AikiWeb Aikido Forums

AikiWeb Aikido Forums (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/index.php)
-   Humor (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=7)
-   -   Good Hakama Gone Bad (http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697)

Alvin H. Nagasawa 12-30-2004 08:32 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad

My personnel observation:

Osawa Sensei wore a White Hakama, So did Osensei. Other Aikido Styles have, Red ,Purple, Green and so on.

John Stevens wore a Hawaiian Printed Hakama, I guess it's up to the individual as they hold there seminars. Outside of Japan, it may have been a gift from a individual dojo.

As for a ranking Aiki Kai Instructor from Hombu Dojo. it may be a stage in there career that they wish to separate there appearance from Black, Blue( Heavy cotton),Gray, White. I assume you have to have permission to wear different colored Hakama?. Or it maybe a Dojo requirement for the student.Or when, White represents a spiritual representation of a high ranking Instructor.

As for a kyu wearing a Hakama?, It's up to the individual Organization or Dojo.

A high Quality or Cheap Hakama, no matter what its the cost to the individual, is supposed to be folded properly after its use. And wash it once a year. I have visited dojos, when you don't have time to fold your Hakama. Put it on a hanger and fold it at home. And if you don't know how to fold it, Ask your Sempai for assistance. It is your training to fold it properly in a timely manner. You will be called to fold the visiting instructors Hakama or if you ask a instructor to fold his Hakama. You are judge by the instructor on how you fold and present the Hakama back to the teacher.
Take it as a privilege to fold the teachers Hakama. The Hakama is a spiritual representation of it's owner. It has the Ki and spirit of the individual. When your Hakama gets torn and unusable, Burn it along with your old Gi's. Don't just discard them in the trash. When your burn it in a fire all your perspiration,body oil, will explode into a blue flame.

I noticed all Hombu Dojo instructors have expensive Hakama and Gi's. It's like a businessman's suit, I notice it because I can feel & see the quality of the material.

I hope my over view on the subject. Well have some influence on your individual appearance and proper respect of your equipment used in training.

Tim Gerrard 01-06-2005 10:00 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Definatly thinkin about getting a tiger print lining when I get mine...

emi_moes 01-17-2005 02:19 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Quote:

Marshall Sandoz wrote:
Well, if my wife ever figure out how to operate a sewing machine, I can see a purple and gold tigerstripe hakama with the LSU Tiger logo in my future.

perhaps you should figure out how to operate a sewing machine, you putting the time into it will mean more & when someone asks where did you get you hakama from you can say the fabric store but I put it together myself, just a thought but you shouldn't leave it up to your wife to make it. you want something done, do it yourself!

Niamh Marie O'Leary-Liu 01-26-2005 07:02 AM

Good Hakama Gone Bad, Tropical Version
 
Our mats are stored up against a wall next to an emergency exit. Once in a while, some little spider or something will squeeze itself under the door and hide in a stack of mats. So the other day, as the instructor was helping to set the mats out for class, a teeny tiny lizard startled him by jumping off the mat, right onto his hakama. The instructor did an abbreviated version of the Macarena dance trying to shake it off, but he couldn't tell if the little critter scrambled somewhere further into the folds of his hakama or if it jumped off in the commotion and high-tailed it out of the area. Naturally, I couldn't resist asking him, "Is that a lizard in your hakama or..."

mriehle 01-26-2005 04:31 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Quote:

Melissa Pittman Fischer wrote:
How 'bout the good hakama worn bad? I guess this is the comedy central of hakama stories so... My Sensei asked me to wear a hakama (I was 1st kyu, not eligible for hakama at our dojo) to teach outside the dojo at a neighborhood school. The first day, he showed me how to wraptietuckwraptiewraptuckwraptietuck the thing, got me dressed and sent me out lookin' good. The next week, he wasn't there to help me.

I think I have just the thing for you:

The Velcro Hakama

Many of the dan rank students and New School Aikido wear them. I personally plan to get one for myself Real Soon Now.

I got a traditional hakama when I got my shodan.

