Skinny Tsuka!

[Tako-kun]

I’ve been practicing kendo for about a month and a half, using a cheap chinese shinai which I’m reasonably happy with, apart from one problem; the tsuka is too narrow for my hands. My mitts are fairly big, and when squeezing the bottom of the tsuka with the 4th and 5th fingers of my left hand, my fingers wrap completely around the shinai to touch the palm of my hand. It feels like I’m squeezing a pencil, and over the last week or two, during which I’ve been doing lots of suburi, those two fingers have been kinda crampy and sore, although I expect at least some of that is just the result of doing an exercise my body isn’t familiar with yet.

I’ve seen some nice dobari shinai around the dojo that have thicker tsuka than mine, but as a raw beginner I’d rather not waste money mail-ordering an expensive dobari that I’ll no doubt break before I can appreciate it’s better balance, not when I can buy a cheap one twenty blocks from my apartment for Cdn$40 – as long as I can fix this skinny tsuka problem.

I discussed this with my sempai and she agreed that it was too narrow for me. She suggested trying to wrap the tsuka with something to thicken it, but it’s not something she’s actually done before, so: has anyone out there wrapped their tsuka to thicken it? This being Canada, my first thought is hockey tape; has anyone tried? Also should I wrap right over the tsuka-gawa, or should I remove it and wrap the bamboo itself, then pull the tsuka-gawa back overtop?

Any advice is appreciated

ps. does anyone else get cramps/soreness in the palm of their left hand, just below the 4th and 5th fingers?

[JSchmidt]

If you wrap tape, do it on the bamboo and pull the tsuka-gawa over it..bear in mind that the tsuka-gawa might not be big enough, though.
Alternative, get hold of an extra tsuka-gawa and pull that over the existing one (but cut the folded bit of the old one first)
I recommend testing for fit as you go along, before you cut anything up :D

Jakob

[Raígma]

I broke my shinai a few weeks ago. I had to use dojo shinai then.
I´m used to oval grips that fit perfectly in my hand.
I had problems with holding the round grips. The shinai slipped out of my fingers after some cuts. I had to cramp my fingers to hold it properly. Maybe just check the shape of your hands.
In general, I can´t understand why all tsukas are round.
The kata and bokutô grips are too oval.
Well, I just received my oval grip shinai. I hope it´ll be better again.

[Paburo]

put a tsukagawa over the tsukagawa.

that's what i did and it enhances grip and healed that trigger tendonitis soreness thing in the palm of my hand.

[megumisita]

where can you find oval gripped shinais online?

[Phlebas]

"where can you find oval gripped shinais online?" - megumisita

eBogu has a good oval-grip shinai... mine arrived quickly and is very nice. You will have to assemble it yourself though! Don't forget to order the leather kit and a tsuba. It all adds up in price but nothing feels better to my large hands than an oval grip.

[megumisita]

It says there "oval grip for left hand" I was under the assumption that the whole handle would be oval. I also heard that you had to buy special leather grip for oval. Is this true?

[emitbrownne]

Originally posted by megumisita
I also heard that you had to buy special leather grip for oval. Is this true?

When I first started kendo I used a regular shinai, when that broke I thought I would try an oval grip.
The leather cover ripped after 3 or 4 months. You can buy grips that are specifically designed for the oval grip, or you can squeeze a regular grip over the oval handle. I used the grip from the original shinai. Its lasting longer than the oval grip... over 5 months now.

[KATSUJIN]

U can also buy oval grip shinai from kendoshop.com......its not bad.....i have bought oval grip shinai from them twice....

[megumisita]

Excellent, I think I will try an oval shinai. Some of my sempai have not heard of it before.:eek: Is the entire handle oval or just half of it?

[KATSUJIN]

the one from kendoshop.com, its entire handle is oval.....only nearer to the tsuba does it gets round abit....

[megumisita]

thanks for the reply katsujin. I didn't think to check them.

[Kendoka]

Originally posted by Tako-kun
I’ve been practicing kendo for about a month and a half, using a cheap chinese shinai ... as I can fix this skinny tsuka problem.



Buy a new shinai, get one with a fatter handle, try Tozando and follow some of their links.