Do you put on glass wearing MEN ?

[Simon Chien]

It's been 3 years since I practice Kendo. I never put on my glass when I am wearing MEN. I heard that if you can observe the eye of your opponent , you can predict his/her action. Any experience toward this ?

[qpuppy]

Hi Simon...

Yeah I think it's true... but i'm not that sure.. since I not that exprience in kendo and Shiais... but the thing is that I wear glasses too... At first, i used to wear glasses when I wear my men... and my glasses constantly fogs up... and making it had for me to see... I went through this for about 1 month...( not a good thing.. always too late when i notice i'm about to get hit ) so i finally brought some contact lens. Believe me... it makes it a bit difference... and my seniors also said to me that they can see i have improved heaps and I am able to take notice what they are doing.
Try it... I think you will enjoy wearing it when practice kendo... there is a big difference in your vision.. and it's true that you can see what they are about to attack....

[Simon Chien]

Hi qpuppy,

Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately , I tried several times putting on contact lens but all failed since the gap between my eye ball & eyelid is too narrow for contact lens.
I saw some "glass in men" which be put on the on-line-shopping for kendo equipment. Anyone ever use that so that you can share the experience !?

[Antonin]

Hie Simon,

About the lenses, some people in your situation have reported that they use disposable one-day lenses just for kendo. They are much more flexible and thiner than regular ones and are usually tolerated better.
i have also found that my kendo really improved since I started wearing lenses, seeing what's happening is a real help
antonin

[Hyaku]

Trevor Jones http://www.kendo-world.com/ has been wearing contacts for years. I do remember having to stop practice once when one jumped out.

I wear them too and use my one days for weeks on end.

Everyone looks at what they are going to hit, even if its before hand. Problem in my old dojo was it is so damn dark its like fighting with darth vader.

Hyaku

[qpuppy]

Hi Simon....

Ahhhh yes.. your like my friend... he has the same problem as you... well just wondering, have you ever tried using disposable contact lens??... Like what Antonin said, there are made to be thinner and more flexible the normal contact lenses. They should help!!!...
But anyway, yes about the glasses to place in the men thingy... I have seen them and they are not that bad. But they still fog up abit though. A Japanese sensai I know actually uses them, and what he said is not that bad, but he still prefer the contacts, problem is he doesnt wear them anymore because he is about 78-80 years old and it's abit hard for him to put it on.
Well anyway.. that is all I know and can suggest. Only you know what is best for you... Good luck with your glasses hunt...
Have fun trainning once you have them....

Alvin

[Simon Chien]

Thank you guys for your help.

I've order a pair of glasses in the men. Will try disposalble contact lens later. I think that will help a lot.

[cklin]

Wearing contacts is much more comfortable since with glasses, the men tends to squeeze the ears, just where the "arms" of the glasses rest. Ouch!

But since when is kendo comfortable?

If you find your glasses are fogging up, just get some dilute soapy water and wipe the glasses with them until it's dry. Don't wash off the soap. The soap residue will prevent water from condensing on the lens.

[mingshi]

Sadly that I understand, as a very experienced glasses-wearer, none of the solution above seems to work for me.

a) I can't wear contacts as well. I've tried them before. My eyes always don't have enough tears in them to stick the lenses on my eyeballs. So after a day watching the computer screen they'll fall out... I cannot imagine that to happen during keiko.

b) The Men, quite often, rubs against the edges of the frame of my glasses. When ever someone cut my Men, it shakes and the joints of my glasses will be loosen up. So at the end of every practice, I've to take off my Men, then my glasses to screw the joints back properly. My solution: avoid any men cuts!

c) My glasses occationally fogged up, but it'll go by itself.... HOWEVER sometimes especially in tai-atari my glasses shake and my facial oil will stick to the glasses. You know, having tiny dusts/ stinks right in front of your eyes is the most annoying thing to a glasses-wearer. Plus the fact that your Men's on makes it an itch that you can't scratch!!!

Guys, there's a special way to tie the Men himo to avoid the pain around the ears. You have to tie the knot (and have that "X") at the back of your head slightly ABOVE YOUR EARS! You need it real tight. And after the knot you've to pull your Men (especially the ear area) forward to loose it up a little bit.

A senpai of mine told me that when he switched to contacts, his kendo suddenly improved. But when I saw my sensei, who's also wearing glasses inside, I told myself to just take it. I'm sure there are a hell lot more primary school kendo kids in Japan wearing glasses too. Yeah, it's part of the training. It'll be like having the Men metalbars in front of your face. Annoying for the first few lessons, but after that you can't even see them!

What I really want is do a session without wearing any glasses!! With a blurred vision everthing further then 30cm, I'll have to "feel, don't think. Use your instints." (*Metsuke not applicable)

Humbly sharing my short-sightedness frustration