a sweat bogu!

[(=^_^=)]

Hi all!

after a years practise with my bogu it have started to smell.. ( u know.. the mell of sweat and bogu :p )
i've tried to clean it but it wont help!
anyone here who can help me out?:D

[Hongsermeier]

After years?? I don't think you've trained hard enough. Took only weeks for mine to start to smell. I try to let mine set out in the sun occasionaly to kill the germs. Also heard fabreeze helps kill the smell. Biggest factor is to get it dry as soon as possible after practice so germs can't grow.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by Hongsermeier
I try to let mine set out in the sun occasionaly to kill the germs.
Caution: don't set your bogu out in the sun when wet. Don't dry it near any heat source. Drying with heat can damage the leather. The best thing is to unpack it immediately after practice and let it dry in a cool, dry place.

Sunlight will also prematurely fade your bogu.

[Phlebas]

There was also a thread in which someone mentions using a spray bottle (like a Windex dealie) to spray the inside of their bogu after practice. This person said that using a *very weak* solution of water and bleach, like 1:30 ratio, will prevent germs from forming while not altering the colour or damaging the material. Then just let the bogu dry in a cool, well ventilated area. I would also recommend pointing a fan at the bogu when drying to speed up the process.

NOTE: I have never tried this myself so I can't spreak for the results, but it sounds reasonable as long as your water/bleach solution is weak. I grow orchids and this is what I do to sterilize pots, scissors, etc. when replanting... if the orchids don't notice the bleach at 1:30 ratio, then it is unlikely that it will harm your bogu. They are notoriously fussy plants!

Good luck!

[Tato]

Phlebas, you amaze me.

=^_^=, how we're supossed to pronouce that?.

For the sweat, please post here what solution you're going to use and the results, my bogu don't smells bad... ...yet, I would appreciate to know your experience.

Rei

[Karaken]

That was me posted the Bleach solution. I use it for my Men & Kote. It smells good and not so grimy(?) during summer time.
Especially before the summer recess when you're not going to touch them for a month. Without this, I used to see Fungus growing like weeds..15:1 is what I use but if you want to be careful, start with 30:1 - if it doesn't work, you an make them stronger - it's cheap enough to experiment different ways.

Center - doesn't smell

[KATSUJIN]

well... i use diluted dettol to clean my bogu....works pretty well....

[mingshi]

@Gendzwill:
Strange that you've mentioned that. Last time when I was in a seminar, the 3 teaching Sensei pull out there armours straight after practice and totally exposed them under sunlight on the bench. (BTW one of them work as a armur repairer. And I clearly remember that as there was no bench left for the others to sit!!!). I thought sunlight kill germs?

Meanwhile I m experimenting with some drying agents. You know those white packs with powders inside... they put in the wardrobe... I just squeeze them in the Kote to take away the sweat.

AFAIK humidity alone wouldn't build up germ/mould. All you need is ventilation.

Any thoughts?

[Chusan]

According to my experience, smelling seems to be an indicator for fear. Sweat ´stinks` if you`re fearing s.th.
That`s the reason why all beginners have a tendency of bad smell. My own bogu does not smell anymore, it just gets wet.

[alexpollijr]

I believe that the chin support part (inside) of the Men can be put into the sun for sanitation. I've always done this to mine and it works to a certain extent without no apparent signs of damage.

Kote palms, however, will certainly get hard and eventuallty more prone to tearing. It has happened to one pair I had. It went hard and after a year teared out at the seams.

I actually don't worry about that anymore because I got a Musyobou pair from Mori Budogu (http://www.moribudo.co.jp/E-mussyubou.htm). It's interior is covered with an antimicrobial type of fabric, so it doesn't smell (or so they say)

I know it sounds like a shameless plug, and it is. But I'm not getting any money for this, really. Just some huge discounts :rolleyes:

[Confound]

Alex,

I saw full sets of bogu on the website. Wouldn't it be nice if they had little sheets of that fabric that you could buy, then apply them as needed on various parts of bogu?

re: Kote
It's been said a hundred times, but just in case...
After practice, stretch the palms of the kote, and leave them face-down like that to dry. In my limited experience, this has prevented the kind of grip-shaped hardening that often leads to tearing at a later date.

c

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by mingshi
@Gendzwill:
Last time when I was in a seminar, the 3 teaching Sensei pull out there armours straight after practice and totally exposed them under sunlight on the bench.
Sunlight? In London?

Seriously, it's well-known that sunlight will break down almost any kind of dye, so if you like your bogu to stay nice and blue keep it out of the light. I suppose so long as the day is not too hot the leather won't be damaged. Where I live summer temperatures often exceed 30 C and if you sat bogu out in direct sunlight in that temperature it would get quite a bit hotter than that, not good for the leather bits.

[slidercrank]

Regarding putting bogu under the sun for drying:

I suppose that it is, as with many other things, a matter of moderation. Don't do it everyday. Don't do it when it's over 100F or 38C out there. Don't put them on the black asphalt surface.

But if you're at, say, a kendo camp, and you really want to dry the bogu a bit between the morning and the afternoon sessions, I don't see the harm of it by leaving the bogu in the sun for half an hour or so.

[m_french]

A kenshi at my old dojo up north( Brad and Tim remember Barry?) put his kendo-gi out in the sun to dry after he washed it. the sun bleached it out and it got stripes like an old pair of levi's....Nishura sensei made fun of him for weeks.:beard:

[Inouye02]

s'up m-french, i see you moved to culver city now ...

[m_french]

It's the closest thing to Zimbabwe this side of the Mississipi:beard:

[Inouye02]

just move to zimbabwe , come enjoy our drought, love to take you on a lion hunt ,..

[m_french]

Show me the brochure tonight at practice:beard:

[Inouye02]

will do , did you jcikendo on these forums now

[m_french]

Originally posted by Inouye02
did you jcikendo

Did I what???:beard:

[Inouye02]

see

[m_french]

Ippon:beard:

[Inouye02]

theres jcikendo signed up now

[m_french]

Got it just signed up today, any Ideas???:beard:

[Inouye02]

i have my hunches

[Hai_hai]

Sweat is odorless. It is the bacteria that attaches to the sweat that releases odor. So whether the sweat is on you, your armpit hairs, your clothing, or whatever else, it's when the bacteria does it work that it gets smelly.
Mold growth is a different story and it is not good to have skin-to-mold contact.