do you shave your shinai???

Mitsurugi_xx · 12th March 2004, 05:21 AM

there's a Taiwanese dude in my dojo who shaves his shinai.. he'd shave the inside top 40 cm of his shinai.. and add wax to the bottom part near the handle. After he does it, the shinai doesn't feel any lighter, but when you swing it it feels like a tooth pick. Just wondering does anyone here do the same thing? he's busted 4 shinais already in 2 months' time.. and i'm not talking about minor chips.. the bamboo just splits in half down the length of the shinai..

**steliosk** · 12th March 2004, 05:25 AM

I have not heard of that before. I am not too experienced, so I do not know if that is useful. All I shave are the sides, to allow the staves to move more freely and remove the sharp edges. Anyone else shaved the inside before?

**sminki** · 12th March 2004, 05:30 AM

He's obviously doing it to shift the weight balance toward the tsuka so that it'll still be heavy enough per regulation, but light to make the swing faster.

I think this is typical competition-minded cutting corner of which one should be ASHAMED. I've heard of a lot of things like this that some weak minded people do to gain an edge in competition, but this one certainly takes the cake. Furthermore, by doing this I think this guy is compromising safety issues which even puts other kenshi in danger. His shinai (as you have pointed out) are much more prone to breaking and splintering following this type of modification thus put people at increased risk of having the shinai bust in people's faces. I think this is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.

**steliosk** · 12th March 2004, 05:37 AM

Hmm... that is a good point sminki.... the whole "shaving shinai to save weight" ties in with the trend towards competition/sport kendo

Anything that could end up injuring your sparring partner would be a bad thing. Why does he not just buy a dobari shinai instead? Safer and close to the same result.

Yowai · 12th March 2004, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by sminki

I think this is typical competition-minded cutting corner of which one should be ASHAMED. I've heard of a lot of things like this that some weak minded people do to gain an edge in competition, but this one certainly takes the cake. Furthermore, by doing this I think this guy is compromising safety issues which even puts other kenshi in danger. His shinai (as you have pointed out) are much more prone to breaking and splintering following this type of modification thus put people at increased risk of having the shinai bust in people's faces. I think this is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.

A wail of a losing dog.

**sminki** · 12th March 2004, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by Yowai

A wail of a losing dog.

Very funny Yowai, but this sort of blatant disregard for other people's safety ticks me off to no end.

**DCPan** · 12th March 2004, 06:09 AM

Originally Posted by Mitsurugi_xx

there's a Taiwanese dude in my dojo who shaves his shinai.. he'd shave the inside top 40 cm of his shinai.. and add wax to the bottom part near the handle. After he does it, the shinai doesn't feel any lighter, but when you swing it it feels like a tooth pick. Just wondering does anyone here do the same thing? he's busted 4 shinais already in 2 months' time.. and i'm not talking about minor chips.. the bamboo just splits in half down the length of the shinai..

Tricks like this have already been done by a lot of high school kids in Japan.

That's why there's the "new" rule about tip diameter for shinai....If you shave the shinai tip down, you won't make the minimum diameter rule unless you are REALLY creative on the way with which you shave it down....

Personally, I have no respect for those folks either....

**AlexM** · 12th March 2004, 06:30 AM

I now shave down the sides of each individual latice (take) on new shinai. When a shinai is brand new the edges tend to be "sharp": I do it not to take weight off but on the assumption that the sharp edges splinter faster.

The kezuri is a perfect tool for this by the way.

http://members.rogers.com/mississaug...inai_mtce.html

**litige** · 12th March 2004, 06:35 AM

I'm too lazy to shave my balls, my shinai wouldn't even come to my mind.

**not-I** · 12th March 2004, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by litige

I'm too lazy to shave my balls, my shinai wouldn't even come to my mind.

LOL, litige!

as soon as i saw the title of this thread, i knew it was a set-up for someone with a decent punchline. glad it wasn't a troll.

not-I.

**litige** · 12th March 2004, 06:44 AM

Well thank you young man.

Mitsurugi_xx · 12th March 2004, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by sminki

He's obviously doing it to shift the weight balance toward the tsuka so that it'll still be heavy enough per regulation, but light to make the swing faster.

I think this is typical competition-minded cutting corner of which one should be ASHAMED. I've heard of a lot of things like this that some weak minded people do to gain an edge in competition, but this one certainly takes the cake. Furthermore, by doing this I think this guy is compromising safety issues which even puts other kenshi in danger. His shinai (as you have pointed out) are much more prone to breaking and splintering following this type of modification thus put people at increased risk of having the shinai bust in people's faces. I think this is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.

I agree man.. he's been doing it for so long that all the other "unmodified" shinais are too heavy for him.. even though he's a huge guy 200+ pounds. He uses them not only for competition.. but for everyday practice too... it's so dangerous cause he never notices when his shinai is busted. he just keeps using it... not only that he blames other for busting his shinai up... I think there should be some sorta regulation in clubs as well.. to protect others..

**DCPan** · 12th March 2004, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Mitsurugi_xx

I agree man.. he's been doing it for so long that all the other "unmodified" shinais are too heavy for him.. even though he's a huge guy 200+ pounds. He uses them not only for competition.. but for everyday practice too... it's so dangerous cause he never notices when his shinai is busted. he just keeps using it... not only that he blames other for busting his shinai up... I think there should be some sorta regulation in clubs as well.. to protect others..

Well, if you casually mention to the sensei how "cool" and balanced your dojomate's shinai is so that your sensei gives your dojomate's shinai a try, that would end it rather quickly.

My sensei would kick my *** if he caught me with a shinai like that....

As for shaving the sharp edges of the shinai, an alternate method is burnishing the edge against a hard surface....

**DCPan** · 12th March 2004, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by Mitsurugi_xx

I agree man.. he's been doing it for so long that all the other "unmodified" shinais are too heavy for him.. even though he's a huge guy 200+ pounds...

Is he the guy with the Taiwanese flag on his uniform that I see at Taikais?

Or is he the guy with the kanji "Dragon's spirit" on his nafuda/zekken?

Just curious....

**LNGUYEN** · 12th March 2004, 10:15 PM

According to some women, waxing is better than shaving. I sometimes shave my lovely shinai all the way down to the legs, then wax it one more time for silky smooth effect. Good buy aligator, hello sexy shinai