I've come to believe that was a mistake. :D

mriehle 01-26-2005 04:46 PM

Re: Black and Blue
 
So, I'm told that the black and blue thing is just an attempt to set standards. A "uniform" in the strictest sense. Makes sense to me.

But I like the standard set in New School Aikido:

Shodan: The hakama must be black.

Nidan and higher: If you are an instructor, you may wear navy blue, otherwise, black.

Sandan and higher: If you are dojocho, all bets are off, any color you want, be creative (it's actually encouraged). Otherwise, see the rules for Nidan.

So, officially I'm a dojocho, though I don't actually conform to the rules in a lot of other ways. Strictly speaking I can't be *really* recognized as dojocho until I get my sandan.

After reading this thread, I have lots of great ideas for my new hakama when I get my sandan. I like the hawaiian print (I spent most of my childhood in Hawaii and started my training there). But, I think, I'm going to see about getting a photographic print done. Something with Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) on it. Or maybe Luke Skywalker.

Oh! Oh! Oh! One leg Zatoichi, the other Luke Skywalker! Perfect! ;)

...Maybe I should have The Powerpuff girls on it somewhere as well...

Meggy Gurova 02-13-2005 03:39 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
The strangest hakama I've ever seen were one made off jeans and the other one was made by two different hakama in one (the hole koshita that was taken from another hakama).

Rachel Strickman 03-28-2005 04:50 PM

re: colour choices
 
Re: why are they always black? I heard it is because they were made out of blackout curtains. There is a person at my dojo who has tie-dyed hakama, pink and white. Personally I think making ones own clothing can be a way to show sincerity, respect, and dedication, as well as being much cheaper and a perfect way to distract oneself from one's :) dissertation.

Bronson 03-30-2005 09:07 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
2 Attachment(s)
Whoa, check these out.

Bronson

PeterR 03-30-2005 09:24 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Nice - very chic.

Melissa Fischer 04-11-2005 10:55 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Hi Michael,
There wasn't a pic of the famous velcro hak which claims to put an end to that diaper butt look. How does it work?
Nice photo gallery, BTW. Here's ours:
www.standingwaiting.com

Melissa

mriehle 04-12-2005 02:20 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Honestly, I've never gotten the "diaper butt" comment in the pitch for the velcro hakama.

But, what I like about it is that it's designed so the waistband is at least as adjustable as the traditional hakama, but it doesn't rely on your belt to stay up while you're putting it on. You don't need to wear a belt while wearing this hakama.

The other thing I like is that once you have it adjusted to your liking, you can take it off just by opening one side in front, so the next time you put it on you just slide it and close up that side. Really fast.

But I insisted on getting a traditional hakama when I got my shodan because, well, it's TRADITION, darn it. :p

I'm saving my pennies to abandon tradition now. :D :cool:

Chuck.Gordon 04-12-2005 04:42 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Velcro hak: How does it stand up to weapons work, i.e., wearing saya?

cg

mriehle 04-13-2005 12:48 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
When you say "stand up" do you mean staying on, or wearing out?

As far as staying on, I'd say it might do better than the traditional hakama. But I'd also say that was a function of adjusting it correctly.

The one time I wore one it was borrowed (I'd forgotten mine at home and it was a promotion for some of my students) and I couldn't (or at least felt it was inappropriate to) adjust it completely. Even so, it stayed put just fine. A couple of tweaks to the adjustment and there would have been no problem.

As far as wearing out I'd have to say that fabric is fabric. I've seen velcro hakamas made out of heavy fabric and light fabric. The heavy fabric holds up better, but it seems like it would be hot.

The design for the fastening system is actually patented. It is fairly clever, I think. It's designed so that you can't just pull and get the velcro to fail. I think, in fact, the fabric might fail before the velcro would. Disclaimer: the patent holder is a friend of mine so my opinion may be a little biased.

So, actually, the answer is really, "I don't know", but my opinion is that it would do as well as a traditional hakama, maybe better.

