Quote:
Joe Curran wrote:
Hi Cliff,
Hope you do not mind my comments.Not all of our readers are TOPGUYS in Aikido.Some guys are newbies. How do you expect them to know what a Shoto/Fukoro Shinai are?The newbie would not know this lingo.In fact he /she might think these items are delicacies listed on a VietNam Restaurant menu.In a word do not cater for elite think of the dunderheads[me ] and the beginners.I think the guy asking about the bokuto is a relative newbie. Joe.
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You're right, Joe. I tried to keep my post brief, and perhaps I came off sounding a bit snooty.
To the original poster: I think your best bet is to ask your Sensei for recommendations as to a proper bokken. He or she might have requirements, for example, Iwama style Aikido uses a distinctly stout bokken for Aikiken practice. Or you may need to get a bokken with a tsuba (that's the round guard you see on swords).
To Dave: I looked at the e-bogu page for Aikido weapons and the shinai they were selling are fukuro shinai - wrapped in leather. These are not used in kendo, and are designed to be safer to use when your partner is not wearing kendo armor. They can still knock out teeth and break face parts with a thrust, and if you haven't learned to not use lots of muscle they can certainly smart quite a bit, but they don't cause the welts that strikes with a naked shinai against naked skin will cause (naked kendo shinai are infamous tools of corporal punishment in Japan).
And I also pointed out that we have two sword forms in the ASU, and the short sword is in fact a child's yagyu bokken! They are fun forms, great for whacking yourself in the head as your arms get confused.
