Dou types

[Hai_hai]

What's the difference between bamboo, fiber, Yamata do?
Is Yamata do made of fiberglass?
What's the difference between 43, 50, and 60 piece do? Why is a do with more pieces better? It costs more.
Are the colored do just an option for people who don't want black or is it for high ranking players?

[Confound]

I'm no expert on this subject, but until an expert does arrive on the scene:

A fiber dou is a solid piece of plastic (of what kind, I'm not sure)

A bamboo dou is a certain number of slats of bamboo (one of mine has 60, the other one I'm not sure about). As the number of slats increases, each individual slat is narrower, the price probably goes up because of the increased amount of bamboo, and the additional time to process each piece, not to mention the hassle of fitting them in... re: bamboo dou, is there another layer on top of the bamboo slats?

I have yet to see anyone who isn't a pretty high ranking person wearing a coloured dou. (One of the 7th dan senseis has a crazy black, sparkly dou, it's very distracting the first time you encounter it.) However, if you really want to stand out, then get one, but it might be a poor choice. Wait until your waza can speak for you, before buying a dou that screams 'look at me'.

c

[alexpollijr]

Bamboo is usually heavier, prettier and more expensive. The bamboo slats are covered with some kind of hide AFAIK and then receives a good coat of lacquer.

Fiber means high-impact plastic, which is lighter and much cheaper. I for instance chose fiber years ago because I could see no point in buying something more expensive that would perform in the same manner just because it's fancier.

As for the colors, there is no rule that says that only seniors wear them. You can get you a 80.000 Yen reddish Same (rayskin?) Do that everyone will want to hit.

I, though, wouldn't do that.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by alexpollijr
As for the colors, there is no rule that says that only seniors wear them.
Just remember the Japanese saying "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down".

Fibreglass is the cheapest. Because they are intended to be a budget item, usually the finishes and trim on them are serviceable but nothing special.

Yamato doh is a fibreglas doh which looks like a bamboo doh - from the inside it looks similar. It's stiffer and better protection than a normal fibreglass doh.

Bamboo doh offers the best protection. The more staves, generally the more expensive. More staves lets them shape a better curve. If you are a large person, the bigger sizes are usually only available with 60 or more staves. If you are smaller, 50 will do. 43 is the budget version but they're OK too.

For someone with a limited budget, the doh is a good opportunity to save money. Buy the best men and kote you can afford, then add a cheap fibreglass doh from a lower-end set. They work well enough. Then later on you can add the swankier doh if you're so inclined.

[S. Takamori]

Hi!

Fiber do is as the word speaks for this own, fiber. In these you have several different qualities, depending of the thickness. Most of them have an orange color inside.
Second "rank" is "yamato do", which is also made by fiber but assembled staves. The inner side of these do are generally black and looking like bamboo... They are a little bit more expensive than the fiber ones but not so better in quality as the thick fiber do.
Finally, you have the bamboo do, which is always handmade. They consists of 43, 50, 60 or more bamboo staves (depending of your order and/or size) assembled by a cord and covered by buffalo leather. After a certain drying period, lacquer is put on these and finally assembled with the mune which is choosen by the customer.
Most of the time, "higher" ranking people are wearing the colored bamboo do, but there is no rule for this. Fashion exists also in kendo!
Regarding the "Same" do, the leather is replaced by shark skin. If one day, you want to order such a do, don't be surprised if you have to wait a long time... not all sharks have a skin which fits the do which is made for you. Ask Stroud sensei from bogubag.com! He was waiting three years for his new do... Of course, some of the bogu shops are selling these in a faster way but is this really top quality or correct personal size?
The comfort of wearing bamboo do is higher than fiber, due to the non-transmission of the vibrations when receiving a "do"-strike. Once you've tried, you'll never go back to plastic!

S. Takamori

[slidercrank]

I have a yamato do. The back side of my do has the Japanese words saying "yamato do." It is a one-piece black plastic with a smooth back side. I know there are yamato "bamboo-look" do, but those are still of one-piece plastic construction, with the back side molded such that it has ridges, thus achieving that "bamboo-look."

You can find both types of yamato do for sale at e-bogu.com. On its pages for yamato do's, e-bogu.com lists the differences and advantages of yamato do's over the other synthetic material do's:

Yamato Do's advantages and Characteristics:

1. Yamato Do holds impact of up to 60 cm x 60G (3600KG).
2. Elasticity is increased by 130% of a traditional synthetic material Do. This diminish the impact to your body.
3. By absorbing the moisture from the air, it maintains the integrity of the material for a long period of time. (I don't know about this; my do looks very plastic. How can it absorb moisture???)
4. Yamato Do has the shine of a Roiro Do, and is resistant to scratches.
5. The Size of the Do can be easily adjusted to the body, and the shape is kept.
6. Yamato Do has 2 - 4 times more durability compared to the traditional synthetic material Do.
7. Yamato Do comes in two different styles in the back: "Plain" and "50 bamboo immitation"

Source: http://www.e-bogu.com/kesaeqdoshim50.html
http://www.e-bogu.com/yamdo50bamlo.html

I hope this post clears up for people what a yamato do is.

[hammock]

Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill

For someone with a limited budget, the doh is a good opportunity to save money. Buy the best men and kote you can afford, then add a cheap fibreglass doh from a lower-end set. They work well enough. Then later on you can add the swankier doh if you're so inclined.

I was wondering how one would go about getting this done? If at a future time i wanted to switch to a bamboo Do, would you have to get a bogu-maker to do this, or can it be done at home by yourself?

[KhawMengLee]

you can do this by looking at a respective kendo dealer's catalogue and then picking what you want out from each set. Most dealers in japan have a overseas sales dept. so just e-mail them.

They will most likely send you the catalogue/brochure for free.

Just tell them eg. dou from set 12 and men and kote from set 22 etc.

If you want to switch dou...well I would just buy a new one from the dealer. or you could even mail it to them to change for you.

[Chusan]

Bamboo-Do can be fixed, if a stave is broken. Anyway, that`s only a reasonable advantage when you`re living next to a really good kendoshop. Means: in Japan.
A broken do-stave outside Japan equals buying a new do, since sending the thing to Japan, getting it fixed and returned to you again, isn`t worth the money.
Plastic Dos are fine. If you like to spend money, you can easily do that with plastic-dos, too.

[Hai_hai]

Thanks for the answers.