Chuck.Gordon 04-14-2005 05:09 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
I'd be looking more at how well the velcro himo support the saya and keep it stable, how it feels during sayabiki ...

thx,

cg

Melissa Fischer 04-17-2005 02:22 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Isn't velcro too easy for this Japanese art form? I thought we like to do things the hard way so we can practice in the "chop wood carry water" journey to enlightenment. Why else would we fold the hakama so elaborately? Or wear it at all? These are really just hypothetical questions. As O'Sensei said, Budo/MA must evolve. How to keep to tradition and evolve at the same time is quite the trick.

Melissa

Jeanne Shepard 04-17-2005 06:18 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Back in the Dawn of Time of my Ballet Days we were told to darn to tips of our pointe (toe) shoes so they wouldn't slip or wear out too fast. By the time I was really into it we just soaked them in liqued floor wax (the plastic kind, preferably not with amonia :crazy: ) to harden them. It was faster and easier, but not as decorative.

But we had more time to practice, (or sleep).

Jeanne

RebeccaM 04-17-2005 10:20 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
I used to know someone who never washed his hakama. Eek!

The worst I ever did to mine was wear a hole in it, but that's been patched up with matching fabric. One day, if I'm feeling really rich and really gutsy, I'll get a white cotton hakama and tie-dye it.

mriehle 04-19-2005 05:35 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Quote:

Chuck Gordon wrote:
I'd be looking more at how well the velcro himo support the saya and keep it stable, how it feels during sayabiki ...

thx,

cg

Right. Well.. NOw you've completely lost me. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with your terminology. And my Japanese is - well - weak. So I'm not sure what you're getting at.

THe only thing my hakana (a traditional one) supports is itself. Is there something else it should be supporting? Or are you talking about an additional piece of equipment used in weapons work that I'm unfamiliar with?

Chuck.Gordon 04-19-2005 07:06 AM

Velcro weapons?
 
Quote:

Michael Riehle wrote:
Or are you talking about an additional piece of equipment used in weapons work that I'm unfamiliar with?

Heh! Sorry. Yeah, the scabbard of the sword is 'saya' and in doing batto or iaido, the left hand manipulates the saya during the draw and the return while the right hand wields the weapon. This is saya-biki.

One of the advantages of wearing a hakama for sword work is that, tied properly, the himo and obi together hold the saya securely and provide extra support for the weight of the sword itself.

Chuck

mriehle 04-19-2005 02:27 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
Ah, got it. There is a strap that comes from back to front on the velcro hakama that attaches in the front and then is secured in place by another flap. The strap is also how things are adjusted.

I'd think that if the strap would fit through whatever opening there is in the saya, it would work at least as well as the ties on the traditional hakama. As far as supporting the weight, I think it might work better. If there is a need for it to hold things in place during the draw it might have an issue if there isn't enough of the strap in place in front, so you might have to adjust it a bit lopsided.

Even then, though, I shouldn't think so. I couldn't swear to it, though.

I guess I'd go ahead and wear the belt with the hakama in a case like that. You don't really need one with the velcro hakama, but with the kind of thing you're talking about I'd consider it insurance.

Jane Woodcock 04-24-2005 03:14 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
The worst hakama I ever saw was one that a dan grade wore at my old club. The hakama was black but it seemed to have a little bit of green penicillin growing on the back. I later found out in the 5 years he'd had it, he'd never washed it. And he wondered why no-one wanted to practice with him

Jeanne Shepard 04-24-2005 07:58 PM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
By the way, just how DO you wash a hakama?

Jeanne

Chuck.Gordon 04-25-2005 03:19 AM

Clean haks
 
Quote:

Jeanne Shepard wrote:
By the way, just how DO you wash a hakama?

Depends. My tetron one, just throw in the wash (normal cycle), hang to dry, fold. Cotton, throw in wash (cold), hang to dry, iron before it's fully dry, then fold.


cg

makuchg 04-25-2005 05:23 AM

Re: Good Hakama Gone Bad
 
I've got an indigo dyed 100% cotton hakama from Kyoto, hand wash only and hang dry or I'd have to let my 12 year old son wear it.

As for colors, it was my understanding that O'Sensei allowed any color since everyone wore hakama in his dojo and many couldn't afford to commercially purchase them so they made them out of old curtains or other spare material.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:37 AM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.