About 20 some years ago, in Korea, there was an attempt to make a men basically in plastic. And, what was the result? A disaster. Firstly, the sound upon receiving a men strike, was like a very loud gong, deafening almost and unbearable. Secondly, the sweat that accumulated in the men was enormous. Having the men made of thick cotton, enabled the sweat to be ‘trap’ and absorb in the cotton material. So, the proto type was easy to put on, but nevertheless a complete failure. Most of our Kendo attire, men, hakama, etc. Is from kimono culture: no buttons, no velcrouse, no zwippers: hence kimono culture - 16th century etc.
Would be better to leave kendo as kendo and for a new group to establish itself with steel feder-type katana and HEMA type protective gear, which is already being worked on
"Very quick and informal" 20 minutes later... 😛 but seriously, great video, very interesting hearing your view of the men design. I hear your points on why you need to feel strikes to learn what's a bad hit, and to get the right sound. I also hear the tradition captured in the design. Personally, I come at it from the view of a kendoka with scientific background. I agree with you regarding the mengane design, no point changing it for COVID, as practically anything we do (apart from wearing a full hazmat suit) will not mitigate risks of virus transmission. HOWEVER, looking at it from the perspective of the link between head injury and dementia...... the research is building for this, and I don't think it will be long until kendo starts to get bad press (especially in japan) regarding the repetitive head injury (or repeated subconcussive hits) sustained during a kendokas career and possible increased risk of neuropsychiatric issues like dementia. All that a research group needs for this, is to access a japanese population database, select a sample of kendo practitioners, use statistical methods to control for confounders, and measure risk of dementia and other neuropsychiatric issues against a control group. Once this is done, we will have absolute proof whether or not practicing kendo increases risk. If you say we need to feel and hear the hit to know what's wrong, then that's fine, but people should be able to choose to wear something which more strongly minimises the aforementioned risks. Not only that, one would hope this could be achieved whilst still keeping the majority of the current men features to hopefully keep it close to the original. My personal opinion would be, as you have looked into yourself, use a "crash/american football helmet" interior for the men futon, and have the men futon and padding around top of head be thicker (ie 1-2 inches). Yes it would initially look odd compared to the usual men, but if it was proved to minimise brain injury and ensure a long and happy brain-life of a kendoka, then I'd say it's worth it.
About that issue, I was also concerned about that, especially for some kenshi in my family. Currently it would appear the best way to avoid this issue is to use a protective men with a men pad ; be it a regular or a thick one. It does increase the total padding quite significantly! :)
Some interesting view points, and some interesting comments as well. I think the "lack of a feel for a good hit" both from the receiver and striker is a really important point and would make it difficult to make major changes to the top of the Men. I think many "armchair kendoka" may completely miss this point, but I can certainly understand concerns people have, especially from a safety / repetitive injury / brain damage point of view. I've had beginners (though I am no expert with years of experience) strike me so hard (and badly) I temporarily black out for a moment, and some beginners are less willing to listen or change than others. :-\ I think work could still be done on the gane or "bar" part, to improve both ventilation and protect the wearer from droplets. Mask wearing is a big thing in Japan and many other Asian countries, and the need for masks all the time might push this area for further development. I don't have any easy answers though, but maybe starting with the clear plastic shield design could be an excellent starting point. As others have said, it might end up being Korea that pushes for new developments in these areas if Japan is unable to for whatever reason initially.
I personally think it could be a good change if the himo was made in a way that allows for easier wearing, so you could more easily take it off and put it back on during practice, maybe when listening to the instructors as it can be difficult to hear through it, or when the cloth underneath (forgot what they are called heh) gets messed up. Also, I feel like there's a chance that making the menbuchi from a synthetic material could reduce the wear and tear it takes over time, as well as help persuade vegans to buy them lol. But other than these two (in my opinion) small changes, I don't really see much point in changing anything else. Having a plexi-glass thing in front of your face would probably lead to an insane increase in the amount of carbon dioxide inside the mask, which is definitely not something you want happening. The bars protect you from everything that normally happens in kendo and you have decent visibility in the area where it matters. I also think the men we have protect the head well enough from proper strikes, so I see no point in changing that either
(Very late reply) but I felt like the Plexi-Glass was there for Covid-19 countermeasures at first, until I saw people wearing them and a mask at the same time. so now I'm not entirely sure what it's for
Sweat Men (Top and Chin Pads ) Kote (Gloves and Mittens) Western school sports (eg. Cricket) Bogu reusability. (1 student over a year. (Washing). Another student over a year?) It's an expensive sport. Sweat and the Men and Kote are the only real problems I see.
most people that like to make changes on materials and shape of Kendo; they really do not know anything about Kendo for sure and if really know about the Kendo and do your practice every days you know it does not really did to be change that much. it did work just over 100years why the change, just make it better that is all.
What about a design exclusively Made to be cheaper but functional to lower the entry cost from beginners? I'm from Argentina and equiptmemt Is realy expensive here, the best chance we have Is to buy to China and even in that case we have many trouble to get it. Buying an entire bogu represents about 3 months or More of work (More like 5 right now)
![[WEBINAR] - The Ultimate Guide to Kendo Bogu](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/53Oi87lpRRc/mqdefault.jpg)
![[WEBINAR] - The Ultimate Guide to Kendo Bogu](/img/tr.png)
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All these points make sense. I hardly see any way to debate them.
