Hakama questions....

Afternoon All

I'm looking to get myself a nice new Hakama. The one I'm looking at is a Polyester/Rayon blend, anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm not sure I've come across this material before.

Have a look on the site yourself and let me know what you think...

www.ninecircles.co.uk

Hi, Mark.
I don't know about their product, but as a seamstress my reaction is that rayon is a bizarre choice for blending into a hak. It is a relatively weak fiber, moreso exposed to moisture (sweat), and with a lot of drape and stretch (draping and taking dye well is why it is popular for shirts). AFAIK, the only reason to use poly in a hak is that, alone or in combination with cotton, it makes the pleats more durable/the hak less prone to wrinkle. So, especially as the website does not specifically tout any particular features or advantages to this product, I would be very wary of it.

I believe Tetron is actually a brand name for polyester/rayon material. I like my Tetron hakama. It's very light and durable.

Bronson

I also sew (though don't feel I qualify as a seamstress) and I personally feel that either cotton or a cotton/poly blend would be best. Cotton wears better than synthetic materials. Notice that jeans are still made out of cotton. Cotton also breathes better. Unfortunately it fades, and tends to shrink in the wash. Hence the polyester, which doesn't shrink or fade much. Plus the other advantages mentioned above by Janet Rosen. Rayon though, is prone to shrinking. I don't see the advantage of adding rayon to polyester in a hakama would be, unless you wanted a floaty hakama?

hmmm I like my cotton hakama. I believe the last one i had was a tetron blend and it ripped fairly quicky. You don't get much better than heavyweight cotton.

I have a 100% cotton hakama. It is rather heavy, but makes it nice in winter months. I also have a duck blend hakama. I purchased both from Bujin Designs. They are very affordable and very durable.

Lyle Laizure wrote: I purchased both from Bujin Designs. They are very affordable...

Bronson

I have a 100% cotton hakama purchased in Japan, I've been using it for about 6 years. Apart from the fading in the knees, it's still going strong.

On the up keep side, it gets washed and ironed every few months, folding it correctly after keiko maintains the pleats pretty well.

rgds

Bryan

When you wash your hakama, can you find the pleats again?

just a thought; that if one has the money, your hakama probably isn't the thing you want to go cheap on. i mean, a good one can last a whole long time and can travel well etc, so why get one you will only replace in two years when you could have one that lasts for six? Plus, a well worn hakama of good quality can be passed down to a junior student once you retire it (whereas a poor quality one will probably just destruct after a while). just thoughts - i guess this all depends on how much cash you've got at the moment, and how much suwariwaza you do in the dojo.

-josh

All good thoughts Josh, but to be honest my cheap $50 hakama is holding up as well as my old Bujin one. It is also lighter, fits better, and folds up smaller. Not to mention that the Tetron fabric is very tough and the knees don't get faded.

Bronson

Bronson Diffin wrote: I believe Tetron is actually a brand name for polyester/rayon material. I like my Tetron hakama. It's very light and durable. Bronson

LOL! If so, live and learn: I have a Tetron hak from Mugendo Budogu that I love.

If you type tetron into Google you get all sorts of nifty hits. As with many things the name seems to mean different things to different industries. All the references I found for it in relation to hakama list it as a poly/rayon blend....of course it's also multiple player Tetris so who really knows

Bronson

What about the polyester hakamas that are sold in budostuff.com??.... I'm considering in buying one of those because I don't have the money to buy the cotton or wollen hakama...

I was worried that this was a thread about whether it was okay to wash a hakama or not. First belts, now hakamas...where will all of the tradition go?

Fabienne S$BqO(Baillat wrote: When you wash your hakama, can you find the pleats again?

I can indeed. A helpful pointer on this from my wife is to put the hakama inside one of those net bags that you use for woollen jumpers, helps keep the pleats a bit better.

I also find that periodically ironing the pleats and ties in between washes helps, given that I may go 3 - 4 months without a wash.

rgds

Bryan

Fabienne S$BqO(Baillat wrote: When you wash your hakama, can you find the pleats again?

I know people who hand wash theirs then hang them to dry. They tell me it keeps the pleats. My girlfriend ran a line of stitch about two inches long along the crease of each pleat at the bottom. Now no matter what happens I'll be able to find the pleats again.

Bronson