy a cheap set of gi and hakama. do whatever you want with it, dye it, pattern it, whatever. go out and wear it and party (or have a marathon season 2 of kenshin viewing together, whatever your idea of fun is...) thats different than using your own practice gear.

that said, i got my black shirt picked out and ready for "shirt ninja" trick or treating!

[Frame]

apologies if I ruin the spirit of this thread but. I think halloween sucks big time. I don't know how it is for you guys, but where I live but it seems like it's just an excuse for 10-16yr old chavs to go around, knock on people's doors and say stuff like "give us some money" and generally go around vandalising random bits of public property. Naturally this is one of those "a small minority of gits ruins it for everyone". These gits make no attempt at dressing up but on the off chance might wear a scream mask with their trainers and hoodies. Please note, I have no objection to people who have dressed up and do all the standard halloween stuff and it makes me happy to see people make a bit of an effort.

*shakes fist angrily*

[Eiliries]

I'm dressing up as a Lord of the Rings Elf, and I'm taking my younger cousin trick-or-treating.

[Paikea]

i think if you could possibly consider your actual kendo practice clothes and gear as some kind of costume, then i think it shows that you probably are doing kendo for the novelty of it, or are at least treating your kendo gear as something novel, which in reality, its just training equipment.

Sort of...the novelty or "cool factor" (show-off?) thing is certainly part of it. I guess it's the same thing that leads me to say "yes sir" to a cop, or to buy the PFC (or Squid, or even an officer!) in uniform waiting at the airport a beer. I'm not a nut for the Military or the Police, but they represent something important, especially when the uniform is on. I get creeped out when I see people wearing those for costumes as well. To me, it says they miss the point.


on the other extreme, i certainly dont see my keigogi or bogu as some kind of altar. i take care of it and make sure its treated properly, but its nothing that i think in its own deserves some kind of respect.

Yeah, stuff is just stuff, I agree. Sitting on the store shelf it has no particular reverential value (unless it's a Mine men, but that's another thing altogether). But we're careful not to kick somebody else's bogu around at practice because it represents the hard work, blood, sweat and tears (cliche', I know) of the people we practice with. I cannot imagine wearing my uniform or bogu to some kind of party and meeting any of my sensei there. I am certain they'd be disappointed in me. I'd rather not have that.

[T.Lee]

But we're careful not to kick somebody else's bogu around at practice because it represents the hard work, blood, sweat and tears (cliche', I know) of the people we practice with.

well, i hope theres a clear difference between respecting your own equipment (putting it on a pedestal) and respecting other ppls property!

[drizzt]

I might consider putting it on fro the little kids i think we will have trick or treat here, but that will be all. The nice part about doing that, it sparks there curiousity as well, wich is always a good thing(i cant wait until i get to speak to my mothers class again........... last year i was overwhelmed by how truly interested EVERYONE of them was in what i had to say)

[TheChessQueen]

I was originally a princess in a corset that made me unable to breathe so I just changed about an hour ago into my kendo uniform... I have such an original costume, no? :)

I have to get back to the party... Living on campus is so much fun except when you want to sleep and the halloween party is outside your door.


"If you can't beat them, join them... or just beat them harder with a heavier stick"

[Washington]

I'm combining my gi / hakama with some fuzzy slippers, ears and tail and going out as the samurai-easter-bunny

[Julian]

I hate all these american events like halloween or valentines day ... just moneymaking :P :smoker:

[ReKru]

I hate all these american events like halloween or valentines day ... just moneymaking :P :smoker:

Don't be so bitter, the industry needs to live, too :rolleyes:

And you can always switch to genuine german money making festivals like Karneval (carnival) and Muttertag (mother's day (c) 1938 by our Fuhrer). :confused2

[Julian]

And you can always switch to genuine german money making festivals like Karneval (carnival) and Muttertag (mother's day (c) 1938 by our Fuhrer). :confused2 <---- Jupp, and thats enough ... no need for more ;-P

[ReKru]

p.s.
I don't like wearing bogu out of it's context (as a costume somewhere) and leave that to the wannabe samurai.
I think it's against reiho and respecting your equipment.

(but maybe I can borrow a doctor's outfit from you for a nice 'Doktorspielchen' with willing nurses during Karneval hrhr :cool: )

[Julian]

Hehe i agree about wearing bogu as costume ... and of course i can get u some green "ER-Stuff" ... but u have to get the nurses yourself ... and some for me too :wink:

[ReKru]

but u have to get the nurses yourself

My girlfriend would kill me beyond repair and I'm not even a organ donor. :ko:



... and some for me too :wink:

.. but she does have an unmarried sister :wink:

[Washington]

I hate all these american events like halloween or valentines day ... just moneymaking :P :smoker:

We are CAPITALISTS !!! ... it's not just for fun.. it's our patriotic duty

[Julian]

.. but she does have an unmarried sister :wink:

And her name is? Jessica Alba right? :wink:


@ Washington: Right, its YOUR duty ... so leave us alone with this stuff :wink:

[SkippyDaStudent]

I talked to my sensei about wearing kendo gear outside of the dojo as a "costume".

He very much took the same approach to it as I did. He sees it as sharing a piece of the culture, even in the contexts of using the keikogi, hakama, and bogu as a Halloween costume. He said he is very open to the idea as long as I'm responsible while in the gear.

Looks like I know what my Halloween costume will be.

[Joehannah]

... a chicken, :D I was forced into it, though I'm not entirely angry about it, ^^

[Charuzu]

apologies if I ruin the spirit of this thread but. I think halloween sucks big time. I don't know how it is for you guys, but where I live but it seems like it's just an excuse for 10-16yr old chavs to go around, knock on people's doors and say stuff like "give us some money" and generally go around vandalising random bits of public property. Naturally this is one of those "a small minority of gits ruins it for everyone". These gits make no attempt at dressing up but on the off chance might wear a scream mask with their trainers and hoodies. Please note, I have no objection to people who have dressed up and do all the standard halloween stuff and it makes me happy to see people make a bit of an effort.

*shakes fist angrily*
I know exactly how you feel!
On my daily jog today I had two guys in a car throw two of those big soda thingees at me. Sadly, I never got their plate number. It also stunk walking the mile home...ewwww... soo sticky.

But on the bright side I just got back from the RIT tour. It's my dream to go there.

[nicho]

what if i wanted to be naoki eiga for halloween?

[dwez]

What better thread to bring back from the dead than a Hallowe'en one. It's only four and a half months to go and I'm sure everyones excited but I'm even more so as my favorite Hallowe'en haunt website www.pumpkinrot.com has featured some of my pumpkins on it's blog

http://pumpkinrot.blogspot.com/2009/06/english-pumpkins.html

If you've met me you can now add me to your 'famous peoples what I has met' list as I've had some of my pics shown on an obscure blog, that's good enough to get me a deal with Max 'Spawn of satan' Clifford and a News of the World story at least.