About 20 some years ago, in Korea, there was an attempt to make a men basically in plastic. And, what was the result? A disaster. Firstly, the sound upon receiving a men strike, was like a very loud gong, deafening almost and unbearable. Secondly, the sweat that accumulated in the men was enormous. Having the men made of thick cotton, enabled the sweat to be ‘trap’ and absorb in the cotton material. So, the proto type was easy to put on, but nevertheless a complete failure.
Most of our Kendo attire, men, hakama, etc. Is from kimono culture: no buttons, no velcrouse, no zwippers: hence kimono culture - 16th century etc.
👍 Andy, that was a really interesting video on the men . great work dude 👌
Would be better to leave kendo as kendo and for a new group to establish itself with steel feder-type katana and HEMA type protective gear, which is already being worked on
"Very quick and informal"
20 minutes later... 😛
but seriously, great video, very interesting hearing your view of the men design.
I hear your points on why you need to feel strikes to learn what's a bad hit, and to get the right sound. I also hear the tradition captured in the design.
Personally, I come at it from the view of a kendoka with scientific background. I agree with you regarding the mengane design, no point changing it for COVID, as practically anything we do (apart from wearing a full hazmat suit) will not mitigate risks of virus transmission.
HOWEVER, looking at it from the perspective of the link between head injury and dementia...... the research is building for this, and I don't think it will be long until kendo starts to get bad press (especially in japan) regarding the repetitive head injury (or repeated subconcussive hits) sustained during a kendokas career and possible increased risk of neuropsychiatric issues like dementia. All that a research group needs for this, is to access a japanese population database, select a sample of kendo practitioners, use statistical methods to control for confounders, and measure risk of dementia and other neuropsychiatric issues against a control group. Once this is done, we will have absolute proof whether or not practicing kendo increases risk.
If you say we need to feel and hear the hit to know what's wrong, then that's fine, but people should be able to choose to wear something which more strongly minimises the aforementioned risks. Not only that, one would hope this could be achieved whilst still keeping the majority of the current men features to hopefully keep it close to the original.
My personal opinion would be, as you have looked into yourself, use a "crash/american football helmet" interior for the men futon, and have the men futon and padding around top of head be thicker (ie 1-2 inches).
Yes it would initially look odd compared to the usual men, but if it was proved to minimise brain injury and ensure a long and happy brain-life of a kendoka, then I'd say it's worth it.
About that issue, I was also concerned about that, especially for some kenshi in my family.
Currently it would appear the best way to avoid this issue is to use a protective men with a men pad ; be it a regular or a thick one. It does increase the total padding quite significantly! :)
Fully agree! Nicely done with the connection with history and culture and all that. Thanks!
I think you'll see this first, if at all, in Korean kumdo. They are using velcro in their hakama after all...
Some interesting view points, and some interesting comments as well. I think the "lack of a feel for a good hit" both from the receiver and striker is a really important point and would make it difficult to make major changes to the top of the Men. I think many "armchair kendoka" may completely miss this point, but I can certainly understand concerns people have, especially from a safety / repetitive injury / brain damage point of view. I've had beginners (though I am no expert with years of experience) strike me so hard (and badly) I temporarily black out for a moment, and some beginners are less willing to listen or change than others. :-\
I think work could still be done on the gane or "bar" part, to improve both ventilation and protect the wearer from droplets. Mask wearing is a big thing in Japan and many other Asian countries, and the need for masks all the time might push this area for further development. I don't have any easy answers though, but maybe starting with the clear plastic shield design could be an excellent starting point. As others have said, it might end up being Korea that pushes for new developments in these areas if Japan is unable to for whatever reason initially.
I personally think it could be a good change if the himo was made in a way that allows for easier wearing, so you could more easily take it off and put it back on during practice, maybe when listening to the instructors as it can be difficult to hear through it, or when the cloth underneath (forgot what they are called heh) gets messed up. Also, I feel like there's a chance that making the menbuchi from a synthetic material could reduce the wear and tear it takes over time, as well as help persuade vegans to buy them lol. But other than these two (in my opinion) small changes, I don't really see much point in changing anything else. Having a plexi-glass thing in front of your face would probably lead to an insane increase in the amount of carbon dioxide inside the mask, which is definitely not something you want happening. The bars protect you from everything that normally happens in kendo and you have decent visibility in the area where it matters. I also think the men we have protect the head well enough from proper strikes, so I see no point in changing that either
(Very late reply) but I felt like the Plexi-Glass was there for Covid-19 countermeasures at first, until I saw people wearing them and a mask at the same time. so now I'm not entirely sure what it's for
Sweat
Men (Top and Chin Pads )
Kote (Gloves and Mittens)
Western school sports (eg. Cricket)
Bogu reusability. (1 student over a year. (Washing). Another student over a year?)
It's an expensive sport.
Sweat and the Men and Kote are the only real problems I see.
most people that like to make changes on materials and shape of Kendo; they really do not know anything about Kendo for sure and if really know about the Kendo and do your practice every days you know it does not really did to be change that much. it did work just over 100years why the change, just make it better that is all.
So, that’s a “no” then?
What about a design exclusively Made to be cheaper but functional to lower the entry cost from beginners? I'm from Argentina and equiptmemt Is realy expensive here, the best chance we have Is to buy to China and even in that case we have many trouble to get it. Buying an entire bogu represents about 3 months or More of work (More like 5 right now)
Olympic fencing helmets should work for that yeah?
I don't like the clear screens, seen it in sparring gear in karate, looks strange.
If it’s not broke, why fix it?
it is broken
Also...
No one would buy it.
I think Andy either has allergies or there is mold in his home.
Yildirim I have hay fever allergies - this time of year is the worst for me!