Stave Rotation

[Karaken]

Does stave rotation prolong shinai life?
Just out of intuition, I rotate my shinai 90 degrees to the left everytime after the lesson ( that was before Hasegawa time but I'm thinking I should do the same to Hasegawa after reading
"Hasegawa Breaks!" thread. )

Are we all doing this? Is nobody doign this?
Can someone claim that it does/does not help ?

Center - left hand - center

[kendomushi]

I rotate mine every month or so. I have lots of beginners practicing uchikomi against my outstretched shinai and I think it definitely lets it wear better against those still clubbing away. I also take it apart and clean the staves at that time so they look more evenly worn.

[Sinta]

I try to always rotate the staves everytime I give my shinaii a good cleaning.. around every 3 weeks. Well, so far, mine has lasted longer than the other member's who bought theirs at the same time (and it's the same product).

[KATSUJIN]

i rotate my bamboo shinai everytime it starts to splinter quite abit...
normally....without rotating...my shinai will be gone in like maybe 6 to 8 mths....now it can last me for abt 2x more ......

[Chusan]

Depends...
Don`t forget that certain shinais may have back- and front- staves, so there are basically two, maybe three different styles of parts used for just one shinai.
(three if you consider the left and right staves, too).
It`s not THAT easy. Just rotating may cause more damage than not rotating. As I said, it depends...
Anyway, if a front-stave (that one with the monouchi) is somewhat weak, it may be still fine for the back of a shinai.

[Fraz]

I rotate mine every every second class. while Im checking for damage at the weekend.

[Karaken]

Chusan, I haven't seen any of those shinais yet ( for 7 years of breaking them ). Is there any particular brand or name that has asymmetrical staves? ( Except of course Oval grip ones but that's the grip portion ).

Center - shinai - grip - men

[Confound]

I have had the same shinai for over a year now, and just rotated it 180 degrees yesterday. However, I pride myself on not whacking the brains out of people who are kind enough to allow me to train with them. Also, the shinai has been well cared for. It is possible that the climate here has also assisted in the well being of the shinai.

On the subject of putting a shinai back together, how does one go about shortening the tsuka? My shinai is the right length, but it's a stretch to get my right hand to stay just under the tsuba. Anyone know how to do it properly?

c

[Karaken]

CF, there was a thread somewhere dealing with shortening Tsuka. As I rememeber it was like, take it off, flip inside out, shorten it and flip it back.. Sort of..

Center..

[Confound]

I assumed (though assume makes an ass out of you and me) that one shortens from the top of the tsuka, but still, it might be nice to have a bit more extra info. I'll go looking for the thread.

c

[AlexM]

Does it truly matter to shorten the tsuka? I usually change where my hands are on the tsuka and I rarely have my right hand stuck to the tsuba anyway (left hand is always at the base though).

[Chusan]

Shortening the tsuka may be useful in some cases. First: ask your sensei.
2nd: ask your sensei.
Try this -
take the shinai off, use a very sharp and fine saw to shorten, remove the metal-plate first, then fit it back into the staves. This needs some time and won`t work properly the first time doing it. So it might be wise to do some practising on an old shinai.
As always with these kind of things: ask your sensei and be very careful.

[Confound]

It isn't the actual shinai that needs shortening, just the tsuka. One of the older senseis comments on the 1/4 inch gap between my right hand and the tsuba everytime he sees me. Though I've tried my best to fix it, the simple fact is that my arsm are NOT that long. I've tried changing my kamae, and that seemed to help a little, but the tsuka is still just a little tiny bit too long.

I'll keep working on improving my kamae, that seems like the more reasonable option.

c

[Fraz]

1/4 of an inch is too long...?:eek:
There's about an inch and a half between my kotes....:)

[Chusan]

@Confound:
so you aren`t talking about Tsuka, but of Tsuka-Gawa, are you?
That`s an easy one: just fold in the outer rim of the Tsukagawa and you`ll be fine.

[Confound]

Chusan,

Yes you're right. I am talking about the tsukagawa, not the tsuka. I'm being loose again.

Fraz,

There is a 1/4 of an inch between my right hand and the tsuba. That is displeasing to one of my senseis. The distance between my hands is much farther.

c

[Fraz]

OOps. That'll teach me to read posts properly...LOL :)