Shinai for training with low ceilings

[ShiroRX]

Has anyone ever used one of these: http://www.mazkiya.net/catalog/produ...roducts_id=287

I believe it's called a furisen? Or is that just that one brand...http://www.furisen.com

I have a generous amount of hardwood flooring in my house suitable for footwork, but all in areas where the ceilings are far too low to swing a shinai. My backyard is more than suitable for swinging the shinai, but lacks a floor for proper footwork.

Wanted to know what reviews or opinions people have on this training shinai before investing in one.

Thanks!

[b8amack]

I have that one in the first pic. I use it for doing katate suburi in the house. Even standing, it's fine, although it really depends on the height of your ceilings in relation to your own height. Some of these things you just have to buy and find out for yourself.

[ShiroRX]

they aren't abnormally low or anything, just certainly too low for shinai swinging. i could swing fine sitting down or in a squat/sonkyo position though. but since im still a beginner im very focused on proper footwork while swinging.

[Oroshi]

I've never used one of those - I just cut down a beat-up shinai and stuck a suburiko on it (see here: http://oroshi.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/suburi-shinai/). It cost me about a tenth of the price of the suburito you linked to and it works fine for me.

[b8amack]

I didn't notice the price listed there. $108! Jesus. I think I paid 25 bucks, for the same exact thing.

[ShiroRX]

I didn't notice the price listed there. $108! Jesus. I think I paid 25 bucks, for the same exact thing.

its only about $10 cheaper from japanese budo stores.


i like the sawed down shinai idea better lol.

[Toshiro Mifune]

I actually do have the suburito shinai from Makizya. My ceiling in my apartment is low and being 6 feet tall I have about an inch or two of clear space left if I'm swinging the shinai normally. It is not really bamboo but more like those suburi shinai from e-bogu that look like real shinai. It is solid wood and closer to you taking a wooden baseball bat and making it look like several pieces of shinai together. I've seen other people make their own crazy suburito for low ceilings but despite the price several people I showed it to bought it after seeing mine. The price is steep but I have no complaints after i bought it.

[UnimportantHero]

Are those actually useful...? I mean, it seems to me as though the shortened stick would kinda throw off any practice, since you kinda have to pantomime in your head the remaining length that would normally be there, right? Just a hunch, but wouldn't it be better to just practice outside someplace?

[Toshiro Mifune]

I don't think the length is a big problem mainly because your not striking anyone. Usefullness that is probably another debate in another thread. There are some people that say unless your swinging that shinai faster they don't think it will help. Personally depending on the person's physical ability I think there are multiple ways of using it. Especially if it was really heavy for you it wouldn't help you trying to swinging like a regular shinai and stop at men height . This might cause your upper body to become tense not allowing you to strike properly. It would probably be better for you to relax your body and swing it all the way up and all the way down. Alternatively you can just cut a smaller shinai and swing it like it is heavy. Meaning you rely mostly on your lower body. If you unsure about it I would try cheaper alternatives first before spending the money.

[b8amack]

its only about $10 cheaper from japanese budo stores.


i like the sawed down shinai idea better lol.

http://www.kumdomall.co.kr/src/produ..._id=0037_00049 33,000Won ($27 US)
http://www.kumdoland.com/shop/image_...4005000008.jpg 38,000Won ($32.00 US)

You'll notice the second pic is exactly the same thing as the op's first link. But yeah, if those are the only places you can buy one from, I'd go the homemade route, as well.

[michaelm]

Suburi is not just swinging, nor does it need to be fast. An important part of suburi practice is coordinating ki-ken-tai. The tai includes correct footwork and tenouchi. The key to the modified shinai is the full length tsuka and enough floor space for footwork. This helps me to practice punctuating a cut with good hikitsuke, arm extension, and tenouchi. Although the cadence of my suburi is usually quite slow (1 cut per every 4-5 seconds), the final snap of the downward cutting motion is still *at speed*, but I pause and do a quick mental checklist of where my balance and posture is good/bad.

This has been much more helpful to me than sitting in seiza or squatting when swinging a full length shinai.

I also use the hacksawed shinai + suburiko (+ duct tape) solution

[Fox]

I have one of the six-slat models and I paid about $25~$30 downtown for it. It seems like a good idea for anything inside a normal house and I think that the design is such that the center of balance is very similar to that of a normal shinai. The only difference I noticed (as a beginner myself) was a slight difference in the 'snapping' feel one gets clinching tenouchi at the end of a strike.

I have an older hardwood suburi-bokken that I sometimes use in a squatting position, (this is what the older of my two instructors does) but the shortened shinai allows me to perform the same actions in full form while standing.

~That said, I would not consider that convenience to be worth over $100, when I could otherwise have fabricated one from old shinai leftovers or stepped outside.

[Curtis]

Here was my solution. A piece of 4" x 4" cedar fence post cut down to size.

http://www.kendo-usa.org/images/suburito.jpg

[ShiroRX]

obviously i need to buy it from a korean dealer lol. not so worried about quality when its not gonna be hitting anything.

[ShiroRX]

http://www.kumdomall.co.kr/src/produ..._id=0037_00049 33,000Won ($27 US)
http://www.kumdoland.com/shop/image_...4005000008.jpg 38,000Won ($32.00 US)

You'll notice the second pic is exactly the same thing as the op's first link. But yeah, if those are the only places you can buy one from, I'd go the homemade route, as well.

i'd have no problem buying it from there, but its tough to get around the site. is their an english site for kumdo mall? lol