Formal Wear

[sirius1906]

I may request special permission to wear Montsuki for regular practise when mine arrives,
Since I study iai from a more philosophical view, wearing a kimono makes more sense than a gi, especially in the way of tradition.

Different, not more or less.

[Peter West]

I may request special permission to wear Montsuki for regular practise when mine arrives,
Since I study iai from a more philosophical view, wearing a kimono makes more sense than a gi, especially in the way of tradition.

One cannot practice from a philosophical anything. Practice and philosophy don't mix, so to claim to be "more philosophical" is, if anything, an indication that your are going in the wrong direction.

[Jason Anstey]

Dunno... if it is good enough for Hanshi to wear normal/regular training clothes/uniform/costume for practise then I would think it would be a bit irregular to wear formal attire for practise?? It's a bit like wearing a tuxedo to the office.

[Josh Reyer]

I may request special permission to wear Montsuki for regular practise when mine arrives,
Since I study iai from a more philosophical view, wearing a kimono makes more sense than a gi, especially in the way of tradition.

Practicing in an iai-gi makes some kind of sense, if the dojo is cool with it. Heck, some folks in our koryu practice our paired kata in iai-gi, instead of the quilted kendo-gi that everyone else wears.

But practicing in montsuki would be akin to doing fencing practice in a tuxedo. Kinda historical, if you squint, but impractical and tacky.

[dillon]

More like practicing fencing in a morning suit and top hat perhaps?

Fencing in a tuxedo would be sort of 007'ish (assuming it's tailored to fit well instead of the usual sack of potatoes fit seen at most weddings).

[Kokoro777]

More like practicing fencing in a morning suit and top hat perhaps?

This should be mandatory I think. I'd love to see Peter West doing ochiburi with a top hat on

Incidentally, since discovering nice, cool, cotton Iai-gi from Tozando (they'll be selling a similar garment at Nine Circles soon) I've done away with wearing shitagi/juban since they are superfluous. Would this be considered inappropriate for a grading in the UK under the BKA?

[Peter West]

This should be mandatory I think. I'd love to see Peter West doing ochiburi with a top hat on

Incidentally, since discovering nice, cool, cotton Iai-gi from Tozando (they'll be selling a similar garment at Nine Circles soon) I've done away with wearing shitagi/juban since they are superfluous. Would this be considered inappropriate for a grading in the UK under the BKA?

Dress code doesn't specify shitagi, or underwear of any other sort. You can wear your frilly knickers and suspender belt if you wish, as long as it doesn't show below the hem of the hakama.

As for the top hat, I think a jaunty Fred Astair style angle will be fine, as long as I dress to the left. (The hat, that is)

[Bailemor]

You can wear your frilly knickers and suspender belt if you wish, as long as it doesn't show below the hem of the hakama.

So you have seen Lee changing then :-)

[Scully]

One cannot practice from a philosophical anything. Practice and philosophy don't mix, so to claim to be "more philosophical" is, if anything, an indication that your are going in the wrong direction.

Not practise, study.

In the way of the "fencing in a tuxedo" I think thats a bit of an exageration,
Depending on the era, samurai would maybe train with a simplier gi, but duels would have been fought in kimono.
Or perhaps I need to re-word my phrase to "practise in kimono" rather than montsuki.
Montsuki being the formal attire, like it was said in the start of this thread that what we consider "formal attire" was really common wears in Japan in that era.

[Jason Anstey]

... I think the point you are missing is that senior Japanese sensei don't wear kimono or montsuke for regular training. Are you saying that your "philosophy" is more historic than theirs? You seem to be over romanticising the "samurai world." This is not the Edo period - from this and other posts regarding clothing and mons etc, I get the impression that you just want to play dress-up and are searching for reasons to justify this.

How about getting a top-knot at the same time?

I don't think you will be getting too much encouragement here on this but I suppose just do whatever floats your boat.

[Peter West]

OK, I apologise, you made the distinction between study and practice quite clearly, though I cannot see how they are separated. The practice IS the study. The practice IS the philosophy. Therefore what i wear for practice is what I wear for study and is what I wear for philosophy. I practice iai_DO, i do that in a Do-Jo. The practice is called Keiko for which I wear a KEIKO-gi.

I have clearly not trained in every dojo in Japan, but in the ones I have, no-one was wearing Montsuki. Even at a ZNKR gasshuku with nearly 30 hachidans, even the most senior, who sat at a table and watched, never used a sword all weekend, all wore keiko go.

In your own dojo you can do what you like, subject to the approval of your dojo leader. All I'm saying is that it is not usual. Perhaps you are thinking too much and not doing enough. Perhaps.

[Kokoro777]

I wonder of perhaps wearing hakama is outdated for everyday practise just as montsuke is. Perhaps Iai should be brought into the 21st Century and we should all be wearing Teflon coated Lycra body suits like those swimmers did before they were banned.

Which brings me on to....

as long as I dress to the left.

I thought nanadan were all.....'smooth' down 'their' like Action Man.....

[Peter West]

I wonder of perhaps wearing hakama is outdated for everyday practise just as montsuke is. Perhaps Iai should be brought into the 21st Century and we should all be wearing Teflon coated Lycra body suits like those swimmers did before they were banned.

Which brings me on to....

I thought nanadan were all.....'smooth' down 'their' like Action Man.....

There are a few people who I think would not present the best display of their iaido in lycra body suits. And I know I'm one of them.

As far as being "smooth down 'their' (SP??)" You may think some might be... I couldn't possible comment

[Kokoro777]

I meant smooth down their... (nether regions)

I think you'd look great in Lycra, Sensei (grading in a couple of years-never hurts to brown nose)

[Rennis]

... I think the point you are missing is that senior Japanese sensei don't wear kimono or montsuke for regular training.

I know one 8-dan hanshi over here who always wears a montsuki when training regardless of situation. Also I think there might be a bit of ZNKR thinking versus other groups going on here in this discussion. I have repeatedly visited a DNIR dojo were people wore montsuki to normal keiko fairly regularly. The wearing of montsuki is also significantly more common in ZNIR dojo as well. What is true for ZNKR iai is not always true across the board.

For what it is worth,
Rennis