Shinai rotation

[Kage Kitsune]

What do you guys mean about rotating your Shinai, is it like, rotating the bamboo slats or something? info is appreciated.

[Xeraphim]

info is appreciated.

...

what kind of situation are you talking about? while holding the shinai or while repairing/sanding it?

[Iblue]

I haven't done it yet but I believe it's changing the place of the tsuru by (rotating) one bamboo stick to either direction. This can be done by untying at least the knot nearest the tsuba, loosening the tsuka (leather handle) and simply rotating to the wanted direction. The same rotation should be done to the nakayui (middle leather part) and sagikawa (upper leather part). With sagikawa simple rotation won't work so
here http://www.shinai.org/housemef/shinaimaint/shinaimaint.html
is a good help with that. Plus help with the knots.

[Kage Kitsune]

thanks alot Iblue, your link really helped me understand some things. I appreciate it!

[Iblue]

No prob! I'm glad I could help!

[Spendius]

I haven't done it yet but I believe it's changing the place of the tsuru by (rotating) one bamboo stick to either direction. This can be done by untying at least the knot nearest the tsuba, loosening the tsuka (leather handle) and simply rotating to the wanted direction. The same rotation should be done to the nakayui (middle leather part) and sagikawa (upper leather part). With sagikawa simple rotation won't work so
here http://www.shinai.org/housemef/shinaimaint/shinaimaint.html
is a good help with that. Plus help with the knots.

I am no expert (I'm a noob actually), but there are odd things on the page you are refering to: I thought the rubber tsuba holder was called Tsubadome and not tsubahome, and that the string was called tsuru while himo was for cotton straps used to tie gi/hakama/bogu.
In addition, the way they tie the tsuru in the sakigawa is described as 'incorrect' on this link: http://www.kendo.org.uk/clubs/edinburghkendo/manual.html (it also describes the tsukagawa knot more precisely... Only thing with this link is that it made me think I should tie the nakayui before the tsukagawa, I was later told to do the tsukagawa knot first).

[Iblue]

Yes I noticied now too those clear errors on that page. The rubber tsuba holder IS Tsubadome, I don't know what the hell is the word himo doing there because the string IS tsuru. About that knot with the Sagikawa.. I'm a noob myself so I can't really comment on that.

All in all the page Spendius linked is clearly much better than what I found. So I recommend using that one in stead of mine Thank you Spendius.

[Spendius]

I'm glad I could help, too !
Here, I found this page: http://www.kendo-usa.org/reference/firststrike.htm which shows the same about the sakigawa knot.
In addition, the same site has a nice japanese-english dictionnary that might help beginners to understand barbaric terms used on these boards and in dojos: http://www.kendo-usa.org/reference/j_e_dictionary.htm
Of course, best way is always to ask a sempai...

[ShinKenshi]

I haven't done it yet but I believe it's changing the place of the tsuru by (rotating) one bamboo stick to either direction. This can be done by untying at least the knot nearest the tsuba, loosening the tsuka (leather handle) and simply rotating to the wanted direction. The same rotation should be done to the nakayui (middle leather part) and sagikawa (upper leather part). With sagikawa simple rotation won't work so
here http://www.shinai.org/housemef/shinaimaint/shinaimaint.html
is a good help with that. Plus help with the knots.Don't trust anything these guys are talking about. Take one look at their photo page (http://www.shinai.org/housemef/Photo%20section/photos.html) and you'll see what I mean. They're nothing more than kendo wannabe's that think they can use shinai for whacking each other in glorified stick fights. Just looking at how they've mangled their shinai almost makes me want to cry, but then gather myself so I can go over there and smack each and every one of them with a nice big MEN!!!!

I've heard of these people before. They basically want to use shinai to fight each other but not have to learn kendo.

[Iblue]

OMG!!! I totally didn't see that.. OMG!!! And.. wtf?! Oh well... I never did understand live roleplaying either.

[daniel_ung]

Damn, these guys scaned and use this shinai maintenance page frrom Saskatoon Kendo Club. The maintenance information is good and usable, but these guys are really ....something. Saskatoon Kendo Club does exist and is a KENDO club!! Man, I feel sad when people abuse anything about Kendo. Shinkenshi is right, I wanna give each of them a solid big men too.

[Xeraphim]

ever wonder how they got to scan it in the first place? :ermm:
(hint: prolly cause someone gave a copy to them)

and in the end all shinai-care guides from pretty much all dojos say the same things anyway, they just rewrite it a bit and draw their own pictures with it to make it their own.

[ShinKenshi]

Somewhere in their shinai maintainance page they said somethin about using glue and duct tape to repair cracks. Then when they describe their rules for fighting, they say that if you loose an arm, tuck it behind your back and if you loose a leg, hop around on the other one or drag it. I mean COME ON!!! They might as well be better off going into the woods for role playing or something.

[Xeraphim]

pretty sure taping your shinai is not allowed lol and you can't make any valid strikes with only one arm/leg so you lose by default.

[Rohr]

Somewhere in their shinai maintainance page they said somethin about using glue and duct tape to repair cracks. Then when they describe their rules for fighting, they say that if you loose an arm, tuck it behind your back and if you loose a leg, hop around on the other one or drag it. I mean COME ON!!! They might as well be better off going into the woods for role playing or something.


Take one look at their photo page (http://www.shinai.org/housemef/Photo%20section/photos.html) and you'll see what I mean.

These guys have got to be from the SCA (( http://www.sca.org/ )) O.o... I used to be in the SCA, it was really fun, although the people that it attracted were pretty weird.... The kinda guys that skip work and school to plan for D&D campaigns and have little or no social life outside of their groups. I don't think that they are trying to do Kendo at all but more of a... cosplay maybe?

[ShinKenshi]

These guys have got to be from the SCA (( http://www.sca.org/ )) O.o... I used to be in the SCA, it was really fun, although the people that it attracted were pretty weird.... The kinda guys that skip work and school to plan for D&D campaigns and have little or no social life outside of their groups. I don't think that they are trying to do Kendo at all but more of a... cosplay maybe?The very first group might have branched from the SCA but to my knowledge they're a completley independent group although I'm sure there's lots of crossover in members. My college has a fair number of SCA people and let's just say that they're quite an interesting bunch.

[Rohr]

The very first group might have branched from the SCA but to my knowledge they're a completley independent group although I'm sure there's lots of crossover in members. My college has a fair number of SCA people and let's just say that they're quite an interesting bunch.

Very interesting ^^... part of the reason I dropped the SCA.

[h2o]

and you can't make any valid strikes with only one arm/leg so you lose by default.And still there are kendoka that misses not one, but two legs, and good kendoka that misses an arm (have seen one).
So I think you can do pretty fine with only one arm in kendo :tongue:.

[Stimpson J. Cat]

These guys have got to be from the SCA (( http://www.sca.org/ )) O.o... I used to be in the SCA, it was really fun, although the people that it attracted were pretty weird....

The SCA people I knew in school were several steps up the ladder from this bunch. At least they had reasonable rules about protective equipment and weapon safety, even if they did do the silly bit about hopping around on the other leg if you got hit in one leg. I don't know how uniform the safety rules are either as I can only comment on the one local group. I have no disagreement whatsoever with the comment that it does attract the odd people.