Thirteen Orphans posted:

Kendo absolutely does rule. If I had a good Aikido school like mine and a Kendo school in the same area I would be really hard-pressed to pick one.

slidebite posted:

Really? What's it made out of? I train almost exclusively on hardwood like a gymnasium floor, so much so I'll go barefoot even if runners are optional.

ImplicitAssembler posted:

Shinsa (examinations) will be gender-combined, shiai (competitions) are usually segregated, although smaller ones may be combined.

Dirt Road Junglist posted:

A low ponytail tied at the base of the skull, generally, or split it into two (so you don't have the knot right on the spine) worked for me. But you'll probably still end up with all sorts of hair fuckery anyway, so be prepared to redo it multiple times per session.

ImplicitAssembler posted:

Hakama's are highly flexible in terms of fit and it's mostly about experimenting a bit with where you place the straps. If you're on the rounder side, sure, they wont fit as nice, but other than that, there shouldn't be a need to alter them.
Which shop did you order from?

ImplicitAssembler posted:

You sure you can't just wear it tied down lower?. What I mean by flexible, is that while hakamas in general are made for standard Japanese no-lump bodies (male and female), the very nature of their design means that they'll fit just about anybody. Very large waist/hip might mean you'll need a 'wider' size, which you then need to get hemmed up. (which is fairly trivial and any local seamstress can do that).
Beyond that, you shouldn't need any alterations.
If you need to wear it so high that the inseam is getting in the way, I think you're wearing it wrong.

Also a bit late now, but for custom uniforms, I would go here instead:
https://www.seidoshop.com/

Tozando primarily re-sells gear now and have relatively little manufacturing on their own.

Also also, just FYI, I'm 5th dan in kendo and have seen a lot of different body types, etc over the years in various countries, so I'm mostly just trying to make sure you aren't chasing a problem that doesn't need chasing.
Fee; free to take it to PMs if that's more comfortable than talking body types in 'public'.

kimbo305 posted:

ImplicitAssembler posted:

Congrats. Just get something functional that will last a couple of years.

Morter posted:

Just finished my fourth class of WC. I'm loving it! I have a question, though I guess this may fall into general fitness advice?

As a class, we all warm up and stretch at the start, but once we're done for the day, we line up, get a debriefing, then change and go home. Myself, being essentially new to continuous/daily exercise, have been an achy and out-of-breath mess since starting Tuesday last week. One thing I'm aware of, but never really practiced, is cooldown/wind-down stretches/exercises. This may be part of why i'm extra out of breath/feeling slightly unfocused by the time the class ends.

They don't exactly shoo the class out of the room so I was wondering what would be recommended as ways to wind down and recollect myself, before changing and driving home? Especially for a beginner. I appreciate any input, thanks!

kimbo305 posted:

For the first time in a looong while, I had a new student join who really really had trouble following instruction. Not in any sort of aggressive, I want to do it differently to hurt someone more way, just bad at executing the steps I laid out, that I then broke down into smaller substeps. They would do things out of order and very frequently relapse into mistakes that I tried to correct them on. They seemed reasonably fit and of at least average strength, but even like clenching jaws and grunting through the moves, that muscle effort never made it to the grabbing and pulling and stepping motions I was walking them through.

ImplicitAssembler posted:

So, this is one aspect that's highly emphasized as you get more experienced in kendo. How to be a good motodachi (partner).
Typically, as a more senior person, you're expected to adjust distance, present timing, pressure, etc, to both make them strike at the right time and distance, but also put a decent amount of pressure of them.
It's very important, because if people practice hitting at the wrong distance/timing/etc, that's exactly what they become good at: Doing it wrong.

ImplicitAssembler posted:

You also need to learn to moderate the force of your tai-atari. When you start practicing with people less experienced than you, you need to be able to still execute it in a way that doesn't discourage people wanting to practice with you.

kimbo305 posted:

Picture watching a guy whose neck is twice as wide as his head doing this at full speed for 5 minutes straight on the mat

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5GGIGf758t4

And then picture trying to be proud of your workout after that.

Blaziken386 posted:

since my schedule has been freed up recently, i was looking around to see what kinds of classes were available, preferably something not MMA, because I need to exercise and sparring is actually enjoyable, and i found two notable highlights

1: a place really close to my commute with flexible hours and lots of good reviews, which, unfortunately, has since mostly closed down due to covid
2: a place which looked okay but then had a section on the website dedicated to this, and uh,

i am pretty sure this place is a cult of some kind!

slidebite posted:

LOL, name's always been the same my man, but maybe it's time to rename my self to "foot face" or something

Wood is kinda nice and would give more options for colors/finishing.

The linked thing isn't really brick, its just a recycled wood based (I'm thinking like MDF?) panel with a faux brick look.

We certainly do the odd throw, but nothing remotely like the ground based/rolling arts and never in open/free sparring. Whenever we throw it's planned and acknowledged, so ending up upside down into the wall should never happen... but crashing into it might from upright sparring or drills and losing balance. We've patched the drywall from accidents a few times.

Thirteen Orphans posted:

A few years ago at the Kuo Shu in MD I was watching the Lei Tai (full contact raised platform fighting). This guy does a textbook roundhouse kick and catches the other guy right in the knockout point on his jaw and the person who got kicked was out on his feet, full on fencing response. He slammed backwards, smashing his head (fortunately they wear headgear) and the medical team just stood there, watching. It took almost 20-30 seconds for them to move after he slammed on the ground.

I believe that was the same year my old Wing Chun Sifu told me the story about the Grandmaster who put the event together. A few years into the tournament’s life the Boxing Commission showed up, told GM he’s in violation, and that if he didn’t pay them back pay plus interest the tournament would be shuttered, indefinitely. Fortunately he had his checkbook.

Thirteen Orphans posted:

That same tourney I saw two heavyweight women fighting. Unfortunately, one was heavy because she was tall and built and the other was short and obese. When the fight started the tall woman bull-rushed the other woman and knocked her clean off the platform. She did this two more times automatically making her the victor. I am not exaggerating when I say not a single attack was actually thrown.